Help me find a state secondary in SE London or East London please

[barefootNpregnant]

We need to move for more space and to apply for a state secondary by October (DS1 is in Year 5). I realise we may not make the deadline but circumstances mean that’s our timeline.

I’m finding it so hard to narrow down an area with good state schools for our limited budget (around £550k) and wondering if it’s even possible. I’ve read the Good Schools Guide for SE and East London and they don’t seem to be impressed with any of the options around New Cross/Brockley (where DH works) or Tower Hamlets (where we are now).

Ideally we’d be within cycling distance of New Cross because of DH’s work (I mainly wfh), but willing to compromise on that. We also need to be able to get to Hoxton for DS’s Saturday music classes (by public transport as we don’t have a car).

I realise that the GS Guide and Ofsted don’t tell the full story but because we’re not currently in the area that we’re going to apply in, we’re missing the parent chat at the school gates that reveals which are the good schools. Can anyone share recent experiences with schools around these areas? How much further out do we need to go realistically?

Does anyone know where else I should be looking to get honest parent reviews? Are there FB groups for school searching in SE London for example? Any other forums like this but area-specific?

My big fear is a rough school with gangs and bullying (DS is a sensitive child). Do we need to leave the city and go to the suburbs to find a school where that won’t be a worry? DH is set on staying in London.

Thanks for reading this far if you’ve made it. I’m feeling overwhelmed and despairing at the prospect of messing up DS’s education with bad choices in where we move.

Hatcham College, New Cross Gate is very good - we shortlisted that one for DD.

You could also have a look at Kingsdale Foundation School which is lottery entry and based in Dulwich.

Both of these have excellent Music and scholarships on offer (getting a full scholarship at Kingsdale can get you in without going through the lottery).

Eltham/Blackheath area. St Thomas More is a very good comp. There are two music schools in the Greenwich borough that offer music lessons/orchestras etc plus Trinity music and BYMT in Bromley. £550K would get a house in Charlton SE7. Trains to Lewisham/buses to New Cross.

Thanks @OhCrumbsWhereNow and @Turmerictolly. Hatcham is on the radar but haven’t looked at Eltham/Blackheath very much as don’t think we can afford it. Really helpful to know about Charlton too, will look into all of those tips.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/117852152

Lee Green (SE12) is another area that you might want to look at. Easy to cycle through Lewisham to New Cross (or couple of stops on the train). Not sure about the secondary schools though (comps). Lots of children in the SE12, SE3, SE7, SE9 areas go to the Grammar schools in Dartford and Bexley as the transport connections are good to those areas.

@Turmerictolly that’s brilliant, thank you, will look into it.

SE London isn't great for secondry schools sadly. I think Lewisham has about 17 rated outstanding primaries and only 3 secondaries, of the latter, one is girls, one is mixed catholic and one is a community special school. Agree if your son is musical Kingsdale and Hatcham are a good bet - compition is stiff for the relatively low number of music spaces available. Lewisham music has great saturday am club that might be of interest. Southwark has 2 Charter schools in Dulwich which are highly sought after, your budget wouldn't buy a house in catchment, probably a flat. You could (hugely unpopular in some circles...) rent till you are in and move out to somewhere more affordable in time. Langley Boys in Beckemham appears to be highly regarded which is reflected in the nearby house prices. Re the grammers, some allow a small % of top scorers a place regardless of distance and then others with a pass mark are based on distance, so check that out as your son may have to be in the top 180 of 6,000 odd kids for a grammer place... I have heard good and not so good re Forest Hill boys and Deptford green, some kids have a great experience in these schools even though on paper they might not look great. Good luck

Bullying happens in even the "nicest" of schools. And in my experience they are the worst at dealing with it as they don't like to think it happens in their school.

Best thing to do is join some Facebook groups in the areas you are considering. Ask on there for opinions on the schools, but bear in mind that for every positive opinion there will be three negative.

Thank you @churrios and @tintodeverano2. All good advice and insight that I’ll take on board and look into further.