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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

St John's Senior Private School (Enfield)

60 replies

AlmondMilkTea · 09/11/2022 22:30

Hello!
Would really appreciate some recent info on this school (old threads from 2017 noted). Considering future secondary options for my DS and state options are limited (and catchment options are quite bad) where we are and also this is the only private secondary option in the Enfield area that we're aware of.

Ofsted reviewed...interesting that it was requires improvement....now outstanding...

Anyone able to list pros/cons? Website info is quite limited and no advertised open days (I plan to email them and ask).

Thanks so much

OP posts:
XelaM · 11/11/2022 00:10

Meadowbreeze · 10/11/2022 23:20

@XelaM Yh it's the most expensive for us too. In a way I don't mind as it'll only be 2 years for us and we've saved lots staying put in state. DD is not academic enough for a levels and Indies don't offer vocational courses so I'm confident we will only need to pay 1.5 years of fees which is very doable.
Their apprehension is making me like them the most. We've found far too many non or gently selective schools, say yes to everything but when it comes down to it it's all just words. Im not getting that vibe from them at all. DD is in a competitive swimming team and the only con I can see is she would struggle to go to training with their late finishes.
Do you have any other suggestions you might know about?

Mount House is definitely a more relaxed friendly school if that's what you're looking for. They also don't finish late. Kids can leave at 4pm every day if they choose to (bus leaves at 16:15). After school clubs finish at 17:00 and an additional bus leaves at 17:15. They also have a wide choice of GCSE subjects.

Meadowbreeze · 11/11/2022 00:25

@XelaM Thanks so much, I'll have a look. We had mixed feedback about it and DD doesn't know anyone there so I didn't look into it that much.

Soma · 11/11/2022 05:55

@Meadowbreeze learning support & pastoral care is hit and miss at Mount House since the deputy head died a few years ago. Queenswood or St Margaret's Bushey are more consistent in that regard.

Meadowbreeze · 11/11/2022 08:30

@Soma St Margaret's is way too far for us unfortunately. We should hear from Queenswood imminently so we'll make our decision than.

Original poster
AlmondMilkTea · 11/11/2022 09:30

Meadowbreeze · 10/11/2022 23:37

@AlmondMilkTea Good questions. We'd been thinking about it for a while. My DD has an ehcp, not because of super high need but an anomaly. Our borough doesn't fund speech and lang support past the age of 7 without one, so we have it on that technicality. She is quite bright but has a language processing disorder and dyslexia. If she is in a small class of kids or even a big class of kids who are behaving, she does really well. She did brilliantly for a while until our senco left. All support has been taken away. She has no TA, has been put into classes in the lowest set full of kids who have also had all their support taken and are now lashing out.
If it was just academics, sure we'd just get a tutor. She's struggling mentally with it. Her school is incredibly strict and she keeps getting into trouble for the silliest things. I could go on and on but I'm desperate to get her a more enjoyable 2 years. I feel like this won't end well if she stays where she is. We previously loved the school and I recommend it a lot on here, so I'm sad about it all. Funding cuts are no joke at the moment.

Ah I see. That makes complete sense and it's great that she will have friends and not have to worry so much about that aspect. Hope it all goes well for her.

OP posts:
Fullmoon02 · 25/01/2023 12:15

Hi there, we're in Enfield and wondered if anyone had any opinions on Grange park Prep School in Winchmore Hill.
ISI reports are excellent but not much else in terms of parent's experience. Any thoughts?

SpaceCandyCoconut · 25/01/2023 21:28

@Fullmoon02 start a new thread of your own with the name of the school in the title. No one will see your question otherwise!

Fullmoon02 · 25/01/2023 21:35

Will do thanks for heads up

Trthtlkr · 25/05/2023 19:02

Thoroughly disappointing establishment. The school is run like a dictatorship and if you do not align with the exact beliefs of the head teacher you are effectively an outcast whose views and opinions are null and void. As the school is run by a family and most employees are friends and family there is a very strong allegiance to the regime. There is clear preferential treatment in place towards certain individuals. The head master's son attends the school, and his wife makes extra sure to wield her relative powers, perhaps to overcompensate for her broader insignificance in the world and clear abundance of insecurities. I'm not sure if she thinks she's important or if she thinks that other people think she's important, actually most people think she's highly annoying. We shall also place to one side that ironically their child is one of the most misbehaved in the school. Rather strange for a family whose foundation is in education, not really doing a great job at that based on your offspring.

The parents of most of the children are quite polite and civil people, and inevitably you do end up getting some individuals who do not take the care to also educate and nurture their children at home, therefore you end up with children whose parents believe their responsibilities start and end with the respective pick up and drop off of their children to the school. Overall the parents are lovely and there isn't too much pretence.

Not anywhere near enough is done to communicate with the parents when situations happen in the school, and you will almost always need to rely on the fact that your child comes home and discusses things with you. When you raise this with the teachers the normal course of action is not to consult with any of the other related parents, the normal course of action is to discuss with a class of children broad life topics and ways to behave. While I understand the approach, as a parent you should have an interest in knowing if your child is exhibiting inappropriate or concerning behaviour.

EagerFinch · 06/08/2025 15:13

was nearly 6 years ago I was there I think. I believe it still was the worst year of my life and a lot of other bad shit happened since my time there

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