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Secondary education

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

Original poster

Kingsdale Foundation School

15 replies

TheJaneyB · 17/05/2023 11:56

Hi, my daughter has just been offered a place at Kingsdale from the waiting list. We had put it first as it was her preference, but they got their second choice, which I really like. Now she has received an offer, I am questionning what the right thing to do is. The school she was initially offered is a single sex school. I went to a single sex school so I can see the benefits of that, especially as my daughter is quite quiet, but her dad says that I'm just scared of her being around teenage boys! But I am a little concerned when I hear horror stories of young girls being shown porn at school etc etc. I know there are a lot of Kingsdale parents on here so would love to know what it is like there and if you are happy with how any issues are dealt with.

OP posts:
Andorra · 17/05/2023 13:15

@TheJaneyB would you be willing to share which band your daughter is in and what place she started on the WL?

We are waiting too so interested to know how fast the lists are moving!

I think it's really down to the child and school. We have Kingsdale higher up our preferences than the single sex school DD has been allocated but we have two other single sex schools above Kingsdale (Yes we got a low preference on offer day!). The preference places were a combination of our views and DD's and when considering mixed vs. single sex we all saw advantages to both options. Probably not helpful!! But I would be thinking about overall size, journey to school, academic and extra curicular offer etc. etc.

OhCrumbsWhereNow · 17/05/2023 18:01

I have a DD there in Y9... I just asked her if she has ever seen any porn at school...

"Er, Yuck, No! Why would we see porn at school?"

Apparently nobody has shown her any - and she takes public transport to and from school with a big mixed group.

I keep an eye on the class WhatsApp and they're all far nicer to each other than I was expecting.

No school is without problems, so I can guarantee there will be some kids that watch porn, vape, bullying incidents etc but I can say that the few times I've ever contacted school about things DD was upset about (not porn or vaping or anything really serious), they have responded very promptly, taken things seriously and dealt with them in an appropriate manner.

DD has just as many friends who are boys as girls there and they all seem to mix pretty well.

Original poster
TheJaneyB · 18/05/2023 09:48

Thank you, very helpful! I'm assuming you are happy with Kingsdale. Do the kids really come from all over? We are close to the school but I think she's also concerned she'll have friends that live miles away. Or do kids make friends with people who live closer to them.

OP posts:
wowsaidtheowl · 18/05/2023 20:50

Is Sydenham the school you’ve got at the moment. I never wanted my DD to go down the single sex route but we love it. She has amazing friends and is really, really happy. There’s a lot of hype re Kingsdale but there are other really good options out there.

LondonHOPDad · 19/05/2023 13:20

Kids do come from all over and it was one of my main concerns.

We have found quite a few kids who live locally, and some just a few stops away that have met getting the bus or train home. It's not proved to be an issue, though I suspect he might have met up with a few kids by now if they were a bit closer.

I suspect the majority are reasonably close, but that can be be N, W, S or E.

Did your child visit the school? What do they think? I thought our child would hate it but he loved it, but know of others who didn't like it.

Strong points if already good at these things are Art and Music, Maths also seems strong.

A good school for one is not necessarily good for another so I think have a look at both schools and try to work out areas which your child might like more.

Good luck - most people we know are happy there.

Original poster
TheJaneyB · 19/05/2023 15:50

Thank you! They did like it which is why they put it first, but now they had started to picture themselves at the other school, so it's confused them a bit. We'll figure it out, good to hear that people kid's are enjoying it though :)

OP posts:
minisnowballs · 19/05/2023 17:26

We live relatively near Kingsdale, though ours are at Sydenham. Friends of ours really rate it - it has good trips, art and music. I guess you can only try to think about what it was she liked about it in the first place and weigh it up from that.

Single sex has been far better for us than we had expected. Both our daughters have been really happy with it - though DD1 is ready for a mixed sixth form now (she's staying on but sixth form mixes) and seems to have a thriving co-ed social life. Good luck with the decision.

LondonHOPDad · 19/05/2023 18:57

TheJaneyB · 19/05/2023 15:50

Thank you! They did like it which is why they put it first, but now they had started to picture themselves at the other school, so it's confused them a bit. We'll figure it out, good to hear that people kid's are enjoying it though :)

Yes it's tricky, and impossible really to know what is best. Sounds like you are in a good situation though with two good options, so hopefully either will work out!

I wrote a bit more here on the first term if of interest: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/4720309-kingsdale-foundation-school

As an aside, they had their Ofsted inspection recently and they have just emailed this afternoon to confirm they have maintained their Outstanding Status which appears more difficult with the new method they are using (the report in not on the Ofsted site yet but should be shortly they said).

Kingsdale Foundation School | Mumsnet

Hello, Would parents of years 7 or 8 children be able to share their experience of the school so far? We are planning on going on the school tour bu...

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/4720309-kingsdale-foundation-school

izimbra · 21/05/2023 22:09

My son is just finishing at Kingsdale - first A level this week. He's been there since year 7. I really rate the teaching staff at Kingsdale and it's been a good experience for my son.

My daughter went to Sydenham. 6 years ago now, but their pastoral care was amazing.

We're lucky to have so many good state schools in SE London. 😀

Cherryberry132 · 07/08/2023 21:59

Hello. Just wondering if anyone can tell me a bit more about the journey to Kingsdale Foundation School, my husband is worried about the journey as our child will need to get the train to Sydenham Hill and walk.
Is it a relatively safe place?
thanks

boiroi · 19/01/2025 07:43

@Cherryberry132 I've come across this old thread and was wondering if your child ended up going to Kingsdale and, if so, whether you are still concerned about the walk from the station. I had similar thoughts and it would be good to hear from parents of children who actually do the walk about how it actually is. There are posts on other threads that suggest it's absolutely fine, but good to get a range of opinions.

OhCrumbsWhereNow · 19/01/2025 11:36

boiroi · 19/01/2025 07:43

@Cherryberry132 I've come across this old thread and was wondering if your child ended up going to Kingsdale and, if so, whether you are still concerned about the walk from the station. I had similar thoughts and it would be good to hear from parents of children who actually do the walk about how it actually is. There are posts on other threads that suggest it's absolutely fine, but good to get a range of opinions.

DD now in Y11 and does that walk twice a day. Never had a single issue in nearly 5 years. Not even a 'OMG you'll never guess what happened today" comment.

Have you trialled the walk? It's 2.5 minutes, well lit and easy to the back gate which is open and staffed morning and evening.

There's generally a decent group of them going to the station even if they stay late for sport or extra curricular.

Only time it's a bit of a pain is if the trains are really late and they have to walk all way round to the front (about 11 minutes) as the gate is closed.

KFS is also next door to DUCKs and so there are often parents accompanying children going there at the same time, and loads of staff also use the train to get to and from work.

izimbra · 20/01/2025 07:42

My daughter went to Sydenham and my boys went to Kingsdale. Honestly they're both great schools, with fantastic teaching. The pastoral care at Sydenham was great.

PolarCrane · 04/03/2025 11:59

@TheJaneyB may i ask what was your DD's initial waiting list position to get a sense what is high or low? Thanks!

Original poster
TheJaneyB · 04/03/2025 18:55

mid 30s and we were offered a place before June. It was just the banding waiting list and I have no idea what band they were in to be honest.

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