Is it a good London comp - only 70% of pupils got into 6th form?

[Sirine1708]

Good morning, we are currently renting in SW6 but I'm looking at comps in cheaper areas around London where we could afford to buy 2-3 bedroom and first I was looking mostly at A-level results.

Then I decided to check what % of pupils actually get from secondary school to the 6th form.

Much to my surprise I've found out that less than 70% ks4 pupils from popular in Sutton Glenthorne and Greenshaw High got into school's own or any other 6th form - the same or less then in our local very average secondary.

www.find-school-performance-data.service.gov.uk/school/136914/glenthorne-high-school/secondary/pupil-destination

Also those school have less than 90% "happy" parents according to locrating, that is also quite low in comparison to other schools.

Do you think those numbers are worth paying attention to? My child is average in a good way :) he has no learning difficulties so far but doesn't stand out as gifted either.
So I would prefer school that pays attention not only to the top cohorts.

@Sirine1708 My DS is at an excellent local comp, and may stay on for sixth form, but he also has 3 other conditional offers - one for another excellent comp that is much closer to home, one for an outstanding sixth form college, and another for a super-selective grammar school. I don't yet know which he will choose, but if he decides to move it'll be because he is spreading his wings rather than it being a reflection on his current school. The current school will fill up any vacant places from other local schools (some of which don't have sixth forms). So the percentage that "stay on" tells you very little.

Also very oversubscribed schools sometimes do have lower parent satisfaction than you might expect, because they can attract very demanding, over-anxious and frequently over-entitled parents who expect to get the level of "service" of the private sector, despite a much lower budget. The teaching profession is on its knees and, guess what, its impacting the quality of education in many schools.

@Sirine1708 have you looked at Twickenham? Loads of good schools there and esher college if you don't want a school sixth form when the time comes

@ladyme I imagine schools there will be good at least due to demographic but the commute to work (Farringdon) will be a bit more complicated.

@Sirine1708 Sutton is a good option due to the comps, grammars & catholic schools. A lot of London boroughs don't have baby options.

many!

Private schools do this a lot. It's called off rolling and very illegal in state schools, but it definitely happens. However, this would be comparable to a permanent exclusion, not a suspension. Suspensions used to be called fixed term exclusions and last for a specific amount of time. Suspensions involve a lot of paperwork for schools. This also means a high suspension rate isn't necessarily a bad thing. It almost certainly means that the school implements it's behaviour policy which can only be good as it keeps staff morale high. Obviously a suspension rate that's very high is a red flag, but you get what I mean.

The more important statistic, is how many kids get suspended multiple times in one year. Suspensions can work very well at giving kids a stark reminder of expectations but also the school a chance to see something has gone very wrong. Very often it is the point when SEN or bullying get spotted. When a suspension is done properly, it'll involve a reintegration meeting on return where a pastoral or SEN plan is put in place. This may involve referrals, allocation of mentors, social services etc. You can imagine how time intensive this can get when done well. This should be a restorative approach and a chance to review the situation and put things in place that meet that child's needs. Children aren't inherently naughty, it's likely that the child's needs were previously going unmet and most probably caused the behaviour behind the suspension. This is what I mean by proper suspensions being quite time consuming to the school and why a lot of them just don't do it well. It's also not a case of schools being lazy, but simply not having the man power or resources too. It's quite nuanced and stats don't show that nuance.
When a child gets suspended multiple times in one year, that shows that the school is either not restorative in its approach to suspensions or doesn't have the resources to meet that child's needs and the LA is dragging its feet getting that child into the right placement, if the senco has done/had the time to do their job.
A very low suspension rate in my opinion, esp in a comp, is a red flag.

This! There are many different pathways and it has to be right for that particular student. Schools also have to be impartial regarding a students next step even if they have their own Sixth Form.
Have a look at the Ofsted report for a starting point however there is much more to factor in

https://www.glenthorne.sutton.sch.uk/app/file/asset/5BE517B7200301DB8ECF4F52425FE30BC3BD3CBC1CBAAB27/?mode=download&size=original

The website isn't great and also I struggled to see a section regarding careers but eventually found it

https://www.glenthorne.sutton.sch.uk/app/os#!/curriculum-2/departments/careers-education

Farringdon is direct on thameslink from carshalton / Sutton.

@christmastreefarm
I have few more less obvious direct options as well, even in the East and South, and need to compare it somehow :)

Going by the ranting SM posts from a mate who has done that commute for many years, it's never been a reliable line.

Sutton is a strong grammar area so I’d expect the comp to have a lower ability than other areas. I do think you’re focussing on something a bit niche. Where will you be happy living? Where can you afford? Where else in London are you considering?

@GloryBees in terms of area, I want a unicorn and with huge discount :)

2-3 bedroom for 650 000 tops, we are fine with new build apartments and without garden.
The area should be within 60-70 minutes from Farringdon preferrably with direct commute via tube or train, but train+tube will also work.

In addition I want to avoid Piccadilly and Northern line because I will not survive 10 stops there.

Small % of social housing in the area, no more than 15-20% I think.

And of course schools that know how to do their job - good GCSE even with average students, prefferably with 6th form but now I see a lot of children are fine with commute at that age.

Of course it would be nice to buy in Dulwich or St. Albans or Alexandra Park but most likely it will be Putney/Wandsworth, Mill Hill, Sutton, Riddlesdown or Woodford.

Tbh I don't think greenshaw meets your requirements. The area is very mixed and I get the Impression it won't be what you are looking for......the areas that would meet your requirements house wise won't be in catchment unless you get an 11+ place.

@christmastreefarm I checked and you are right.

@christmastreefarm but I'll come to take a look at that area in person anyway.

I’m surprised Putney/Wandsworth is on your list. I moved from there (with a considerably higher budget) as I thought unaffordable and I’d assume the cream are sent to private. What about Wimbledon/Morden?

@GloryBees there are 2-bedroom flats in new and relatively new developments in Putney and near Wandsworth Park within our budget and it would be a compromise - to stay few more years in primary we love in Fulham and also try Ashcroft academy as a secondary.
It's the easiest option but reviews for Ashcroft I've been reading here make me dig in other directions as well.

@GloryBees Wimbledon has good boys school but I'm looking at mixed gender first and also for some reason I think there will be only conversion 2-bedroom flats available for this price.

The best schools in Wimbledon are single sex aren't they & then catholic

I would just focus on finding a house in a catchment of a school that gets good GCSEs and is non selective. You have no idea what your child will be into by A level stage!