tower hamlets secondary schools

[phase]

Hi im wondering if anyone could give me some advice regarding tower hamlets state secondary schools. Im thinking of moving into the area. What are the schools like and any recommendations for a particular school. I know nothing about the area or the secondary schools and any personal experience would be really helpful.

Raines is near Victoria Park, it might be worth a look
Tower Hamlets pupils also seem to gain places in Westminster/ the city which would be a short journey away for you

I would like a good ethnic and social mix.

You might not get that, Phase. Not in a London school.

Really? I think it is more of a probability than elsewhere NKF

Yes check the results including English and Maths, for the areas that you are looking as well check the value added which marks the progress made with kids - although it is up to you how much notice you take of that.

I teach in a school with very high value added but I doubt that many mumsnetters would choose to send their children there.

Is raines a normal comprehensive?

thanks twinsetpearls.

Avoid anywhere with a CVA below 1000 that means kids are going backwards!

Sir John Cass's is not as high as I thought it would be, but this could reflect the fact that it has grown in popularity so it not taking in students who perhaps have not done well at primary and so can have value added easily if that makes sense.

sorry misread the column , you can tell I teach a literacy subject Sir John Cass has very good CVA ( but as I said treat that with caution) as does Morpeth

But that going backwards figure is up for analysis because children can be pushed ridiculously hard for those year 6 stats. Probably irrelevant in the case of Sir John Cass though.

where would i find this info, sorry for all the questions. Im trying to get as much info as i can to try to see whats best for dd and whether we move or not. Ive read some of the ofsted reports for TH but theres nothing better than people in the know, giving you advice. thankyou

Are you choosing where you live based on school? Or do you know where you will be living?

My partner has a house in bethnal green, so we would be moving there.

Very true for al sorts of reasons the statistics can be misleading but I would be very reluctant to send my dd to a school with low CVA.

In my present school we have very good CVA as we take kids from a very low starting point and from "failing primaries" therefore it is easy to add value. However we don't make enough progress in Key Stage four, perhaps reflecting the fact that we are not making the fantastic progress we thought we were making in Key Stage Three but also the very poor behvaiour of our students in Key Stage Four.

The middle class choice school up the road has much lower CVA because the kids are coached for their SATS to a level beyond reality. I have it a bit with some of my SEN students who had over helpful scribes in the SATS meaning that they came to me with level 3s or 4s in their SATS that were not a real measure of their ability.

Okay, so you know where you will be living. This is what I would do.
I'd go to the OFSTED website, type in the post code and that will give you a list of the schools within a certain radius. I'd then read the report and I'd call the schools or the local auhtority to see what distance I needed to live from the school. And I'd ask estate agents about local reputation. And I'd go on the website for Families East and post a query in their forum.

league tables but this info needs to be backed up with local knowledge and school visits.

thanks for the website NKF

Oaklands is boasting a low turnover of staff on its website which i would find encouraging. I don't know how you would check this out other than ask the school for figtures.

yes thats where i got oaklands and morpeth from as they were top of the table. cheers

Oaklands also has no vacancies at the moment again a good sign.

I taught at Morpeth for a very short time many moons ago - glad to see it's changed as it was the worst teaching experience of my life (and I've taught in some pretty tough places). Loved my tutor group though. Guess it's down to management - a rubbish headteacher moves on and a school has a chance.