Best London state secondary school in your opinion?

[Simplegal]

I’m overwhelmed with school choices for a Year 10 entry for my DD into an Co-Ed state secondary school. We have a last minute, frantic move to London from abroad and looking for entry for my DD. Somewhere within 30-60 mins travel to Canary Wharf? Open to faith schools as she has been in a traditional catholic school previously. We haven’t even started the accommodation hunt just focusing on schools first! Please comment if you love your school! Thank you!

Your options are going to be massively limited for a move into year 10.

Children don't move at the start of year 10 because they select GSCE options in year 9. Timetables will have already have been drawn up.

It will be about finding a school that has a space.

Use the council or gov websites / locrating if you want to pay to find schools in the radius of canary wharf, then filter by Co Ed and Catholic. Then make lots of calls. Leave answerphone messages on admissions departments or email. If they don't come back either full or that also tells you something about the school. One I wanted to view never answered the phone, put me off it tbh.

It’s a complicated process isn’t it. Thank you for the advice. I’m regretting it already.

Ursuline in Wimbledon

Thank you! Great options.

Yes and the subject choices she wants too.

sorry that's all girls. You will struggle in London as the best state schools are grammar's and faith which tend to be single sex

Thank you. I will be doing that!

Moving to the UK from abroad and trying to get a state school place is very difficult, and Year 10 is probably the most difficult year to enter for reasons PP have said. You can't get a place until you have a local address. This is why many families moving to the UK end up going private, because private school don't have this restriction. Also bear in mind that your DD may not be able to do all the GCSE subjects she wants if the classes are full - they will have been allocated in the June of Y9.

Yes it’s not ideal is it.

Understatement of the year!

Yes it sounds like a nightmare. I’m not sure it’s going to work at all.

@GonnaGetGoingReturns sorry I don’t understand what you mean. All I was pointing out is that Kingsdale is a Comprehensive school with 10% of place (I think) for those with a skill in music or sports (and the OPs daughter doesn’t need to have any musical skills to attend).
What do you mean by “it’s not a competition”?

Marylebone School for Girls is excellent and 80% selected on faith basis but as the name suggests, it is single sex. You apply directly to the school in this case.

Thank you!

A great school with the GCSE options your daughter wants to do is camel through the eye of a needle stuff.

Do you have to move to the U.K. now?

Thank you. She is fourteen and turning fifteen later in the year.

Thank you!

the thing is if you find a school with say on space it can’t be held for you until you are able to apply for the place formally and you can’t do that until you have a uk address (that will need to be within catchment or fairly close to the school). Presuming that all takes a few weeks, someone could easily have snapped that space up in the interim

First language is English but not UK born and bred.

Change of timing is a possibility.

This will make zero difference.

DS lives in Whitechapel and has since his late teens. He says it feels very safe because it's a largely Muslim area where he is, so there aren't that many drunks out at night.

It’s a logistical nightmare. Is a sixth form entry easier or just as difficult?

Yes because there will be a lot of movement. Also places won’t be confirmed until after GCSE results in mid august

that said if your daughter doesn’t sit GCSEs I have no idea how that works. But must be possible.