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Secondary education

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

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Original poster

Parental choice? It's just a joke, isn't it? What choice do you have in your area?

22 replies

roisin · 21/03/2008 16:31

Within an 12 mile radius of here we have:
No selective state schools
No single sex schools

8 state secondary schools
(plus one small independent school)

Of the 8 secondaries all have had recent Ofsteds:
4 are in special measures
2 are satisfactory
1 is good
1 is outstanding

GCSE (5 incl Maths/English) national average is 46.7%
Only one of the 8 schools scores above the national average, and that's only 60% - so it's not as though they are creaming off a highly intellectual elite! Most of the schools are way down in the thirties, and one barely makes it into double figures!

The region has some areas of high deprivation, but nothing to explain results like this IMO.

Is it just all the in-breeding or what?!

OP posts:

MaureenMLove · 21/03/2008 16:35

I'm very lucky to have 4 single sex grammar school and 6 mixed comps, one of which has a grammar stream and has just been awarded outstanding. (dd goes to that one!) Sadly one is in special measures and that's the one I've got the job at! Still the only way is up, I suppose.

WideWebWitch · 21/03/2008 16:36

Nearest schools, 1 grammar, 1 in special measures, tonnes if you pay. So if ds doesn't pass, it'll be the latter for us.

Saggarmakersbottomknocker · 21/03/2008 16:45

Truth is you can express a preference. It's a far cry from a choice.

RubberDuck · 21/03/2008 16:47

1 in special measures with huge bullying problems - in catchment for that one, whoopie doo.

2 good, but if you're not in catchment it's very hard to get in and one of which is across the river on a narrow bridge which is always backed up with traffic - so at least 30 mins stuck in traffic each morning to get to it.

1 catholic (and if you're not religious, no hope)

1 CofE (and if you're not religious, no hope)

There's two or three private schools in the area too, but haven't looked extensively at them because it's very unlikely we'll ever be able to afford 2 children to go to them, even assuming they passed the entrance exams.

Miggsie · 21/03/2008 16:48

you get the choice between 2/3 bugger all and bugger all by the sound of it...so it's really the lesser of several evils, not a positive selection based on a set of your criteria of the school qualities you find desireable.

Porpoise · 21/03/2008 16:48

Reckon you must live near me, roisin!

Original poster

roisin · 21/03/2008 17:33

SW Cumbria. You Porpoise?

OP posts:

Lilymaid · 21/03/2008 17:38

In the villages around Cambridge there is really very little choice - local village college (most of which are very good) or go into Cambridge and pay. You can't easily choose to go to a village college outside your catchment as there will be no public transport.

nkf · 21/03/2008 17:39

You don't get a choice. Nobody does. You get to express a preference. That's all.

CarGirl · 21/03/2008 17:40

well parental preference here is your nearest because otherwise you could end up in an equally poor school but just miles away instead. Of course if you have the money lots and lots of expensive indepent!

St Georges College, Weybridge
Gordons

etc etc etc

marina · 21/03/2008 17:47

Roisin, I can't even type out the results for Greenwich, they are too depressing. We have two Catholic secondaries (one girls' one mixed) which both perform well. After that, the best school in the borough gets 52% and is oversubscribed with good reason (good pastorally, excellent value added)...and most of the rest are well below the national average. The borough was bottom of the London league tables this year, and near bottom nationally.
One of the reasons for moving to a different part of the borough for us was to be within catchment area for the neighbouring borough's grammars and good non-selective schools.
Our nearest Greenwich school was in Special Measures but a super-Head has done a lot of good work. It still performs below national average

Porpoise · 21/03/2008 19:54

ooh, no, I was wrong, roisin. I'm in inner-city norf London. But, wow, similar schools!

Original poster

roisin · 21/03/2008 20:42

I know, that's what I mean Porpoise. You might expect very poor results in some schools in certain areas of London (sorry I don't know London to speculate which areas!) But here crime rates are generally very low, we don't have gangs, guns, knives, ASBOs etc. Yet the results of our schools are appalling.

OP posts:

Christywhisty · 22/03/2008 08:29

I live just north of london
We have a choice of

1 outstanding state but don't live quite close enough to get into.

1 low results state but parents I know like the school and it does have a nice atmostphere.

1 just out of special measures, has improved but is very undersubscribed. A new school is being built so we shall see.

1 language school, realistically can only get in by passing aptitude test. Used to be a very good school but is going downhill and is said to have a bullying problem

1 okay state but most parents I know aren't that happy with it.

I special measures

and DS's school which he got into on apptitude for technology. A hugely improved school which is lovely. It is 6 miles aways so only chance is getting in on apptitude for technology.
If you want catholic, you have to bus it to Bishops Stortford or enfield.

Also have a choice of Latymer, but with 1800 children trying for 180 places it is not really a choice for most people.

ScienceTeacher · 22/03/2008 08:37

Gordons is a state school, Cargirl

CarGirl · 22/03/2008 09:06

really??? I know it is very very very hard to get into the day school part but I suppose yes that makes sense. The amount of prep schools around here is amazing though isn't it? I grew up in the NE and there was a boys inde and a girls inde and that was it for miles around and only the people with lots and lots of money sent their dc there. Although there the state schools were mostly great but presumably that is in part because lesss of th academically able were creamed off............

Loshad · 23/03/2008 13:16

which part of the NE cargirl?
Newcastle has several independent schools, sunderland has a couple, durham has two, darlington does, barnard castle does - quite well served for independent schools up there.

ScienceTeacher · 23/03/2008 13:19

Yes lots of prep schools. There are aslo lots of girls' schools, but not so many that boys can go to.

CarGirl · 23/03/2008 14:23

Loshad a bit further South than that Loshad and we are talking 20 years ago!!! Yes if you travelled 8-10 miles there would have been more independent but believe me where ST & I live there are so many it feels like there are as many inde as state - it's a very different feel IYSWIM Probably 10 inde in a 5 mile radius of my house?

Loshad · 23/03/2008 16:07

oh ok, different level of density altogether.

swedishmum · 24/03/2008 14:13

We have selective schools and either drastically over-subscribed OK school or rubbish schools. In fact we're miles from any sec schools here so pretty far down in pecking order for places. Also poor transport as we live in the country. The price we pay for open fields I guess. Dds are at grammar school 10 miles away - nearest appropriate school. Mind you, even primary is 4 miles.

kritur · 26/03/2008 14:21

In contrast I live in Trafford borough which has some of the best results in the country. However, it is a borough which still has the 11+ and the secondary moderns are generally pretty good (get good results for their intake, lots of vocational options and training). There are also a few independent schools around , more towards manchester city and altrincham/cheshire. The house prices here are pretty expensive though.

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