CLFS City of London Freeman’s School: latest experience please!

[beeforest]

We’re considering CLFS year 7 entry for DS (deadline March!). He seemed to really like it and we’ve been seriously considering sending him there. While searching for parents’ feedback online I came across a 2022 thread here about all the horrible bullying, racism and sexism going on there and to be honest now I’m both afraid and confused! CLFS website says they have 15% of pupils coming outside of Uk (part of their diversity claim) and they also seem keen to recruit international students, I’m trying to understand how this sits with those terrifying experiences in the thread. My DS is of mixed race background so racism is a major concern for us to consider. Any honest feedbacks and insights from parents there would be greatly appreciated. Please help!

hi did u get any info on CLFS?

Hi @beeforest

Do you mind sharing whether you decided on Freemans at all as we are also considering the school for our DD but are unsure due to the lack of any recent parent feedback on this forum?! Would be really helpful to know what you decided.

As a recent parent my DCs had a great time and the school is quite diverse… or as diverse as a school in North Surrey can be. I never heard of any recent issues with racism. I think the major downside is if your child does face problems as much as the staff can try to help, the children all share very similar personalities and therefore those who find themselves on the outside of groups might feel quite isolated. On the whole as quite a small school it’s got a strong sense of community and in my DC’s years there never seemed to be any major blowouts or drama that I would have considered unusual or poorly managed. If you’re looking at seniors, the head of seniors Ms Blair is honestly a gem of a teacher and brilliant at dealing with those rocky teenage years. Some people have had very different experiences of the school of course but on the whole mine has and continues to be very good.

Thank you for sharing your experience! Really appreciate it.