North London Secondary state for my DS

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Hello dear mums.
I am beginning to worry about our school choices for our son(8). We live near islington town centre and so trying to narrow down possible secondary choices for him is difficult.
He is into math, arts and music. Not very competitive and tends to play with girls mostly. He can feel overwhelmed in loud, rowdy places.
The local secondaries are all challenging with bullying, gang activities and poor behaviour. Ofcourse I worry about him being picked at in secondary or not being able to find friends. We are not close to SMM to get accepted by distance and passing the test is making me anxious. We do not have a back up plan at the moment.

Could anyone recommend state schools in north London that is largely middle class. I know Fortismere and Alexandra Palace are considered to be good performing with good behaviour but maybe things are changing? Are there any new schools that are starting to attract middle class parents in the area?

We are considering moving to be closer to the school although not sure how we would do that with owning a property.

Any advise or personal experience would be appreciated.

CFBS is a tough school with poor behaviour (and a matching zero tolerance behaviour policy), poor communication (don't expect teachers to ever reply to emails) and average results. It does well at percentage getting 9-4 at GCSE but only 60% get 5 GCSEs at 9-5 which is not comparable to SMMA, Fortismere or APS who average around 75/80% at this level. On the plus, the building and sports are amazing but it definitely is not a gentle or nurturing school although it is a lot better than Highbury Grove or any of the other City of London academies. If I was you, I would move next door to SMMA, APS or Fortismere. Of all three, SMMA is my favourite and definitely worth the effort. Dame Alice Owen is near impossible to get into even if your child is a genius.

I agree with @winterrabbit I've lived in Islington for almost 20 years and I know about 1 or 2 families who managed to get into DAO. And that required intensive tutoring etc.
If you are religious/at a faith primary then you can get into SMMA on a slightly wider catchment but still need to be within a 1 mile I think.
APS is getting v popular now so would check catchments in recent years before moving.
Honestly for boys it's pretty tough in Islington! Some of us gave up and went private

I know quite a few Islington families get into DAO - and the kids weren’t wildly academic, nor off the scale musically talented. Yes they were bright… but those same kids tried for super selective privates (City/Westminster/Highgate etc) and didn’t get offers, but they did for DAO.

They were tutored yes, but all the kids in other boroughs trying are also being tutored! Islington still carries an advantage…

How recent was that? I know literally one child who got into DAO and loads who got into super selectives or grammars. The 20 kids includes siblings from Islington so in reality the numbers available can be way fewer that that. Even for the brightest kids is a very remote possibility.

@winterrabbit - 4 families in the past 5 years. Most recent Islington child I know of tried for DAO and Highgate. Didn’t get a Highgate offer, but did get through to DAO on an academic place.

Complete opposite to my experience. I know 3 kids in DS's year who got offers from Highgate and none got offers from DAO.

@winterrabbit - different year groups and different schools will have different outcomes.

But my point was for the OP - they live in Islington and if their son is musical and/or reasonably bright, they stand a chance of getting in, so worth a shot. As other posters have pointed out, there are other good options for Islington kids - both private and state - and lots of families are (understandably) put off by the journey to and from Potter's Bar each day. So that all helps ultimately narrow down competition for those 20 places.

It does seem that certain Islington parents love to go on and on about how 'impossible' it is to get in to this school - and I don't think that's particularly helpful or true, so...

For what it's worth, my own anecdotal evidence is also that loads of very bright kids from Islington do not get into Dame Alice Owen, whereas they get into Westminster or City. Of course, most of them would not choose it over these other schools, and they just sit it for practice.

They go on about it because it's true. A reasonably bright child will not get into DAO. I know more kids who got into Latymer than DAO. The 20 places for Islington kids is misleading. In reality there are far less due to siblings and only the very very best will get through. Based on the what the OP has said, I don't think she should factor this is as an option as it really isn't. Is she said her child was exceptionally gifted, I would still say it's a bit of a lottery. I say this as someone who thought my bright/top set kids would get into this school, and other grammars, and they didn't, neither did loads of other very smart kids. The average in most state schools seems to be 1-3 per year. I don't know where you are based or what school you're referring to that gets more kids than that in?

Also, I think most posters, and the general consensus, is that there are not many good state or private options in Islington at all. SMMA is the only decent option and that's also very difficult to get into and there is only one private school that is not great. I completely disagree, as an Islington parent, that we have great options. There are much better options in Haringey or Camden.

There are two decent choices for girls, Highbury Fields and EGA. But it’s a bit grim for boys

To be in with a chance of getting into an over subscribed school you’ll need to be very close to it. To do that you’d need to either sell you current house or let it and rent close to the school.

APS and Fortismere are well regarded and get good results. APS is strict and Fortismere has lots of gossip about drugs and bullying but I have no connection so I don’t know the truth.

Wren Academy in Finchley and Ashmole academy are also get good results. Wren has the added bonus of being near The Compton School which is outstanding so a bonus choice there.

Obviously there are selective / grammar schools but if tests are stressing you out then it’s probably not the right path for you. Almost every child who takes those tests will be coached or tutored.

No state school will totally ‘middle class’ but you can tell by looking at house prices around the school how rich parents have to be to stand a chance of getting their kid into it. I think Fortismere would win this!

Fortismere isn't that well regarded locally. Largely the top set that gets the good results, big drug issues, pastoral care poor. Downgraded at last Ofsted.

Surely it’s always the top set that gets the good results, by definition?

yes but the difference very pronounced, more so than in other schools

To the point that in year 6 in Tetherdown, those who aren't tutoring for grammar/private, are tutoring to get into the top set in Fortismere..............

The 20 places for Islington kids at DAO include siblings and cared for children, and maybe children with an EHCP too, so some years the number of actual places available through the test/music are more like 8 or 9. Which is not to say it’s impossible, but you definitely need a plan B!

I know little about CFSB, but I would say that if you’re going to compare the GCSE results with other local schools, remember that boys schools usually have lower results than mixed. I think if you look at school profiles on the gov.uk websites you can see a breakdown of % of 4-9 passes by sex at mixed schools which is a better reflection of how well boys are served/achieve.

Where did you go in the end ?

Fortismere's results are still very good and it's still very well thought of as far as I can tell. A much preferred alternative to Highgate Wood. I couldn't really care less about Ofsted's grading. Hopefully it'll make it less oversubscribed.