Comparing schools in Worcestershire

[HelloBello2024]

Good Morning!
we will be relocating back to the UK this summer having been expats for 15 years mainly in the Middle East.
we will be moving to Worcestershire but don’t yet have a fixed address yet,I’ve been looking for good state schools in and out of Worcester and my husband recently had a look at Christopher Whitehead language school in Worcester and The Chase school in the Malvern.He liked them both but i’de like to get some feedback from parents who have children in these schools please and what would be nice areas to live in to access these schools.Thanks :)

Hi there - don't know these schools at all, sorry, but depending on the age of your child(ren) you may not have any choice of schools. The LA has to provide you with a school space once you have an address and apply, but it will be at a school with spaces - so probably not a popular, well-rated one.

No harm in finding out about which schools you would prefer of course, and you can go on waiting lists and appeal for them. Just wanted to flag it in case you did not know.

Obvs if your child is in primary now and you will be applying for a year 7 place as normal in October 2024 for Sept 2025 then ignore this!

Hi there,I managed to get around that and was offered a place at Christopher whitehead for my daughter Going into year 7 this September,it was the number one choice for us as it’s a language school.
just looking for feedback on the schools mentioned.

Ah ok ignore me then! Sounds like you're well sorted 👍

we will be moving to Worcestershire but don’t yet have a fixed address

Intrigued as to how you 'managed to get around' this - returning Crown Servant / Armed Forces?Unless the school was undersubscribed for the coming September, in which case, the place would have to be offered without any 'getting around' actually needed.

Where will you/ your dh be working? The problem with a Malvern school is you need to be living/working on that side of the river as otherwise it can be a right PITA in the winter, especially getting into Worcester.
Hanley Swan school is supposed to be excellent to throw another into the mix

The gcse results are very poor for CW. Only 38% of students get a good pass in English/maths. https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=default&table=schools&region=885&geographic=la&for=secondary&orderby=ks4.0.PTL2BASICS_95&orderdir=asc

@HelloBello2024 , did your husband actually visit the schools or look online. You need to be aware that the reason you have been offered a place without a U.K. address is because the school isn't full for Year 7 in Sept. It may be your only option anyway but you need to focus on it's position in the table posted above.

https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2024-02/x_high_schools_allocation_day_statistics_2024.pdf

Christopher Whitehead is described as 'Not oversubscribed' as of National Offer Day this year. The Chase was oversubscribed, if only by a few on-time applicants.

I know you have mentioned the language school aspect, does that mean much in real terms? I thought most of those school specialisms had gone a while ago, and looking at Christopher Whitehead’s website they only do one language in key stage 3, the only specialism seems to be that one language offered is mandarin. From my local knowledge it isn’t one that is particularly sought after as a school.
Although my child didn’t end up going there I really liked the Chantry and it has a very good reputation, however it is normally oversubscribed so may be difficult to get into for this September

That is disappointing I have to say…The chase did slightly better at 45% gaining a Grade 5 Mark.

I didn’t mention I have a son who will be going into year 10 and he wanted to take Spanish GCSE,I didn’t think many schools offered Spanish as an option in the UK..which it what drew me to Christopher Whitehead.
I had looked at the Chantry Online but I think the location was a bit remote for us.

He visited both schools and liked them both,it seems that The Chase does better academically at GCSE level and I have heard that the Sixth form is excellent there. So I need to look into more in terms of location.

Hi op wrt Spanish, lots more schools offer it than (say) 10 years ago. It's on the up but German is going down, sadly.

With a year 10 student I suggest going with what's available, as moving in year 10 is best avoided so WL places are much less likely.

So, have you applied for and been offered places for both DC at Christopher Whitehead? As a late applicant for main round entry and a mid-year applicant, your DC will only be offered places straight away at schools which are undersubscribed in their year groups. For year 10 entry, choice of optional subjects may be restricted if next year's classes have already been filled by pupils currently in year 9 having submitted their choices; this is even more likely for a move once the academic year has started, another reason for not moving at that stage, unless completely unavoidable, even to a 'better' school.

I think Spanish has become more common, it may be worth getting in touch with any schools that are possibilities and asking them what opportunities there are. I think most schools will have already done year 9 options for next school year so may have an idea if they’d have a space for Spanish if they offer it.
I can understand the location being an issue for the Chantry, it is a bit middle of nowhere!
In terms of GCSE results, I wouldn’t get too hung up on those in isolation as they are in part a function of the intake, especially if a school isn’t oversubscribed so there is no element of indirect selection based on where you live

Thanks for that,I was already asked what my son’s choices for GCSEs would be,even before we were accepted into the school so I do feel like they have been very helpful on that front.
On another note,we were told that school absences were quite high at 30% since the Pandaemic,is that normal?

I think you need to go back to square one and look at GCSE results for the secondary schools in the areas that you’re interested in. It seems odd that your husband visited a school having not checked its GCSE results first. There’s a huge amount of data on every state school on gov.uk.

That’s good if you know the GCSE options will be ok, it’s a hard age to come into a school. On the absences, there has been a big impact on attendance post Covid, but 30% sounds incredibly high - as a comparison my son’s high school said their attendance was 89% last academic year having been 93-94% pre Covid.

To add to that, the national average last year was just under 91% apparently

Yeh 30% absence is very very high.

Tbh tho it might be this this school is the only one with spaces for your DC. If that's the case (you can find out) then I would advise going on waiting lists for any better schools for your younger child. But I would reiterate that IMO it's a good idea to stick with where your yr 10 child starts if that makes sense - even if a place came up at a better school, once he is started on his GCSE courses it's not a good plan to move, unless the school is really poor I guess (bullying or violence for example).

Sorry that is seems odd to you but having been expats for the last 15 years,we are not familiar with applying for schools in the UK.Hence why I joined this forum for useful and helpful information.

Christopher Whitehead doesn't have a great reputation and they had that strange business with removing the mirrors in the girls toilets and replacing them with motivation posters which made the national news and may have put people off.
You may get more up to date info on local Facebook groups for high school admissions.
I wouldn't pay too much attention to the language college bit as that's something schools had to do and doesn't make that much difference day to day.

@HelloBello2024 I’d definitely choose The Chase over Chrissie Whitehead. It’s streets ahead, in a much more desirable area and better facilities.
But even better are Hanley Castle or John Masefield, both are smaller than The Chase and have good reputations.