Kingsdale opinions - direct experience please

[Wanderlust9]

I know there have been lots of threads about this school but I am only interested in hearing from people who have recent direct experience with the school (last 5 years)

DD wants to go there. She has an EHCP. Will she be put in lowest sets with the worse behave kids and be forgotten about?

I have always been of the impression that this school is good for kids that have a talent: academically, music or sport. Not so good for the rest.

Does the school have a strong discipline? Lots of detentions? Or do they have some freedom?

What is behaviour like?

Does it feel crowded?

What about opportunities for trips? Are they for everyone?

Are the teachers good? Caring? Probably too much to ask for a a school of 3k children.

Thanks in advance.

Bumping

I have one private message but would like to have more opinions please

No direct experience but re your point about lower sets: you can look on Compare School Performance at the gov stats for this school. It has an extremely able intake - more than half of kids are high prior attainers and very few are low prior attainers (a comp intake is normally around 25/50/25 with the 50 being middle attainers; many in london are more like 30 low/50 min/20 high). So from the intake, you can expect that a "low" set at Kingsdale isn't the same as a "low" set at a more representative school.

Check the same website for SEN data; from memory I think it's lower than it might be but don't quote me.

Thank you

Our child is in Year 7 at the moment, and the school have been very supportive to his needs. He has had lots of support from an excellent mentor and his tutor is really good too. They both definitely care. No EHCP though but we’ve been impressed.

Thank you. Glad to hear your child is getting the support he needs.

Opinions vary do much with this school that I don’t know what to think anymore

I have a daughter in year 8 at Kingsdale. Here’s my take...

Pupils are only set at the start of year 8 and then only for Maths, otherwise classes are mixed ability.

Regarding discipline, they are definitely more relaxed than the likes of Harris academies but they do clamp down on bad behaviour. They have a points system for positive and negative behaviour and ‘yellow’ detentions for things like forgetting work books etc, and ‘red’ (i.e. longer) detentions for more serious stuff. Bullying seems to be dealt with swiftly.

Behaviour seems to be like any other comprehensive school, some disruptive kids but most who just get on with their work.

I asked my daughter what her experience is of crowding and she said it didn’t feel crowded to her as break and lunch times are staggered and there are lots of different spaces to hang out in.

Some trips are for everyone, some are a lottery, and some are for the different scholarships. My daughter has been on quite a few day trips in year 7 for a range of subjects and will be going on a 3-day trip to Copenhagen, and possibly a music tour of Europe next year.

I have been quite impressed by the teachers so far. At the last online parents’ evening all the teachers seemed to genuinely know her strengths and weaknesses really well. Some teachers have gone above and beyond with their enthusiasm, and the pastoral support from the heads of learning has been truly amazing.

If your child is creative at all then they will really benefit from the art, music and drama provision which genuinely is outstanding.

Overall I am extremely happy with the school and my daughter loves it there. She is not the most confident of kids but her confidence has really blossomed since she has been there.

Whenever a Kingsdale thread comes up on Mumsnet there is always a lot of negativity from people whose children don’t actually go there but who don’t like the lottery system or the way the school markets itself, or who just didn’t like the open day. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but this does seem to outweigh the feedback from parents whose children are actually at the school.

Ours is a genuinely positive experience but (as with any school) it really does depend on what suits your child. I hope this helps in some way.

Thank you very much. This is very helpful

I would avoid Kingsdale like the plague. Crushes in corridors, awful behaviour, endless turn over of staff so your child will have a million cover teachers. I could go on. I would rather homeschool my child than send them there!

Oh, really? Does your child go there? I have a few friends whose kids attend, and they seem content with the experience. While they don’t describe it as extraordinary, they seem to think it's a decent option overall.

Thank you. What year is your child in.

Opinions vary so much from really good to terrible. I imagine it has to be crowded with so many kids; they keep increasing the numbers every year,

Quoted the wrong one. Assuming your child attended and you had to withdraw them? Or do you work there?

As I mentioned in my previous post, my child doesn’t attend this school, but I have a few friends with children in Year 7. Overall, they like it from an academic perspective. However, there is quite a bit of homework.

Thank you. I quoted the wrong person, was asking the person who posted the negative feedback about Kingsdale

My child actually goes to the school and they haven’t experienced any of this.

Give it time I sure you will

I would like to know if the negative comments are from recent direct experiences?

I knew someone who worked at the school and didn’t speak very well about it; but this was about 10 years ago. Recent experiences seem to have more positive comments; the only thing I heard is that SENCO is overwhelmed and don’t expect much or anything from them.

Honestly I think sencos are overwhelmed in all schools tbqh

My child is in Y10. He loves it, so are his friends. It’s a hit and miss in terms of quality of teaching but overall it’s a positive experience. Lots of after school clubs ( swimming, horse riding, film making, chess, athletics, rugby, football, drama, etc). The heads of school are working very hard and it shows. We have weekly newsletters, monthly parents forums, coffee mornings. Minuses- too many pupils, not enough good teachers. Pluses - easy to find friends, enthusiastic teachers, enthusiastic management, still better than your average state secondary.

Thank you all. The positive comments outweigh the negatives.

The negative comments do not specify whether they have/had a child there or are/were staff so it is difficult to take serious.if they could provide more information that would be helpful,

There's loads of comments on this thread started at about the same time as yours OP:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/secondary/5182290-kingsdale-foundation-school

Likewise - been there nearly 5 years.

I believe the school provides an additional option for those living in areas with limited opportunities, and interest in the school has definitely increased within our community. Personally, I'm not a fan of the scholarship system; my daughter received a scholarship offer but was not granted a place. However, the school clearly stated in their policy that receiving a scholarship does not guarantee admission, so they haven't misled anyone. I'm sure I would feel differently if we were offered a place with the scholarship!

I don't have specific information about the Special Educational Needs (SEN) services within the school, but when I spoke with the Admissions team, they were very cooperative. You might consider requesting a meeting or asking to tour the school to see how they respond. This could give you more insight into their approach.

It feels like people love to hate Kingsdale without any direct experience. Feel free to pm me- I have 2 chidlren at K- the 3rd will join the school in a couple of years. I didn t like my visit of the school, the building felt a bit shabby, I was very worried by the large number of children, but we still went for it - based on feedback from friends attending the school. No regrets. Some parents who chooses a smaller nearbye school complain to me about the lack of opportunity of make friends ( children stay in the same class over the years) . What we like about Kingsdale- 1- staggered entrance/ lunchtime/ breaks: children can enjoy the whole school in smaller groups- with a couple of school years ( never the whole school) + have a free 2 weeks camp with trips & activities for the y7 about to join the school- so they make friends before their 1st day. 2- no set classroom ( but a tutor form), so children can do science with a group and art with different children, by the end of year 7, chidlren are familiar with their whole school year + a large pool of friends. 3- strict, but my children have fun, and love going to school. 4- plenty of activities to choose from 5- after visiting many schools - it feels like the music/ art & science department is superior at Kingsdale comparing to some local private schools. 6- teaching is a bit hit & miss- communication a bit sketchy. But they rely a lot on the children for com & informations, treating them like responsible people. My children are self-motivated and want to do well. + we like the behaviour point system. Someone earlier in the thread mentioned « the acceptance letter » not being a letter- it is an actual letter. So correcting this as well. It’s a mixed school, with respect as core value, LGBT is celebrated, and ecologie- which feels very important for London 2025- My complain is the amount of cars in the area due to the number of private schools. Kingsdale children commute via bikes/foot/ public transport. it looks like a school streets is coming, and a cycling lane. Southwark is trying to make it safer for students, bit slow, but many school parents & residents complained about car traffic. So keeping the students fit, healthy & independent is another plus

Thank you. It does sound like more recent experiences are more positive and perhaps some of the negative may be out of date; what concerns with the negative opinions is that people don’t say whether their children are attending or attended recently so difficult to take seriously.