Secondary schools in Wandsworth Clapham Chelsea ?

[Melonjuice]

Hello, my child has one year left in primary school. We live in the borough of Wandsworth ( Battersea end) and I’m so confused about what secondary school to send her to.
we are very close to schools in Clapham Chelsea and of course Battersea
I would prefer a Catholic school but it’s not a requirement
I haven’t heard good things about St John Bosco and I was wondering whether anyone had sent their child to St Thomas Moore in Chelsea or Elms/ Bolingbroke Academy in Clapham ?

John Bosco is a great school the Head is amazing. They are strict and it shows.

Bolingbroke is awful, terrible bullying.

Hurlingham Academy across Wandsworth Bridge on Fulham is great

we live near Bolingbroke, and we are in one of the feeder schools, I would also say that bullying is rife, and it is very rigid as a school, very focused on behaviour management and bending children to the school ethos, they catchment is wide so that is probably why.
Saint Cecilia is meant to be very nurturing, Chesnut Grove has improved tremendously.
Graveney : if your child is prepared to sit an exam to join the selective stream,

you need to look at admissions policies though for each specific school.

Chestnut Grove also requires the Wandsworth Test, but for the purposes of fair banding,not to offer placeses based on academic ability. It also offers places based on aptitude for Art and (separately) for MFL.

(But no, sorry, I don't know anything about the school other than the name is often mentioned so I had a squint at its admissions policy).

If you have the church attendance would you consider Grey Coat hospital? it’s a bit further than the areas you mention & CofE but they offer ‘other Christian’ places.

What about La Retraite? You could always look at Ursuline in Wimbledon too.

Hello neighbour 🙋🏽‍♀️
We also live in Battersea with a year 5 child. We are also looking at secondary schools.

We had a student give us a school tour of Hurlingham Academy today. I have to say we were pleasantly surprised by the size of the school. They layout was nice and the atmosphere was calming and welcoming.
We had some people mentioned the noise of students when leaving or hanging around the school, but considering this was an unplanned impromptu visit there was absolutely nothing that stood out as questionable.
If anything, we went in not sure and came out very sure to keep it in our top 2.

We visited The Chelsea Academy in May. This one was very high on my list too, from some reviews and the schools website. But there were things I noticed around the school that didn’t feel right.
They hold 2 open days for prospective students but only for the parents. This one a planned open day with the Headteacher showing us around. She was constantly picking litter from the floor or correcting students uniforms.
I asked about mobile phone use, she seemed unbothered. Her view was phones are used by everyone, as long as they are not seen or heard. Then she said mentioned students having whatapp groups that can cause tension in the school! Ermmm… I don’t know if she’s living under a rock but even my sons primary school has put interventions in place after the tv show Adolescence.
That just put me off there and then. I didn’t get a good feeling at the school and that’s my personal opinion. This school is off our list permanently.

I’m shocked to hear about the bullying at Bolingbroke. It was going to be in my top choice.
I haven’t been to visit yet but we have booked to see it in October. The schools performance scores are great.

I was looking at Chestnut Grove. I’m in two minds as I’ve read there is a lot of bullying there from different reviewers online.

I’m keen to know what other schools people are recommending. We are thinking of moving to Kingston as there are a good few outstanding secondary state schools with sixth form.

OP, what do you mean by Battersea end? Battersea square? Power station? Queenstown road? Are you looking to move or to stay put for secondary?

Unlike other councils, Wandsworth published the admission results of each school, including how much the waiting lists moved from March to September, so you'll find plenty of information online.

St John Bosco and Harris Battersea are both undersubscribed. Many people think that's because it attracts many families from very rough council estates nearby, and the environment is rough.

Chestnut Grove in Balham is considered a very good school, but you're unlikely to get in based on distance; you might have a chance based on the art or language specialist tests.

Graveney in Tooting: your child needs to do well in the Wandsworth test - no chance by distance.

Ashcroft Technology in East Putney is likely too far, but they have a specialist technology test. I'd never send my child there. The ethos is very similar to Holland Park, Mossbourne etc. There is strict but fair, and there is batshit crazy; a headteacher who gives you a detention if you cycle to school falls in the latter category. I'm not making it up, look it up online, you'll see it on their policies.

Hurlingham in Fulham doesn't have a 6th form. Would you have got in by distance?

Harris Wimbledon has a specialist test for music.

Have you looked into St Cecilia in Southfields? Some religious places, and some places based on a music test (harder and more thorough than the Harris Wimbledon one)

Bolingbroke is almost impossible to get in unless you come from a feeder school. I think no one has been admitted from a non-feeder school for 3-4 years, but you can look up the details on line.

If you are close to Lambeth, bear in mind that Lambeth has many, many undersubscribed secondary schools. Harris Clapham is probably the closest to you.

I cannot tell you much about religious schools, other than mentioning St Cecilia.
It is an utter disgrace that in this country ca 1/3 of state schools are religious, and that everyone's tax money is used to prioritise those who say they are religious in the provision of such a crucial service as education. Shame on those who support this travesty of public service!
Imagine if healthcare worked like this; imagine if 1/3 of hospitals gave priority to those who are religious, despite being funded by everyone's tax money! We wouldn't accept that bs with healthcare, why do we accept it with education??

@nushi "I was looking at Chestnut Grove. I’m in two minds as I’ve read there is a lot of bullying there from different reviewers online"

Could I ask you to elaborate? That's not what I have heard.
It seems the school was very rough 20 years ago, but the improvement must be a combination of the area gentrifying + the school accepting 60 out of 210 students based on specialist tests, which practically makes the school partially selective.

If it helps, one of my children went to Burntwood and did really well there. She’s now 26, so our knowledge is a bit out of date. Lots of her friends went to Chestnut Grove, which was just on the turn to being a desirable school.

Burntwood is a girls only school which, like Graveney (which instead is co ed) allocates some places (60 out of 240) based on the Wandsworth test.
However, unlike Graveney, it's been undersubscribed for a few years.

I don't know if the OP is considering single sex schools or not.

If you want Catholic, surely you’ll look at La Retraite.

There are also more local forums, like Nappyvalleynet, and local Facebook groups where the OP can also ask for feedback

Girls schools: Burntwood is a good school, Le Retraite if you are Catholic and you could try Marylebone and Grey Coat (CofE but both offer other places too eg. Grey Coat offers language places). Mixed schools: Chestnut Grove is seen as pretty desirable.

Thanks for all the advice all , sorry for coming back to post late, I was thinking of la retraite but it’s a bit awkward to get to on the bus from us ( I live near the power station ) it would require two buses and a walk
im trying to keep it down to one bus . I also don’t particularly want a same sex school . I went to one ( burntwood) and was shy like my daughter and had a tough time interacting with boys in my teen years , maybe that’s just me though ?
I’m shocked to hear about Bolingbroke - didn’t know that is a lot of bullying there
i went to burntwood but it’s too far - I still live in the same area and it would take up to an hour or more if there was traffic , so looking for schools in Battersea or Chelsea or the junction side of Clapham , schools in Tooting or that side of Wandsworth borough are a little too far to get to by bus because of the horrendous morning traffic , I’ve not considered Harris because I’ve heard it’s not a good school however the exam results look good ?
greycoats in Westminster is a good option but I heard it’s very hard to get into, my daughter has discalcula ( sorry if that’s spelt incorrectly!) although she’s excellent at English I fear that would prevent her entry - will try though
I would still like to hear about st Thomas Moore if anyone knows anything about it !
so far I’ve still no idea ☹️

If you’re not keen on a single sex school, Grey Coat won’t be for you as it’s a girls school.

Where do the children from your current primary school tend to go?
Is Balham/Tooting not accessible via tube or train from you?

I have two children in secondary school age at the moment and both in different schools, one is in St John bosco and she is ok there so far she has done good and is doing very well in sixth form, she is very different to my other child she can talk and express herself to the teachers if she has issues and will tell me and I will communicate with the teachers and they have sorted it out quickly. The other child is in Chelsea academy also very good fit for that child as they are more shy and struggle more. I have had no issues with phone and they are not allowed to use it unless the teacher has asked them to log into there school classroom from it. Also the school is very clean and my child says that there school lunches are amazing really nice which is strange to say about school lunches as

@Angieang87 May I ask what you mean when you say that Chelsea Academy suits a shy child more?

Also, I notice that the overall results at St John Bosco aren't great, with ca half the kids not passing GCSE English and Maths https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/school/135762/saint-john-bosco-college/secondary/results-by-pupil-characteristics

Some people say that this is a function of the intake, that other schools admit fewer children on free school meals and with low SATs at Y6, but that if your child is in the top set at Bosco they'll do well. Is this your view, too?

One thing I liked about Bosco is that students must put their phones in pouches which only the school can unlock (so they cannot use them in the bathrooms, unlike in other schools).

Also, may I ask if you looked into Harris Battersea at all?