Move to Highgate Wood School

[Magnificentkitteh]

My dd1 has just started year 10. She's had her names on waiting lists for around a year as was getting increasingly frustrated with her current school/ high rates of absence, turnover and SEN support, and more recently an inability to accommodate her options choices for GCSE. However, after carefully considering the alternative options offered and after her current school managed to rejig things so she can do some options she's reasonably happy with, she decided to stay. I had basically thought we were past the point of no return. I understood the council had reset the waiting lists at the start of term and I hadn't reapplied.

However, they've just emailed me to offer a place at Highgate wood and I'm a bit torn. It's not my dream school, but it feels like it's in a better place than her current school, and is equally local. It's an important year for her and staying where she is has involved a bit of a leap of faith that they'll up their game for the GCSE years. On the other hand moving is an upheaval and another roll of the dice to move.

Her friends are in a similar boat and are considering jumping to a different ship but I don't yet know what they'll decide. She's recently admitted that some of her drive to move schools was about not wanting to be left behind and to steer her own ship. There have also been two recent tragedies at her school which have complicated things emotionally.

I haven't yet told DD about the offer and will obviously be guided by her but just trying to get my head round how to approach it with her. Is it a definite no to moving at this stage, or worth a serious chat with Highgate wood about options, sets etc before making a decision?

I don't know this school but one consideration is whether any GCSE content started in Y9 - if so, check if the exam boards are the same or if she'll be starting from scratch. That has been the biggest challenge friends with DC who have moved at this stage have found and it's tough for kids to play catch up on top of an already full schedule of learning.

Thanks, good point. I think that, or restricted options choices, would be deal breakers but I am not sure if it's worth talking to the school about possibilities or whether I should just apologise and withdraw. I had a chat with her about it and I think she would prefer to stay where she is. She admitted she's finding it hard to think clearly about it as it's been an awful week, but I think that probably itself points towards stability being better.

If her current school is the one I think it might be and you have a chance to move her, I would.

Really? Interesting. Most people seem to counsel against a move at this stage though she had yet more slightly alarming stories from the end of the week. I might have a serious chat tomorrow. Highgate wood haven't contacted me yet so am in the dark about options etc

Most people who don't know her school I mean. It feels so sad as it had such a lot going for it but seems to be in a doom spiral.

Which school from? I’m local too. There’s only one I’d move from, personally. HW is… not great.

Please name the other school! Trying to choose right now, and it's hair-raising not knowing which one is or which ones are doing so badly.

OP, I should add that my comment above comes with the caveat I don't really know what HW is like. I might be guilty of thinking the grass is greener, etc, but you will be able to assess that I guess!

It's Hornsey School for Girls. They still have some very caring teachers and committed parents, but organisationally it's gone from chaotic to disastrous. It makes it quite hard to tell whether she is actually being let down where it actually matters. I don't want to put her through an emotional wringer this close to GCSEs though. I nearly moved her last term to a school in Shoreditch (I had a thread about it, but she decided against it after visiting and after Hornsey sorted out her options at the 11th hour). HGW is in some ways a less good option but a nore familiar one.

I don't know enough about Hornsey Girls to advise- when we last looked at it it was a brilliant school, but schools can change so quickly.
Saying that, I think you'd struggle to find a school in your area that's worse than Highgate Wood. It's non stop strikes and has lots of it's own issues. If Hornsey Girls isn't doing well, I suspect you'll hurt change like for like.
Have you applied for in year places at Heartlands, APS or Parliament Hill?

Interesting, thanks. Yes, we have been on waiting lists for a lot of schools. No hope for parli or APS. Heartlands offered us a place a year ago but it was a flat no from DD for her own reasons. Maybe we will stay put if HGW likely to be similar to HGS. Though that's not great to hear as dd2 also due to start secondary next year.

I’m not sure what I’d do, so sorry, but I’m not sure if this info helps. My DD has just finished GCSEs at a localish school to you. Her primary friends went to all different schools: single sex, mixed comp, church, grammar, high achieving private, takes anyone who can pay private!
What seems to have made the difference in exam results is what help the parents gave (tutoring!) to make up for any school /child/teaching weaknesses. This seems to have made more difference than the natural level of the child and even the school.
It Isn’t a very scientific method, but might it be worth looking at tutoring of one sort but keep her at the same school

I know Hornsey School for Girls but I don’t know Highgate Woods School very well, so it’s hard to compare. However my best guess is that Highgate Wood will be better for academics and SEN support. There are a high number of social problems at Hornsey and not always the best leadership and support for the girls. I would definitely speak with Highgate Wood at least. Whether your dd can make the jump at this stage may depend on how resilient she is and how self motivated but what harm finding out more?

My DD left HSG in the summer at the end of Y11 and I would definitely recommend you move your DD to HW before she gets really stuck into her GCSE studies. We had such high hopes for the school when our DD started but Hornsey is now everything you describe it as – disorganised, chaotic and seemingly indifferent to its many issues. The communication with parents was terrible by the end and there was such a high staff turnover that every subject was impacted. My DD had one friend who had five different teachers for her GCSE subject and the group's low grades reflected that. The SEN provision used to be brilliant but that went downhill too after key staff left. I'm aware of only one of the tragedies you mention, we were informed about it at the end of term – the fact there has been a second one is horrifying. There needs to be change at the very top of the SLT, frankly.

The second "tragedy" isn't in the same category as the first and is definitely no reflection on the school. Don't want to say more as school asked for privacy. Is just something that is making dd's decision even more difficult as she's discombobulated.

Thank god it's not in the same category.

I can see it's a tough call for you and your DD to make, and had we had the same offer at the start of Y10 I think my DD would've wanted to stay put too. But her crucial GCSE years were so impacted by the staffing turnover and poor communication that I wish we had. It's so telling that she and her friendship group are all so happy to have moved on.

That’s such a shame. It’s one I viewed when we were looking for our older child, and I liked the head but I have heard some worrying things. For your younger dd - Fortismere catchment has really opened up. We would have been in it this year and definitely weren’t 3 years ago for our older child. Fortismere has some of its own problems but I do prefer it to HW, and assuming the catchment continues to widen I’ll have that in mind for our youngest.

I have emailed HGW to ask but just tried to talk to DD about it and got my head bitten off. Think I might just drop it because I have a lot going on and don't really have the resilience for a lot of emotional fallout. She's not in the best place either for overlapping reasons. I might consider the tutoring route, though I wonder how kids fit it all in- thanks for the suggestion.

Good luck with it.
DD was tutored for maths via Mathsnasium in MH-I really rate it but it’s not cheap. I’m sure a sixth form student from F could be found. I’d say concentrate on maths and English language- work out what she needs for her next level and plan for that. It doesn’t have to be a big deal fitting it all in-maths I think you probably need to keep at it but you could probably wait for English tilll next year.

Why not look again at Heartlands too if your DD might be open to it (and especially if its closer to you than HSG or HGW)?

My DC attended there. Teachers pretty much all fantastic. Lots of extra curricular. High grades and sixth form of choice achieved.
There is quite a lot of snobbery from the Muswell Hill and Crouch End side of the railway line about the demographics of the student intake but I don't think HSG is particularly posh is it??

One other thought also OP. Depending on quite where you live and what sorts of GCSE grades your DD achieves, APS will be an option for sixth form. The catchment is bigger and as I believe they have expanded the external intake a bit from what it was.

Thank you both. Yes I put heartlands down on the form. It's actually slightly further away but not difficult but DD said no she had heard terrible stories about violence etc. I tried to persuade her that wasn't the case but she was having none of it and I have to be guided by her really as if she moves in a bad frame of mind it just won't work.

She wasn't especially keen on HGW either though and is still ambivalent now. She's very keen on art and she still rates the art department at Hornsey highly. And TBF to Hornsey there are definitely some positives. It's a small school so they are known to the teachers, it's not stupidly strict etc, I like the grounds and general feel.

But yes, she has her sights set on 6th form. She is aiming high and wants to consider places like Camden school for girls and Woodside. Her potential is high - her target grades are very high, but she does have SEN (Autism and ADHD) and her work ethic doesn't always match her ambition. She's a way off target in most subjects but I don't get a lot of feedback about why, or how she could get back on track and it all feels a bit opaque.

To get into CSG for sixth form she “only” needs 6 in maths and English language GCSE and three others. I’m assuming for her those would be fine art and history plus one other. Go all out for those!After that it’s distance and course. I think the sciences go first so if she wanted, say art history and classics and art I’d bet she’d get a place if she has the grades.

It has its issues, doesn’t everywhere, but is great for arts subjects.
La Swap is good too, and the go to for pastoral support.
My daughter attends an art adjacent club and the girls from Hornsey that also attend are always v nice and with great work.

Thank you yes she's also mentioned laswap. It's good to know how it works at csg. I'm hoping that now she's dropped the things she's less keen on she'll find it easier to focus on her remaining subjects. And yes she's more arts and humanities focussed though does like maths. It tends to depend heavily on her relationship with the teacher though.