Sacred Heart high school - Hammersmith

[Nkmama15]

Hello

i I can’t find much regarding Sacred Heart online. The infor I can find is either people love it or it’s an awful bully environment.

does anyone have their daughter and have any feedback??

thanks!

Former parent here - sadly wouldn’t recommend the school any more as the current head and her predecessor have not been great imo. Dr Carpenter ran it well but after she left so did many of the best and most dedicated teachers, this plus cuts in funding mean that I wouldn’t consider it now.

Thank you for this. Could you provide more information on what the issues are now ?

Bumping for further insights , feedback - the good , bad …

the general vibe from the girls ? Etc

Hi there, dont agree at all with the criticism.
I now have both my daughters there and although it has its flaws like any other secondary school (and Ive been in the sector for long!), I would still recommend it.Its even gotten much better with my second one.
I feel that Sacred Heart High School has truly flourished in recent years, not only academically but also pastorally.
The current PTFA has helped build a wonderful sense of community, creating strong connections between parents, teachers, and students. This partnership makes the school feel both supportive and ambitious, with everyone working together for the best outcomes.
Also I would say that the school continues to grow under its current leadership (in my opinion much better than the last one), with a clear focus on academic excellence, student wellbeing, and personal growth.
Their sixth form is now also thriving, offering excellent opportunities and preparing students well for the next stage of their education and beyond.
So overall I would say that Sacred Heart does stand out as a school that nurtures, challenges, and inspires its students.
Had also heard bad ullying things from 10 years ago, but can say that the past 5 years have gone great for us and the families I know there.
Happy to give more info. JUst DM.

Thank you!

I got a nice vibe from the school but there is so little online about it. Feels like a nice ‘all rounder’ school.

I'm glad to hear it's improved @marymonte ! The interaction with PTA was horrific when my daughters were there under the previous head. The current one was an acolyte of the previous when I was there, it's good she's making a positive impact.

Re general vibe from the girls, @Nkmama15 my daughters made lovely friends there, that was never an issue.

My alma Mater a longtime ago now ( in Sister Carpenter's time) It has beautiful buildings and we were given a lot of freedom and responsibility. It was miles apart compared to the experience of some secondary schools now.

I went on the tour and the new buildings and facilities were good. Better than some I’ve seen . The old building is old but charming .
the girls all were nice and seem to actually enjoy school . For an inner city school - it was nice.

We had the PTFA AGM yesterday. Lots of parents came, great sense of community. All very engaging. Yes the buildings are old but thats what we are fundraising for. Weve already redone the Chapel, Gardens, courtyard and netball court thanks to school and parents. The teachers at SHHS are excellent as you can see from the results the school has had in most recent years. Think it was lagging behind on the pastoral side and community side of it when we first started, but its improved a lot in the past 5 years I would say. I even dare to say that it seems my eldest started out at a different school from my youngest... Thats how much the school has changed in terms of behaviour and social side ;) I do think that the academic side was never an issue for anyone who has had a daughter there.

I really like the school - as does my daughter. It’s more I’m surprised it’s never spoken about compared to LMS or GCG and wondered why this was…

You´re absolutely right and I have given this feedback lots of times to the school, makes no sense and doesn´t do it justice...

Also, I wondered if you can provide any information on the performance centre ? I saw on the website this super duper performance centre but the girls on the tour didn’t know anything about …

It´s been on hold since the pandemic waiting for the council´s approval. It´s taken 5 year for H&F to reply to the school, which is frankly shocking. They will finally have an answer next month. But there are new Governors in place who, with the school, will need to decide if it´s still a priority - bearing in mind that the costs have gone up the roof since quotes were last presented. So even if it is approved I think it will still be a long process until we see the new building up.

Ah that’s helpful to know! Would be a shame if didn’t go ahead as would be incredible for the girls to have a proper drama studio etc .
so many schools do not focus on - could also be a political things between state and church schools for LA. Drama and dance seems to be something state schools use as their selling point…

fingers crossed doesn’t get trashed! It’s really one of the things I have been looking for in schools - my daughter is very active in drama/dance/singing .

went to see LMS. The facilities are OK, the site is very small. The girls seem happy and confident. Only concerns with SH is the girls all seem sacred to step out of line , with schools like LMS or Marylebone , they seem to encourage the girls to be more free thinking and less strict to allow the girls to act more authentically.
Does that make sense to you?

my daughter still prefers SH and there is a good chance she will get due to feeder school/ all paperwork in place etc .

Makes perfect sense! What I can tell you is that at SH they encourage a lot the performing arts. There are incredible drama, music and arts departments - all very stable with heads of department that have been there for several years and very active. Lots of plays and also an enrichment club that has many things. You can check it here if you are curious about it: https://www.sacredhearthigh.org.uk/_site/data/files/documents/D3DC2243DA78021EDF4447420A576231.pdf?pid=95

Some girls do leave in sixth form to go to Marylebone (not LMS) as they really focus on performing arts at that stage in that school and have scholarships. Thats another option for you later on. Yes, SH has many rules and its strict but that doesnt mean they dont nourish the creative side of thinking. Its more about the atittude. Hope it helps!

I taught at SH for quite a few years. Wonderful school, I wouldn’t even hesitate to send my daughter there.