Any parent feedback on Haberdashers Borough / Westminster City / Oasis South Bank / Holland Park School?

[HM492]

I'm currently looking at schools in central London for my DS for Y7 September 26 intake. None of the schools are perfect (to be expected) and all of them have things that I like and things that I worry about. I'd love any current or recent former parent (or teacher or student!) feedback on the following schools as I can't find much pre-existing for these schools on here (apart from Holland Park and a lot of that is old):

Oasis South Bank (love the small intake, headteacher and great results but building is tiny, no outdoor space and it feels like they are on the stricter side?)

Haberdasher's Borough Academy (love the arts and sports provisions and the number of subjects on offer and it's very close to us, worried about rumours of children behaviour and they have a terrible progress 8 score)

Westminster City (my son liked this school, and I liked the kids we met and thought the head came across well but am concerned about it being a boys school and also that the subject options are limited and less arts focussed than other schools we've seen)

Holland Park (amazing grounds and building and impressive results but didn't see much joy and liveliness in the classrooms as I went around and have heard they are very pushy with the children and v much favour high achievers over middle/lower set children)

These are just my opinions from the open days, all of which have been during school hours so feel as if I have had a good shot at seeing them in action - however you only get such a short time there and everyone is on best behaviour so I would really appreciate any feedback on any of these schools from people who know them better than I do! Thanks in advance.

Following because I'm looking at most of these too. You could also look at Pimlico Academy - I liked it when I looked round.

My concerns on the schools are similar to yours but I did really like Oasis.

@SwallowsandAmazonians that's interesting - I had heard Pimlico had really declined in recent years (my partner's niece graduated from there around 8 year's ago and did brilliantly though). I would have considered it but thought we were too far out for it tbh. Oasis and Haberdashers are our most local ones, and I think I'm slightly swaying towards the latter just because my son is very arty and musical and the provisions for those are better at Habs but I also liked Oasis much more than I was expecting to so am now v conflicted...

My son just started at WCS and is very happy. i shared concerns about it being a boys school, but he has found it quite freeing and often expresses that he loves being 'just the boys'. Happy to answer any specific questions you have.

As far as the other schools you mentioned, we didn't look at Holland Park, but had the same feelings about Oasis. Loved the staff and the ethos, but the building is small and quite depressing.

We live very near to Habs and can hear the kids coming and going from the school and it's always really rowdy. My impression of the school is that they need a few more years to get organised, it felt a bit chaotic and unstructured when we visited.

WCS is very structured and lays out the expectations from the boys early on, some might find them 'strict' but to be honest I think (for my son anyway) when the boundaries are clear, he is more calm, and I can see it by the way he has settled into the school very quickly and easily. He often says the boys are really kind and he likes all of his teachers so far. I do agree about the arts - my son is really into performing arts, so we make sure he is doing it outside of school as they have very limited offerings in that regard.

@MandJa thank you so much, this is really thoughtful feedback. I've sent it on to friends who are also considering WCS.

Just an an update here for other parents who might find the thread at a later time - I've now had some really detailed feedback on Habs Borough from a current parent. Her son really likes it, he tells her that the other kids have been very nice and welcoming and seem to go out of their way to look out for each other. He has formed a nice group of friends. He also says that the teachers are caring and pay attention to individual students' well being, as well as managing to keep even the lower set classes calm spaces for learning. Being a new school they have good provisions / a new building etc and that there is a certain energy to prove themselves. The senior leadership have always been very responsive when the parents have reached out to them. The mum said there can be difficult behaviour from a small minority, as in any inner city school, but it has not got in the way of her son's positive experience there.

Another friend of a friend, with a younger child at the school, tells me that they also love it.

If I get any feedback on the other schools I mention here, I will continue to update the thread!

@MandJa great to here about Westminster City. It’s my son’s favourite and has been since we visited open day 2 years ago.

Does your son go to school himself? The commute for us is straightforward either a bus or the train. Basically door to door. Even though this would be the same for any school, arriving at Victoria seems more scary.

does anyone have insight as to why haberdashers borough’s progress 8 score is so poor?

Is it because their GCSE results weren't great? I'm not sure what goes into the number.

It's not straightforwardly based on GCSE results - that's the attainment 8 score (and on that score Habs Borough is slightly above national average). The progress 8 score is, I think, an indicator of how much progress children make at a school so takes into account how much a child has progressed at a secondary school since leaving primary at Key Stage 2 (compared to other similar level students at schools nationally). As this score uses children's SATs results there are no up-to-date Progress 8 scores for any schools (based on the results of the most recent GCSE cohort) and there won't be an updated one next year either because of Covid.

The Progress 8 score from 23/24 however IS below average at Habs Borough and I honestly don't know how much I should be taking this in consideration (next to the great anecdotal feedback I've had about the school)? As with most stats of this kind, I'm aware that it doesn't give the full story of a school by any means but I am niggled by it. I do know that the current head hasn't been in situ that long - a couple of years possibly? - and have heard from students/parents that he is better than the previous one, so it's possible that his influence might be improving the Progress 8 score but we just can't see that yet (hoping that might be the case because based purely on the open day I like the school, and my son is a fan...)

Would also love some feedback on Holland Park from any current parents... my DS has been shortlisted for the art scholarship but I'm still not completely sold on it & majority of the comments I've seen about the school on here have not done anything to change my mind thus far...

I live near the Oasis South Bank school, and the kids are incredibly well behaved on the local buses. Like noticeably better than the other schools. Not sure that’s worth much, but it makes the bus ride better!

I have had two at Holland Park - one left a couple of months ago and the other in 2023. Both were there from years 7-11 inclusive. I have to say I would not recommend it - the atmosphere is cold and corporate. Plus it was an exam factory - constant testing etc. My two were glad to leave! They did well there but dreaded going to school.

Thank you, this is very informative - and yes, that's basically the vibe I had when I went around the school and also what I've read on other threads here too.

Yes he goes by himself. There are a lot of boys on his bus route and he is almost never alone. It is also a very straightforward bus, I went with him for about three or four days at the beginning of the term before he was confident to go by himself. Very few boys are actually local to the area, most of them bus or tube in from elsewhere.

I've had 2 DCs at Oasis. Brilliant head, exceptionally dedicated and responsive staff, v low staff turnover (teachers are v committed to the school and students), excellent results (they have rigorous systems in place to prep kids for exams). DC2 is now in 6th form at the kind of school middle class parents fight to get into - teaching isn't a patch on OASB. On negative side, it is strict and the facilities are limited, though they make the best out of the surrounding area - eg PE in local parks and gyms.

Thanks everyone for the feedback - it's been reassuring to hear these positive experiences, and also to hear parent feedback that rings true with my own impressions of these schools from visiting them.

My son is also at Westminster City and I fully agree - a very well-run and positive school with engaged teachers and well behaved kids.

Hey there,
I'm late to the conversation but, I just wanted to add my experience so far. My son is currently in year 7 and our experience is good. We love the opportunities that my son are exposed to. I'm aware of the music program (instrument and choir) available and it sounds very good.

We also appreciate the lessons being learnt as a result of their discipline and support structure that's in place.

Communication with staff has been good too, which is reassuring for me.
WCS was first choice for me and my husband but, second choice for my son as he thought he'd prefer a mixed gender school at first.

When it was confirmed that he had a place at WCS, we were elated. When we visited, we got a good feeling about the school and the interactions since with staff, from the reception to teachers, confirmed it for us.

From the four schools we visited, the experience we had with WCS came up at the top of the list.

I hope this helps?

Hi, I just wanted to ask what school you went for and if you got a place where you wanted?
We applied for Oasis and Haberdashers too and got a place at Haberdashers. I would have preferred Oasis but it seems difficult to get a place there!

We got Haberdashers, which was our second choice (Kingsdale was our first). I really, really liked Oasis but it didn't feel that it was quite the right fit for my son - Haberdasher's had a stronger art, sport and music provision, its super close for us, I'd had some positive feedback from current parents and my son also had a strong preference for it over Oasis so it made sense for us to put it higher on the application. We're happy to have got it (although we live so close I would have been very shocked if we hadn't) but I'm sorry you didn't get Oasis if that was your preference. It obviously has a smaller intake than a lot of secondaries so I guess it must be tricky to get a place there if you don't live super close. Have you asked about the waiting list? You might find you get offered a place that way before September.