High free school meals percentage - how does this affect the school?

[ElizabethTaylor17]

Hello. I am starting looking at secondary schools for my daughter for a 2027 start. We live near the Wandsworth / Merton border in SW London.

Looking at the free school meals numbers for the schools we are in catchment for, they are around 26-32% which compares to her primary school where the figure is 10%.

The 25-30% figure is similar to my own secondary school where I was bullied for trying hard / wanting to succeed at school and for being “posh” (I’m not!)

I know there will be a range of children from each background who want to work hard. But obviously my own experience colours the decisions I might make for my own children.

For those of you at schools with these levels of FSM, how have you found the experience?

Thank you

@teacupzs I don't want them to have a load of uni debt & god knows what it will cost when they have to go. Plus I want to give them housing deposits and I don't want to have to work well into my 60s

I agree with you: I'd rather help the children financially after 18 than before (ie with a private secondary). I need to choose, because I cannot do both, and I choose the latter.

Also, it's not just how much a family earns now, but about the odds of that income not changing for a decade. Many jobs which pay £££££ are highly unstable and subject to ageism. You may earn £200k at 37 but there is no guarantee you'll continue to earn that money for the next decade.

However, all these points have always applied, even before VAT, yet many families seem to have a different view, so who knows.

Absolutely - will do my best to figure out PMs!