Only secondary school is bad - what lengths to avoid?

[Curlewwoohoo]

What would you do if the only secondary school your child will definitely get into, sucks? I'm talking disruptive kids, unhappy teachers, ineffective management. Maybe my title was a poor choice as avoiding may not be an option and there might be other ideas to mitigate.

Poster above also named grey coats which is central London. So you got 2 names 😁

I would move in a heartbeat. I got my children into good schools through appeals (with genuine and legitimate reasons). I would go to any lengths feasible to avoid a shit school. Primary is a bit easier but secondary can make or break kids.

I would first of all check that what I thought about the secondary was actually correct. Where do other dc go? How it is a brilliant primary if they all end up in a secondary thats so awful?

My dc go to our catchment high school which was undersubscribed and Ofsted RI. A neighbour told me her dc would only go there 'over her dead body' and lots of other parents tied themselves in knots doing 11+ tutoring, moving house and going to church etc to avoid it.

My dc have thrived. Loads of clubs and sports, good trips and opportunities. The academic high flier got to do additional gcses and took some early (got 9s). They've got lovely friends and have been happy throughout.

There are parents in our village still moving house and then doing big commutes to the primary, paying loads and stressing everyone out over 11+ for a super selective an hour away etc....

The secondary is fine. More than fine.

Parents who wish their children to take the Entrance Examination and/or Musical Aptitude tests must
(a) Ensure that their child’s permanent home address is within one of the Local Priority Areas for the School (listed on
page 4 of this document) or that their child is educated within the London Borough of Islington at the closing date
for test registration.
(b) Ensure that their child is available to sit the tests on the dates detailed above.
(c) Complete the Test Registration Form which will be available on the Admissions Section of the school website (from
the date above) and submit it to the School no later than the closing date for test registration. We are unable to
accept registrations after this date.
Parents should be aware that the results of the tests do not guarantee a place at the School. For more information on the
Governor’s Entrance Examination and Musical Aptitude tests please refer to Oversubscription criteria 4 and 5 on
page 3 of these arrangements.
1Application
Parents who wish to make an applicati

I’m not sure what point you’re making?

tell me, is it in a grammar school county or not?

is it a grammar school or not?

I didn’t realise that state schools still had selective criteria. My apologies. Looks very linked to distance though

Thanks. The other option is indeed to give it a try, lots of kids are fine there and on paper it should be a good year group as many failed 11+. I was wondering if anyone would say this.

Not a grammar

my point is - that there’s a catchment area as a pre req

This is wrong. There are some state schools which aren’t grammars but award a limited number of places based on academic exam or music for example (admittedly they’re not particularly common). Google will give you a list. Poole High School is one example.

How far is your younger one off from finishing primary?

and Presumably you’d want your younger to also avoid the shit school so would be in their interests to move as well

That’s ok, I mean you could’ve had a quick google 10 posts back and saved all the bother though.

we don’t actually know what area OP is located in so she may well have the same near her

My apologies

To be fair, there aren’t that many as far as I’m aware, and those that are often only offer a very limited number of selective places (eg 10%).

I’d move or pay for private. I know it’s not that simple but I probably would have considered this some years before the children were secondary school age

moving for secondary catchment is not al all unusual

Indeed. Tiny number and very strict criteria with catchment areas it would seem

The richest person I know attended a failing comprehensive, he did absolutely nothing at school, but found his niche after, and has built up a hugely successful business. I sometimes wonder if education is the be all and end all.

Oh please. You just didn’t know about selectives and are getting stroppy. It’s no biggie but the trying to make some retrospective point about catchment point is crap- all schools have catchments.

fwiw the catchment for the school I posted is massive, and some selectives have no catchment.

We had this exact situation, only secondary we were guaranteed a place at is dire, 400 houses have been built between us and the one we wanted, reducing the catchment to less than a mile.
We’ve gone private.

Are you in Wales? My relatives avoided a school with an awful reputation by opting for a Welsh speaking secondary school. They started year 7 with a Welsh immersion course and successfully sat GCSE and A levels through the medium of Welsh.

We rinsed ourselves to go private. With one child it was less expensive than moving to the catchment of the superb state school 4 miles away.

My Dc and their friends all had the option of:
3 local comprehensives accessible on distance (one great, one ok, one terrible)
1 excellent comp if Roman Catholic
AND
1 very sought after comp, admission on lottery, no distance criteria
Selective Aptitude places at that comp for music and for sport
Aptitude places at for Art and Design, and for Languages
Aptitude places for Performing and visual arts
Super selective stream within a comp.

These were all within a bus ride, but none had distance criteria.

A train or tube ride gave options to apply for schools such as Grey Coats aptitude places, a few super selective grammars in an outer borough.

Plus Catholic schools such as CV, Oratory, etc.

So selection of various types added more options, albeit all v competitive.

Relax
i apologised

Theres something like 4000 state secondaries and my son went to a school which featured in a daily mail articled called 'the worst 250 schools in England'

We didnt go to any lengths to avoid it as we couldnt. Things that worked were a solid group of friends from primary, being in higher sets and having a strong hobby outside of school. Things like cricket club, swim club, Cadets, music - not all of them! But his friendship group did one substantive hobby. He also took advantage of anything the school did offer and being really polite, a lot of teachers liked him so helped him.

As it wss the school got better, by the time he left it was national average.

Have you visited this school?

We looked at plan B options if son didn’t pass 11+. We felt the private school wasn’t worth the money and agreed to send him for a year to the very mediocre non selective and would see how he got on. We decided moving was off the cards.

I went with this option. I do not regret a thing and indeed feel a bit smug sometimes when the parents who wouldn't dream of just trying it are moaning about their ridiculous journeys and tiredness and the stress they go through in yr 10 and 11 when they have sleepovers and they don't know anyone and are miles away.

If other people go there and do well then yours can too. If other parents not dissimilar to you have dc there then they will also feel like you about attendance, behaviour, paying for trips etc.

I would support and encourage your dc to join in, sign up for clubs, put themselves forward for sports/choir/chess/library/school council etc. Say yes to all the trips and workshops and concerts and plays.

You can support and augment any gaps at home and with tutors if needed. Keep going with clubs, sports and hobbies outside school. Your dc.will have more time for extras if they're not travelling miles for different schools.

My dc have had a great time, tops sets, friends like them, done DofE, concerts, plays etc and been independent getting there, always had local friends and also developed skills in resilience and making good choices if exposed to poor behaviour and some staff changes etc.

Interestingly, our RI undersubscribed school is now really popular and Ofsted Good. I always thought it was good!