Stoke Newington School

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Hoping to hear from anyone who’s children currently attend Stoke Newington School or who want their children to go there in year 7. I hear the music department used to be very good but has recently lost it’s way a little. How do they deal with chronic dyslexia? Is there a lot of support for special needs. What are the children like? How do they deal with bullying?

My DD goes there, but unfortunately I can't answer any of your specific questions, because I don't have experience in those areas.

The school seems pretty chaotic to me, but I gather it's not much different from any other Hackney comp (the ordinary ones, not Mossbourne & its imitators). A lot of time and effort appears to be devoted to crowd control, especially in the first two years. DD is now in year 9, has started GCSEs and things have settled down a bit.

The Maths department seems good. Also art. And the theatre production they put on each year is terrific.

@Melarus Thanks for the helpful info! I wonder if you could elaborate on “crowd control”. I am trying to figure out what that means exactly and if is a good or bad thing? Mainly I am trying to understand the culture there, the positives and negatives of Stoke Newington versus Shore ditch Park Academy for example, which is known for being super strict.

Stokey is definitely more laid back than Mossbourne or Bridge Academy (I don't know anything about Shoreditch Park). But that doesn't mean it's necessarily better or worse. Different kids need different things from the school environment.

Some kids do better when the rules are really clear and strictly enforced. Others don't - my DD hated the idea of Mossbourne, and in fact she's doing really well in a more relaxed atmosphere, where she's not being policed for her uniform and so on. She probably would have learned more in a stricter school, but she wouldn't have become as independent and self-disciplined as she is.

So it all depends on your child's temperament. Go to as many open evenings as you can and talk to the staff if you're able to.

Will you be in with a shout for both Stoke Newington and Shoreditch Park as as far I am aware you have to live pretty close to Stoke Newington to get a place.

Thanks @Melarus. I hear Stoke Newington is pretty laid back and am trying to understand more about what that means in terms of the running of the school, the pupils attitude towards learning, the teachers attitude towards the kids etc. My two are generally well behaved, love learning, work hard and do well in a nurturing environment. I can see them feeling very negative towards school if they have to deal with the military style system I have heard works for kids at the academies. However if a “more relaxed atmosphere” is also a more “chaotic” one, that is confusing as those two things are often mutually exclusive. Would be great to hear more from anyone else with kids at Stoke Newington. What is the culture like, demographics, what kind of parents pick Stoke Newington and why.
@AuntyBulgaria looks like we have a good chance at Stoke Newington and Shoreditch Park looking at the last published cut off distances.

My DD just got into SNS. Overall we are happy. She’ll go on the waiting list for Clapton to keep her options open but honestly either feels good. I have heard SNS is chaotic, but warm, and that it does a good job of developing critical and independent thinkers (which my gosh the world needs) and that the young people feel cared for and confident. My own schooling was pretty awful (chaotic, lot of fighting, very low academic aspirations from the Head) and I turned out ok. It taught me self-reliance, to think on my feet, to tolerate uncertainty, and to get on with a range of people. These are life skills that have served me well. I am hoping for the best. Let’s see!