Postby Rosalita77 » Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:32 pm
I was in the same situation 3 years ago. I literally see the St Mary's playground from my windows and I went along to visit all those 3 schools. St Mary's put me off, with the constant mentioning of their religious ethos while doing the tour, it seemed more important to mention that than the academic part of the school, if the kids were happy, how inclusive they were and so on, a shame because we lived next door and could have been perfect, but not for us. The classes also feel cramped and claustrophobic. Saying that they were doing a refit and extending the building and getting rid of the Reception class in the playground that had been there for more than 10 years. The other thing that I also look at was their academic results and looking at the detail, I wasn't impressed, let along their OFSTED report is from more than 10 yrs ago, all in all, I wasn't sold the hype. One of the people that show us around, I believe is no longer there, because I haven't seen him around, was quite arrogant and found the headmistress cold, maybe was just the attitude.
The same feeling but in less degree with Lord of Victories and All Saints. Lord of Victories was also in the news for cheating in their SATs test and the Headmistress had to stand down about 2 years ago I think.
All Saints seem to have a major turnover of kids coming and going halfway through the year, which they replace with kids on the waiting list, and again the same with the OFSTED report and the actual results, looking the details and is not that impressive. Also, happen to know some parents taking their kids there and some of them had to pay for tutors in Y2!!
Make sure you actually go to the open days and view the schools, check their results in detail, and maybe look others like Hotham and Oasis Academy to compare.
Everyone wants the best for their kids, it may be suitable for some, but not for others. Trust your instinct when you are actually doing the visit. Good luck with your choice.
