Graveney School - opinions sought from current parents of kids in middle stream Post Reply

[BV1977]

I know there has been endless discussion on the merits or not ot Graveney School. We are looking ahead to secondary options for our boy who is young for his year and not particularly academic - yet! We need more space so are considering moving which could be into the Graveney catchment but we're trying to figure whether the school would be right for him. I'm keen to garner opinion from parents whose kids are in the middle stream not those who are in extension as a result of a high score in the Wandsworth test. Are your kids sufficiently encouraged to reach their potential and make good progress in the middle stream. Are they happy ? Would you recommend the school for a bright but not particularly motivated or academic child. I was bit worried about posting this so I really hope there isn't any negativity, we aren't trying to cheat the system, we genuinely need to move and are looking at our options, any advice gratefully recieved. 

[Mumrun]

I have looked at Graveney before and also got other people’s opinion and it wasn’t the right school for my son
It seems very target driven and if your going to always be hitting the 9/8 (A*/A ) then that’s great but the care I felt doesn’t seem to be there for anyone less and anyone falling behind seem to get left behind, I also want my children to be happy at school and to have the right care while they are there for any issue that may arise for them

Also seem some issues rising on social media and concerns me why they had to put their Twitter to private

I have sons in Ernest Bevin and we all absolutely love it, the staff are incredibly caring and they really push for every child whether your right at the top or lower down

The sports facilities also really suited my son, plus the extra curricular activities they put on are brilliant, even down to running a free breakfast club every morning, swimming club at their onsite pool, drama, science club

[Londonista]

I have experienced both the top set and the middle set, and it’s vastly different.
The middle set is pretty much the same as any bog standard comp, hardly any homework and low expectations (IME).
The top set is like a private school.

They give your child a target to work towards based on their year 6 work. So one benchmark for all of KS3! As you can imagine, attainment in the middle set is restricted as a result of irrelevant and outdated targets.

They say that they re-stream anyone who is capable of more but in my son’s class (middle band) this didn’t happen for anyone.

Not great! Or at least, not any better than any other school (based on my own experience of a large, mediocre comprehensive!).

The fact they operate academically like a private school is also grating. The social segregation is extreme. Definitely hasn’t lived up to the hype, at least not in KS3.

[Starr]

I have heard the same plus more. I often heard about its very poor pastoral care from parents Its a very odd system at Graveney and I guess it is only the amazing school for the top set.
Have you considered Chestnut Grove? They have a wider range of abilities as does Graveney but seem to do well by all.