Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

Secondary School Recommendations/Admissions

I know I'm beginning to think about this about a year ahead of when I need to but I'm beginning to ponder the options for secondary school for No. 1 son.....

We had a wretched time with the primary school admission process (had to wait 2.5 years for a school place within walking distance) so any recommendations around the quality of schools and the admissions process for secondary schools would be very useful.

We live on Umfreville Road so I am anticipating that we would end up being offered a place at Park View although Gladesmore would be easier to access by overground. Has anyone on the ladder managed to get a place there? Or does anyone have anything good or bad to say about Park View? Hornsey School for Girls is out (he won't go to school in a dress no matter how much I bribe him) and as a non-believer, I am not keen on religious schools.

Any information gratefully accepted.......

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Permalink Reply by Karen Alexander on March 17, 2017 at 16:51

I can highly recommend Greig City Academy. It is a Church of England School but there is a really diverse mix of all religions and cultures. My daughter left last year with fantastic results and my son is doing his GCSEs this summer - we are expecting him to do well.

The school have always been brilliant. Good pastoral care, good supportive teachers and a real inclusive feel.

Don't be put off by the results. When they still used the "value added" category it always scored highly. Kids often come in from primary schools at quite a low level and the school works tirelessly to bring them up.

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Permalink Reply by Antoinette on March 20, 2017 at 15:31

I feel like I'm asking quite a lot of personal questions so feel free to politely decline....but did you have a church connection? It says on the Grieg website that they prioritise church goers (Foundation places) over us non-believers (Open places) and that even we must "support the Christian ethos". I don't know what the split is and I can't find any stats about it. Can you give an educated guess? I went to a Catholic convent school myself but whilst our school results were good, I think that came more from not having boys around than anything else! My niece was baptised aged 5 to get her into the Catholic primary and this is a practice I strongly disapprove of. If you're not religious, I don't think you should pretend that you are, but that doesn't assist in gaining a place. Oh the moral decisions we face!! My experience of church schools is that they are stricter behaviour wise and they instill a strong sense of right and wrong which is a good thing, but what I find problematic is where the Christian element leaks into the curriculum - for example, where sex education is concerned. I wouldn't want my son to be told not to use condoms for example.

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Permalink Reply by 1vut8bf3om5m9 on March 20, 2017 at 15:53

Condom use advice is not a great litmus as to whether or not the Catholic/CofE school is worth going to. As a student I'd rather sit though being told not to use them (if that is in fact what happens since these schools are state funded and may have to follow prescribed curricula) then listen to garbage about global warming, feminism, Trump, etc--seen most recently when someone was talking about that sort of thing being on the BBC radio. (Of course, I don't expect STM to be free of this sort of stuff either, so i will have to do my own educating in this regard.)

I do appreciate and respect that you have a moral issue with trying to look religious when you don't feel you are. Just one person's opinion so take it for what it's worth, but there is no harm in being taught about (Christian or Judaic) religion regardless of one's personal belief because our culture is so intertwined with these religions, whether someone likes it or not.

I am so happy I left the USA and my children (now in Italy) had Catholicism part and parcel of the schooling. It made it very easy for me to get my daughter into St Thomas More when she moves up here to start secondary school in September.

The primary school on the other hand.....

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Permalink Reply by Antoinette on March 20, 2017 at 16:35

I think as an academy, you'd be surprised how much leeway they have in terms of the curriculum. But I don't disagree with your comments. I personally benefitted enormously from a religious upbringing but I think it's confusing for children to be told one thing at school and then have that countered at home. It was certainly an issue for my niece who came home spouting quite a lot of full-on religious claptrap only for her mother to then say "God doesn't exist".....very confusing for a 6 year old. I think it's less of an issue where secondary school is concerned.

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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on March 20, 2017 at 16:45

"garbage about global warming, feminism" <- oh you are such a troll sometimes. Hilarious.

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Permalink Reply by StephenBln on March 20, 2017 at 17:02

You couldn't make it up.. but he obviously did..

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Permalink Reply by Antoinette on March 17, 2017 at 18:32

At £20,000 a year it ought to be!

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Permalink Reply by Michelle on March 17, 2017 at 19:07

We have quite a few friends at Park View who are very happy with it. There are some children on the ladder who have been able to get in to Highgate Wood in the last couple of years. We looked at secondary schools when my daughter was in year 5 initially then took a second look when she was in year 6 as the first time you look around it is daunting and overwhelming. The second time you look more carefully at the things which are important to you and your child. We finally settled on Hornsey School for Girls and she is now in year 9.

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Permalink Reply by andy h on March 17, 2017 at 20:48

Hi Antoinette,
Your going to have problems with Gladesmore, it's usually over subscribed. And catchment areas are an issue.
My daughter says ( she's year 9) -------- I think Park Veiw is a diverse school with great teachers and if your worried about the future they have a wide range of GCSE options.the kids at the school, yes there are some idiots but I have a great group of friends and everyone's fairly friendly.---------back to my old embarising Fart of a father .....
Thanks!!!
What ever you do Antoinette, include No.1 son (Jakie chan ref). Take them along for the school visits -- all of them . You'll have a chance of getting into six or seven schools ( including Gladesmore ) .
We took our kids to all of them, got them to make a league table of their favorites and where they would prefer to go ( they knew we had the final say) and you'll find the right school.
Remember you don't want to be forcing a teenager out the door every day to somewhere they just don't want to be, however good the school is.
Good luck. You'll be fine

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Permalink Reply by Antoinette on March 18, 2017 at 7:47

Please thank Miss H for her input. That's really appreciated. Also, please tell her it's not Daddy''s fault he's an old embarrassing fart ...it's in the Daddy Job Description.