2010 GCSE Results for Southwark & Lewisham

[Emily]

Would parents with children at secondaries in Lewisham and Southwark be prepared to share their thoughts on the schools - strengths and weaknesses? It would be useful for the rest of us!

[Emily]

Would parents with children at secondaries in Lewisham and Southwark be prepared to share their thoughts on the schools - strengths and weaknesses? It would be useful for the rest of us!

[ladyofleisure5]

My son has a special needs statement and I'm keen to apply to Haberdashers' as it "ticks all of my boxes" for my son's secondary school requirements. Unfortunately I'm now having doubts due to the "20 point drop" in the recent GCSE results. Anyone know the reason for this huge drop? I'm visiting the school with my son today and will of course be asking this question.Just wondering if any mums/dads here can help before I'm being "spun the official" reason for this drop. Thanks.

[sillywoman]

Also, does anyone know Kingsdale's 2010 stats, standard version; i.e. what percentage gained 5 or more GCSE's, grade A*-C, including Maths & English?

[Huggers]

ladyofleisure, I have two children at Haberdashers, in year 8 and 9. One is very academic and finds the school stimulating and stretching and she is doing well. The younger one is not very academic, a bit of a dreamer, dyxlexic who was pidgeonholed in primary school as a bit silly and lazy- and he is doing well too. The school were very quick to move him up a set as soon as he made progress in maths which has done wonders for his self esteem. He also gets once weekly dyxlexia support.

As other people have said on this thread, Haberdashers used to be selective even when it wasnt meant to be.It's taken a few years for the more comprehensive intake to work itself up the school. So there are children there now of lower abilities who might not have got in before. It's how well those children are doing that's the question- I think higher sets are still doing very well.

So the question is, is the school failing the lower sets? or is it unrealistic for the government to expect every candidate to get 5 A-Cs including English and Maths? I have no idea, but this may help you make up your mind:

linkhttp://www.hahc.org.uk/images/uploads/Admissions/Secondary_Transfer/Hatcham_College_Exam_Results_pdf.pdf

which will match levels of candidates with their results. I think that's very informative - you can work out who's getting the A starred results and what's happening with everyone else?.

[Emily]

Huggers, do your children enjoy school there? I had it down as a potential school for my kids, but was a bit worried when she said her son found it 'too crowded' and didn't enjoy himself (he got a music place). Do you think the 'new' intake is very different from the old intake? Are the children from the primary school feeder well behaved? I thought the primary was in trouble so the kids were not from the usual ambitious, middle-class, education-focussed families that used to predominate at Haberdashers.

[Huggers]

Hi Emily, my children do enjoy the school and have made good friends. My son didnt seem to know who came from which primary but the new primary fed about forty children into his year, making up about just under a quarter.

However, the premises of the new primary have burnt down and the entire primary school will be temporarily housed in portacabins on the main school premises carpark. for two years. (I hope Ive got this right) Perhaps that will affect your choice.

I spose the question is, would your friends son have felt more/less confident at another school and if so which one? I think my children would have been happy at Askes, Kingsdale, Charter, Sydenham -but perhaps not at the Harris Academies. They are all big schools and a shock after the cosiness of primary school.

re the gcse results- I think the school are horrified by the way. Theyve probably been far too smug in the past.

[BB100]

Kingsdale GCSE with English & Maths

Provisional result for 2010: 58.7%

increase of +11.8% http://www.southwark.gov.uk/news/article/75/great_result_for_gcse_students_in_soutwark

I think the word 'obfuscate' has well and truly been added to my vocabulary in a most interesting way!

[ladyofleisure5]

Huggers Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> ladyofleisure, I have two children at

> Haberdashers, in year 8 and 9. One is very

> academic and finds the school stimulating and

> stretching and she is doing well. The younger one

> is not very academic, a bit of a dreamer, dyxlexic

> who was pidgeonholed in primary school as a bit

> silly and lazy- and he is doing well too. The

> school were very quick to move him up a set as

> soon as he made progress in maths which has done

> wonders for his self esteem. He also gets once

> weekly dyxlexia support.

>

> As other people have said on this thread,

> Haberdashers used to be selective even when it

> wasnt meant to be.It's taken a few years for the

> more comprehensive intake to work itself up the

> school. So there are children there now of lower

> abilities who might not have got in before. It's

> how well those children are doing that's the

> question- I think higher sets are still doing very

> well.

>

> So the question is, is the school failing the

> lower sets? or is it unrealistic for the

> government to expect every candidate to get 5

> A-Cs including English and Maths? I have no idea,

> but this may help you make up your mind:

>

> linkhttp://www.hahc.org.uk/images/uploads/Admissio

> ns/Secondary_Transfer/Hatcham_College_Exam_Results

> _pdf.pdf

> which will match levels of candidates with their

> results. I think that's very informative - you can

> work out who's getting the A starred results and

> what's happening with everyone else?.

Hi Huggers

Your reply was very much the same response I got from my visit today. So there was no spin at all!!I have been to the school twice now and find the school very caring and proud of the achievements fr. the children with special needs . This to me is really refreshing in today's climate of "league tables".

Thanks v. much. You have been most helpful!

[Emily]

thinking of it for my oldest daughter

[ladyofleisure5]

Hi Emily,

When I first spoke to the school, they gave me 2 names in Senco. However when I made an appointment to visit the Jerningham site, I got to meet someone completely different. She doesn't sound at all like the lady you spoke to at all...in fact the opposite!.....

[Emily]

this one had a surname that began with M and ended in O. So you were impressed by the school?

[ladyofleisure5]

LOL!....Yes that name was mentioned....but I didn't meet her (phew!) I really liked the school (esp the music dept) but my son rates is no 2 because none of his friends will be going there (it's really not in our catchment area of Islington!)

[BB100]

ladyofleisure5 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> My son has a special needs statement and I'm keen

> to apply to Haberdashers' as it "ticks all of my

> boxes" for my son's secondary school requirements.

> Unfortunately I'm now having doubts due to the "20

> point drop" in the recent GCSE results. Anyone

> know the reason for this huge drop? I'm visiting

> the school with my son today and will of course be

> asking this question.

I think you'll find it reflects the change of intake and (my niece tells me) all the best teachers left and went to Colfes when they did this - she was there before and after the change.

So what did they tell you when you visited?

[Huggers]

Sorry I'm confused..so these best teachers were the teachers that went off to a private school when the comprehensive they were teaching in stopped creaming off the best kids in a selective process by any other name and started to stick to the proper rules of comprehensive admission?. Are you sure they were really the best teachers? Or just the teachers who only wanted to teach the best and screw the rest?

The brilliant teachers Ive known in my life have been able to teach anyone. Perhaps the teachers who left didnt really believe in the principles of comprehensive education? After all they left a grammar that became comprehensive to go and teach in a grammar that went private....

[BB100]

I'm just relaying the reflections of a young adult in her early 20's who was there for seven years, it was her opinion they were the best teachers and yes your definition sounds pretty accurate of them but what does that say about the ones that didn't leave? Usually if you want the truth you ask the kids.

[sillywoman]

Nah, if you want a narrow perspective of the truth defined by what they hear in the playground you ask the kids. If you want the real truth you do masses of research and investigation and untangle the complex webs of personal circumstance and political expediency yourself (can you be bothered?). Kids don't really know that much - they just think they do.

[BB100]

sillywoman Wrote:

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Kids don't really know that much -

> they just think they do.

Depends which kids you ask. I didn't have the access to the data you suggest or the time or inclination so I asked mature relatives/friends from three different families that told me not to send my kids there because it is changing and on the slide. A 20% drop suggests they knew enough.

If you know different then please share.

[Huggers]

With greatest respect BB100 I prefer to ask kids who are there (mine and their friends) rather than kids who are now in their twenties and left several years ago, dreaming of halycon days when they were basically getting the equivalent of a private education for free.

Under the old regulations my son would not have got in. But he did get in and I for one am jolly pleased.

[BB100]

They were all there when I asked them two/three years ago - they were mature in their thinking. They are in their twenties now.

[Emily]

Today I was told the problem with results at Habs was in maths, which was put down to the entire maths dept leaving or becoming pregnant and leaving, so no continuity of teaching. The senior person I talked to said they expected results to rise again next year, and for retakes to improve this year's results. Also they said results on other subjects were the same or up. Obviously the proof will be in next year's pudding.

[Emily]

Was pretty shocked to see Head standing in front of presentation which was headlined, in giant letters, 'Headmaster's Academic Honour Role'.

[anapau]

ladyofleisure5 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> My son has a special needs statement and I'm keen

> to apply to Haberdashers' as it "ticks all of my

> boxes" for my son's secondary school requirements.

> Unfortunately I'm now having doubts due to the "20

> point drop" in the recent GCSE results. Anyone

> know the reason for this huge drop? I'm visiting

> the school with my son today and will of course be

> asking this question.Just wondering if any

> mums/dads here can help before I'm being "spun the

> official" reason for this drop. Thanks.

Reason for drop: it was a really bad year group. I should know, I was the year above them, they were the first year to be admitted after the massive change in intake to academy status and I don't think Askes staff were prepared for the implications of the change. They have adjusted in the last five years but by the time that happened this year group had been 'written off' by most of the teachers.

[BB100]

Emily Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Today I was told the problem with results at Habs

> was in maths, which was put down to the entire

> maths dept leaving or becoming pregnant and

> leaving, so no continuity of teaching.

>they were the first year to be admitted after the massive change in intake to academy status

That's what my niece told me: change of intake and staff leaving. I'm sure they will recover though as they are engineering the feeder primary school, which stands in the middle of an owner-occupied area!