I'm sorry I missed this thread, especially when the debate turned to local secondaries - but better late than never...thought I'd share our experience. Our daughter just finished GCSEs at Sydenham Girls, and came out with 13, 7A*s, 5As, rest Bs (I mention this purely for illustration - facts are better than anecdotes!). Of course we've supported her but the school can take a bit of credit! She had loads of support and opportunities - academically doing extra lessons like Latin; in music, singing at National Theatre - and is now in the joint sixth form with FH Boys.

It does frustrate me when people moan about local schools and knock them. It's always worth checking whether they're talking from personal experience, or simply repeating anecdotes (why does this nation love doing itself down..?). Of course, as parents we're concerned about our children, and secondary transfer is pretty stressful with the first. And no school is perfect - even if you pay fees. But there are good secondaries here, we're very fortunate to have community-minded schools like Sydenham/FH Boys.

Final thoughts - remember these schools cater for the whole community and I'm glad they do. This does mean, they take all abilities and are unlikely to get overall results as high as selective schools - but from our experience kids with potential will be spotted and supported. And secondly - if after reading this you still aren't keen on the students you see, it's worth asking which ones you're looking at. Of course there may be stragglers who turn up late, or noisy ones, so you don't notice the decent majority. But the schools start early, and loads of kids will go in 30 minutes before this to do extra-curricular stuff. If you see the early ones, often loaded down with books, violins etc, it's a different demographic, and you might appreciate the schools genuinely reflect the whole SE23 community. And remember - they are teenagers, they're supposed to be lively.

Guess I'd better declare an interest - when my daughter joined the school, I volunteered as a parent governor. I figured if I care about this area, best approach is to get stuck in and support teaching staff who are trying to do a good job. Hope I didn't get too preachy - but I think we've got great schools in SE23 and they're worth backing - and sending your kids to.