Best secondary schools in Chiswick
While the bulk of Chiswick sits at the eastern end of Hounslow, it’s also nestled in corners of the London boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham and Ealing and your options will likely straddle all three LAs. This is an area of highs and lows when it comes to secondaries; do your homework, cross-referencing the published admissions criteria with the relevant borough’s breakdown of how places were allocated in recent years.
Secondary schools in Chiswick
Chiswick School’s reputation, though historically up and down, is currently up; parents are delighted with the new leadership and extensive extracurriculars. West London Free School is known for its structure and high expectations, attracting 1,000 applications for 130 places. Children at its feeders – WLFS Primary and Earl’s Court Free School Primary – get priority, often filling remaining places after siblings. Those north of Chiswick Park looking for single sex girls’ education consider Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls, a ‘real community school with a local feel’.
Successful applicants to Twyford Church of England High School will have navigated a complex points system which sees both parents AND child evaluated for length of time and frequency of church attendance. Even then, whether or not you live in the Ealing Deanery is likely to be the deciding factor. Nevertheless, it is arguably the most impressive secondary school in the area and many in Chiswick pin their hopes on the 19 specialist music places which are awarded with no religious or geographical constraints.
Chiswick Catholics are better served, if armed with certificates of baptism and Catholic practice. The following have no distance requirements though there are feeder schools to be aware of: Sacred Heart High School boasts ‘a sense of community that will set them up for life’. Successful applicants need to come via one of the Catholic primaries in Hammersmith & Fulham or neighbouring LAs (this includes St Mary’s Catholic Primary School, Chiswickand Good Shepherd RC Primary School). Lots of Sacred Heart girls join the boys at The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School for the co-ed sixth form; The London Oratory School has a comprehensive intake and always registers good academic performance at GCSE and A level. The school draws in Catholic boys from across London but is always oversubscribed and has a high bar for meeting religious requirements.
Grammar schools near Chiswick
Two of the most in-demand state grammar schools in the country – both in Kingston – admit applicants from Chiswick. The priority admissions zone for Tiffin School (boys) is anywhere within a 10km radius of the school, an area including much of Chiswick and The Tiffin Girls’ School includes all postcodes associated with Chiswick in its designated area. So, these are theoretical options but your child still has to excel in the ultra-competitive two-part entrance tests and be up for the commute. The 65 bus from Kew bridge makes life a tad easier for those that are.
State sixth forms near Chiswick
Every secondary in the area has a sixth form, often in a different building. There’s always movement after GCSEs: single sex to co-ed, independent to state or vice versa. There are no specialist sixth form colleges in Chiswick; the closest are William Morris Sixth Form and West London College in Hammersmith.
Applications are made directly to schools with criteria generally based on predicted GCSEs and availability of proposed A levels. Conditional offers are confirmed on GCSE results day.
West London Free School wins the competition for most A*s and As in the area, with Twyford Church of England High School, Cardinal Vaughan and the The London Oratory hot on its heels. All four have large intakes at sixth form and offer a traditional approach to curriculum and conduct. Cardinal Vaughan and The Oratory go co-ed after GCSEs, meaning most of their sixth form intakes are girls from practising Catholic families.
Chiswick School offers a wide selection of courses, including BTEC Health & Social Care and a Criminology diploma. Sacred Heart and Ellen Wilkinson offer BTECs or CTECs alongside A levels.
State secondary schools for children with Special Educational Needs
There are no state secondary schools for children with SEN in Chiswick but Chiswick School has an internal off-site provision, The Chiswick Centre, where pupils experiencing challenges with learning, mental health issues or attendance have the benefit of small classes, individual attention and additional lessons. Both Ark Acton Academy and Twyford CE High School in nearby Ealing have resource bases for speech, language and communication needs and autism. All Saints Catholic College has a resource base for communication needs, The Bethlehem Centre, in their mainstream school in Notting Dale, priority given to Catholics.
The St Marylebone Church of England Bridge School currently supports students with speech, language and communication from eight boroughs. Clarendon School caters for moderate learning difficulties including some complex needs and autism. Pupils can stay until 16, after which they can move on to Richmond-upon-Thames College.