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How do Barnet schools compare with schools in other London boroughs? For many people contemplating a move to another area, schooling is a major concern. There are inevitably a large number of considerations that weigh heavily on the minds of parents and care providers in such situations:
These and other questions like them are not easy to answer, as much will depend upon personal preferences and judgement. However, it is possible to make some helpful observations relating to Barnet schools overall.
When speaking of the area covered by Barnet council as opposed to Barnet itself, the good news is that there are quite literally dozens of schools across all categories. The area is extremely well equipped with primary, secondary and post-16 establishments as well as special schools. A list of local schools can be found on the council’s website and on Wikipedia.
There are a number of sources of information available for checking the academic achievements and standards of the given school or schools you are interested in: Ofsted’s dashboard – typically showing the achievement levels of primary schools. Various other sources provide useful GCSE exam summary reports by school and they can easily be used to compare one school against another. It can also be used to select and compare by postcodes.
The interpretation of statistics relating to education is very much something that is a personal matter. However, it is probably safe to say that overall Barnet schools have a very favourable standing when compared to many other parts of London and indeed the wider country.
Useful as the academic achievement tables and Ofsted inspection reports are, there are other aspects of schooling that are rather more difficult to get what might be termed an ‘objective handle’ on. These typically cover things such as discipline records, the facilities available in each school, cultural values and commitment to certain principles. In these domains it’s difficult to give concrete points of reference other than to say, once again, that Barnet schools typically have an excellent reputation, as perhaps one might imagine given their catchment areas.
However, for their own reassurance, parents would be advised to consult the website of the schools and take the opportunity to visit their open days when scheduled. If a move into the Barnet area doesn’t happen to coincide with open days, many school establishments will be only too pleased to make special arrangements to meet parents and to offer a tour of the school with a discussion of their values and objectives.
Another good source for information on schools in the Barnet area is the various parents’ associations and related groups who play an important role in the governance of many schools. They can be an invaluable source of advice and help. Perhaps equally importantly, if you arrange to meet with some of the individuals concerned and discuss individual schools with them, you will very quickly get an instinctive feeling as to whether the school is going to be a good cultural match for your children.
Barnet has a large number of excellent schools covering all age groups. Families moving into the area should not have any obvious cause for concern in this respect as there are Top Primary Schools in Barnet.
For more information about Barnet please check the related posts listed below.