Monk's Walk School

The school uniforms are too strict. Skirts 1cm over the knee ,and you’ll get told off, this could be why this school has a bad reputation, and bad bullying policy. As someone who went to this school, and experienced bullying 1st hand, I can say the school didn’t do anything about it. All they care about is they how much they get paid. The school food prices are outrageous!! Some people won’t have enough money in their family to last the day, if you’re apart of the pupil premium program, they only give you £2.80 a day, that can’t get you much! The pastoral care is led by one member, that member can’t handle everything at one time, the team needs to be bigger. The school has definitely helped with some parts, for example, helping me make friends, who I still talk to now. But one last thing I wanted to touch up on was the school trips. I get it they’re abroad, but it’s still quite expensive for families that dint have that kind of money, to go to France. The headteacher is extremely helpful but at sometimes can be a little judgemental, especially when it comes to students attendance. One of my friends was struggling with really bad mental health issues which meant she wouldn’t be in sometimes, the headteacher made several attempts to get her in, none of which made her mental health better. UNIFORM. tell me why all of the girls I’ve spoken to about this topic tell me that they’re scared, to walk home in the winter, without a jumper, they say this is due to poor uniform quality, the prices are quite high, my mum could barely afford the school uniform and when she could it would always be outrageous, the policy on school bags were so ridiculous because in my opinion, I would always see my friends with school handbags, which should be allowed because they’re no different from a normal bag, school, handbags can sometimes be more spacious and comfortable than a normal bag. The last thing is achievements and staff members, there’s always an assembly at the end of the term, where the students that don’t get anything are made to feel ashamed about theirselves which doesn’t seem fair. The staff members are a little touch and go, given my time at monks walk, there have been my fair share of lovely teachers, but male teachers, doing female physical education classes, especially swimming. The school doesn’t do much about educational needs, they only punish you for it. This is the end of my rant and I do not expect to offend anymore.

Certain teachers & the Principal of the time can be rather racist to say the least. My children were subjected to racist comments about their ethnicity. Often asked would they be moving or staying in one place , how many caravans did we own . From one particular teacher in particular I’m delighted to say my daughter excelled in his class . The school found it funny to give out end of year awards .The principal sanctioned one for the Most aggressive Irish drunk ,for my Son . She obviously didn’t care the effect this would have on his well being and mental health as it was totally untrue . I truly hope things have changed for the better .

in all honesty,I hate monkswalk. as a student who has been through some tough things, when the teachers found out that I self harmed, they forced me into telling my parents, (which was alredy difficult enough as we aren’t close and the school know that) and then after that whole ordeal, the don’t even offer me a mentor or a card to go to student support, and because of this me and many other students have learnt to mask our feelings because we know the school won’t do anything

This school prides themselves on their traditionalistic (but usually outdated) values such as consistently and unnecessarily commenting on uniform, the technology use within the school grounds and having barely adequate mental health support. I also feel they prioritise grades and academic performance over the wellbeing of the student body- especially implemented by the more senior members of staff. With that being said, some members of staff really contribute to the school with their enthusiasm, kindness and patience which would be greatly missed.