St Andrew's Catholic School

St Andrew's is a high performing school in terms of training the students to pass exams. The head is very relatable and communicates with parents well. Every Friday you will get an email from him highlighting highs and lows of the week. He will also not hesitate to put up with any bad behaviour. Children may find it slightly suffocating with it's tight rules and expectations however, if you want your child to get the best possible grades, then you have to play by the rules! Strict school uniform, regular homework throughout term time and in holidays. When it comes to GCSE's, children are supported well and go through past papers, with extra revision being provided before and after school. The half term before the exams, children are expected to come in for extra revision if required. I think it can be hard for both teachers and children at times as the work load is high and the hours long! If you want to send your child here then be prepared that the school will expect your full support in abiding the rules and doing what is asked of them. If you hate rules, can't support your child then don't send them here! Teachers work incredibly hard. Some are amazing, some are power crazy and some mediocre but I'm sure that would be the same than any other school. Plenty of extra curricular sessions are available in lunch hours and after school. Canteen food I hear is not that great and you don't get much time to queue and eat food so you may want to consider snacks and packed lunch. Personally I think it's a good school and well run but I haven't had any major issues with my children attending. Lots of monitoring and exam practice throughout the the school years so you can see your child progressing. The head tries to ensure there are opportunities for school trips and is a big believer in exercise so school is quite sporty. Be prepared that non attendance is not tolerated unless the child has a very good excuse! ...so in summary, a good school, churning out good exam results but be prepared for hard work, sticking to the rules and no sneaking away early to go on holiday!

My daugher lost her brand new winter coat and the whole PE bag in school in a two-month period after the New Year. Her PE teacher just told her to buy a new set. I am dissappinted at school does nothing to stop the stealing. All her lost items are clearly marked with her name on it, she is checking the lost and found regularly, unfortunately, nothing has been returned, it seems her coat and PE bag are stolen. Her school has rules of not allowing the students to carry their coats and bags before entering in certain rooms and locations, hence the students have to leave their bags and coats somewhere and get their stuff afterwards, unfortunately, my daughter couldn't find her bag and coat where she put them when she came back afterwards. It indicates the school does't provide the students with a safe and secured environment. The school probably should educate the students more about the Catholic value and morals, and have a strict policy to prevent the stealing behaviour. Unfortuantely, the school has never taken any responsibilities, my daugher is blamed for not looking after her stuff by the teacher, she hates PE now and is scared of taking any coat to school, she'd rather suffer being cold than having the risk of lossing another coat. I am frustrated at the schook takes no effective actions in solve the problem. Clearly my daughter is developing some sort of mental distress, the school seems don't care.

Teachers expect students to act like robots and all the same. The no phone rule means that if I get a panic attack I can’t contact my mum or use any apps that help me calm down. They put immense and unhelpful pressure on the students when assessments or exams arrive - it’s unhelpful yet they don’t seem to care. The only bit that’s good is the help at student support and a couple of the teachers. It feels like a jail as there are so many gates that need key pads to be unlocked. Expected to be there unless your in hospital dying. In PE lessons we have to get changed all together which is very uncomfortable. Girls can’t be in set one only set 2 or 4 for PE. Teachers have clear favourites.

The school is great and education is amazing here. But the teachers pretend to care about you. You get offered help with mental health issues but they never really go through with it and help you. They have a lot going on, I understand that, but they keep making students regret reaching out for help and they don’t actually get the help they need. Most teachers are friendly though, just some don’t actually care about you as they should.