Large (1,920) mixed and much sought after comprehensive, located in Welham Road, Tooting. It was formed by the merger of two grammar schools and two comps and still prides itself on above average results. Very bright children are put into the ‘extension’. Graveney leavers get into good universities, between 5 and 10 to Oxbridge. There’s a lot of emphasis on academic achievement and while the children seem largely happy, some parents warn that there isn’t enough focus on extra-curricular activities, e.g sport. Competition for places is fierce – we’ve heard of parents renting houses practically on top of the school to ensure they meet the ever shrinking catchment area requirements. The only other way to get in is via the Wandsworth Year 6 Test (verbal and non-verbal reasoning), and by giving it high priority on the Wandsworth Schools application form. No interview. 11-18.

www.graveney.org

Hello!
I'd like to add some further info on this.
I am the Putney based mother of an 11 year old boy and we went through the joy that is the Wandsworth Secondary school application system last year.
Do not, I repeat do not, spend huge amounts of money on trying to move into to catchment area for Graveney!
It is an open secret amongst those in the know ie primary school heads, teachers etc that Graveney select on ability, above everything else.
Basically, it is how your child scores in the Wandsworth test which will determine whether your child gets into Graveney or not. The Wandsworth test is comprised of three verbal and non verbal reasoning tests.
Graveney adds the scores for two of these tests together and offers your child a place based on this score.
Last year, the minimum score to get into Graveney was 98%.
As Graveney offer their places to children with a 98% minimum, if a Tooting pupil scores 96% and a Croydon pupil scores 99%, the Croydon child will get the place. Graveney will not actually tell you the exact pass mark when you attend their open days. I actually found out this info from a very nice man at Wandsworth Council.

Graveney does get good results, (however it is hardly surprising given their entrance criteria, ahem...) however, it is not the only game in town by any means.
Selecting a secondary school is an extremely stressful process and I'd hate to think of people compounding that stress by moving into a "catchment area" for a school that actually does not select on that basis!
Good luck to you all.

from experience, it seems that the only way to get in is to live in the school grounds and have 8 siblings in school already!
the problem with the test is that no matter how hard your child crams for them, it's very much an on-the-day performance. and there's a knack to the test, but if your child doesn't get it, that's it...
the school does not take into account the child's skills, extra-curricular abilities, personality etc. which would show them the whole package a child has to offer, which is a great shame.
i found the whole process ridiculous quite frankly. coming from the continent, where there would be 4 or 5 mixed schools to choose from, i found graveney the only mixed school in our local area.
we live within walking distance, which you think would make it our school automatically, but we only got on the waiting list and were offered a school miles away instead!
we were very lucky in being able to (just about) afford going private, but i feel for those who want the best for their child but can't..

Hi, sorry but it's not true to say it's only on how they do in the Wandsworth schools test. That is the way you get in if you don't live in the catchment area. If you live in the catchment area (which admittedly is very small) you get in. The siblings policy is changing I believe. Basically if you don't live in the catchment area, but you put Graveney no 1 on the list and your child gets 98% or higher in the Wandsworth Schools Test then your child should get in. I'm speaking as the aunt of two children who are at Graveney and got in on distance.

It doesn't take into account their extra-curricular activities because it is a comprehensive school and is supposed to be accessible for everyone.

But I totally agree that the Wandsworth Schools Test is a farce. My son who is very bright and passed the entrance exam for two leading private plus two grammar (including one of the top boys' schools in the country) only got 89% on the Wandsworth Schools Test. It's very much how they perform on the day. Complete nonsense.

Hello again!
Just confirming that a high score on the Wandsworth test still applies regardless of your proximity to Graveney and it is also the first criteria for offering a place.
Please see the link below to Graveney's website, which confirms this.
Click on admissions for full details.
http://www.graveney.org/dvportal.aspx?targetportal=17

Distance comes fourth, well below siblings and children with special needs.
Also, any pupil living in a London borough can sit the Wandsworth test.
Graveney allocates its places to pupils who score highest in the test.
The pupil in question is not required to actually live within the borough!
Truth be told, the pass mark was not always as high as it is now.
I know of several children from my son's primary school, who got in a few years back with 92%, and who live in the Putney area.
However, I was simply alerting parents to the criteria as it stands now.

this is misleading - Graveney only offers 25% of its places to children who pass the test - as far as I remember last year it was the top 66 scores, regardless of distance, some of those children would also have got in because of proximity to the school

A few years ago the proportion of children admitted via the test was higher, but successful lobbying by local people reduced the proportion, and from now on siblings of children who got in on test results will only be admitted if they also got in on distance, so the catchment area will be slightly larger

I'd just like to put in a plea that people think twice before parachuting in from Balham and surrounding areas, renting a house next door to the school for a few months and then disappearing again as soon as the school allocations are announced - this makes it impossible for many local children who've lived here all their lives to get a place at their local school

Hi Mims,
Thanks for your post!
63 places are allocated on ability, regardless of distance, then 187 places are allocated to children in care, siblings, children with a medical need to be at the school, the remaining places are offered to children living near the school.
Pupils living near the school still have to pass the Wandsworth test at 98%, but a couple of my son's Putney based friends started at Graveney this September with scores of 92%, as they had siblings at the school.
Not sure how the rules regarding siblings will work in 2010.

I think there used to be local "feeder" primary schools to Graveney, but this practice might have stopped now.

however, the children in care, siblings, statements etc don't take up that many places - well, siblings sometimes do but from now on it won't be as many as before as only siblings of those who got in on distance will be allowed priority

pupils living near the school don't have to pass the test at all - there are 4 streams in the school and only one is for the academic high flyers - I can assure you that the kids in the support stream would be hard-pressed to get 50% on the test let alone 98%

there are no feeder schools - my kids go/went to one of the two local primaries, but obviously as the primaries take local children, many of their pupils are also in the catchment area for Graveney

last year kids living in Penwortham Road got in on distance so presumably the circle went round at least that far north, west and east - basically if you are living within a half-mile radius your children should get in - and if you're not, then you should be applying for a school that's local to you

There are 4 streams at Graveney; Support - SEN pupils, Middle - pupils who don't have SEN statements, but are not academic top flyers.
Then there are two academic streams; higher and extension.
Obviously, SEN pupils or pupils applying on medical grounds, would not be expected to pass the Wandsworth test at 98%. I would imagine that children in care do not need to achieve a high pass mark either.

Close inspection of Graveneys admissions policy, the website link to which I gave in an earlier post, clearly shows that places only begin to be offered under category 2 ie siblings, special needs, distance etc if there are not enough applicants applying under category 1, which is a high pass rate in the Wandsworth test.
Graveney is a very over subscribed school and anyone who wants to go there has to do the Wandsworth test; of course there are going to be more than 63 applicants apply under category 1!

I have an ex colleague who lives on Welham Road itself. Not on a surrounding road, actually on Welham Road, within sight of Graveney.
Both of her children scored well, 85%+, in the Wandsworth test, and put Graveney as their first choice on their secondary application form, two and four years ago respectively.
Neither of her children got in; her daughter now goes to Burntwood and her son is educated privately.
There is also a woman further up this thread, who lives close to Graveney and only made it onto their waiting list.

I have no doubt that in the past many children got into Graveney on distance alone, and there may well be children still getting in on distance.
However, Graveneys admissions policy clearly shows that the first and most important method of selection is performance in the Wandsworth test.
This was also confirmed by the Graveneys principal Graham Stapleton at the open day last year, and I would imagine that he knows the admissions policy somewhat better than anyone of us posting here.

Peace, love and best of luck with your applications!

PS This should go without saying, but you must put your schools in order of preference on your secondary school form.
If your child is accepted at more than one of their choices, then you get offered the place at the school that is highest on the list.
You do not get the chance to cherry pick your offers!

Last, but by no means least, get a copy of the "Bond 10 minute tests; 9 -10 years verbal reasoning", and " Bond 10 minute tests; 9-10 years non verbal reasoning".
These are published by Nelson Thornes, who are the same company who write the Wandsworth Test and many independent schools entrance tests.
In fact, when my son sat the Wandsworth test last year, some of the questions were exactly the same as those in the book.
I found that using the ten minute book enabled my son to practice every night in the month before the test, without becoming overwhelmed or bored.
My son scored 92% on the day, which got him into his first choice of school, so I highly recommend getting any Nelson Thornes verbal and non verbal reasoning tests.
The ISBN for the one we used is 0748798986

The catchment area for Graveney school, 2 and 4 years ago, was 0.38miles and 0.42miles respectively, so don't know why your ex collegue's children we not given a place whilst living on Welham Road. Sounds a bit fishy to me...

This debate is pointless. The admissions criteria are clear and are found at:

http://www.graveney.org/dvportal.aspx?targetportal=17

In summary:

63 Category 1 "general ability" places at Graveney are subject to the Wandsworth test. To get one of these our child can be living anywhere but needs to get a very high score. In the extremely unlikely scenario that any of these places were not filled they are then added to Category 2.

187 Category 2 places are subject to adoption/fostering issues, siblings at the school, medical issues and then location, in that order. In other words a huge block of places, many of which are taken up by siblings. But it also leaves some places for people living near the school, hence the fact there is a catchment area - it is just very small.

As for living on Welham Road, it depends which end you are. The site clearly specifies: "The distance is measured from the applicant’s home to the gates of Lower School, Welham Road, using the shortest route along a recognised public highway." Welham Road is blocked halfway, so presumably houses on the Western side are in the catchment area plus some houses on Chillerton, Crowborough, etc and those on the East side of Furzedown (inc East end of Welham Road) are not in?

oh is it shortest route or shortest walking route?
then you have to get the council to define exactly what they mean by walking route

(I have no interest in applying for Graveney just have personal experience of Wandsworth picking and choosing exactly what that means to suit themselves!!!)