Chestnut Grove Academy

"Decent school with generally nice teachers. Has lost its family feel. Is now too big for its own good. The SEN department is rubbish. Don't come here if you have SEN needs. Otherwise an ok school."

"I am a student so take my opinions with a large chunk of salt(why I added extra star). This school is not concerned with education as much as presentation so I would recommend against sending child there. There are some nice and supportive staff but others in my opinion are controlling and don't seem to care for students wellbeing (maybe I am missing something). Some students are singled out and are more likely to be chosen as a "troublesome student" because teachers don't like them or they have done something before. Mr Kingsley I think runs the school a bit further down as his experiences with schooling are very different and any attempt at relatability fails or is drastically off. He(Mr Kingsley) is more strict on uniform then ensuring kids actually learn, I imagine that this problem is spread across many secondary schools however I have a huge problem with a lack of motivation to learn and it is due to never seeing any positive to gaining knowledge and always thinking of presentation so when people try to work they are stopped and when they are stopped they are complained at for their amount of work done."

"I had 3 children at this school of varying abilities. If your child is a high achieving child they are fine here. However, one of my children had ADHD and it turned out that despite their claims to have staff able to deal with such children they simply wanted him gone. Problems ranged from inappropriate punishments for minor problems (like twiddling a pencil escalated to days in detention) to downright lies about his behaviour. They used an internal exclusion area in which the children were expected to sit quietly in cubicles and work all day (in fact for an extra hour each day) . For my ADHD child this was not possible so he played up , so he got into more trouble right up to exclusions from school . The problem was that the regime did not have appropriate ways to help him. and btw at another school he already has 4 GCSEs which he took a year early so he is a bright child who needed proper assistance not constant bullying (yes that's how it felt) . This school is obsessed with sock colours and ties and not focused on helping all pupils who attend educationally. A shame. There's much more I could add about ridiculous meetings when being allowed back and staff not turning up or being very late to meetings pertaining to my child. A thoroughly stressful experience as a parent. I'm so glad I'm done with this place!"

"I was a student at this school and it is a terrible institution to be educated in. The headteacher Mr Kingsley and teachers such as Ms Verber and Ms Holding take advantage of the power they have over the children. Their main concern is whether or not a child's shirt is tucked in rather than how they are improving in terms of education. Your treatment is even worse if you're a child of colour. You get picked on by the teachers, treated as less than and they believe they can push you around as they view you and your family members as less competent than those who aren't of colour. My whole time at this school felt like a fight for survival, mentally and emotionally. This school taught me how to stick up to bullies like these teachers, especially Mr Kingsley however, it has still scarred me for life. I would like to say there are some good teachers that helped get me through it though. (Bare with me I'm a bit rusty with names) The LSC members, especially Paul and Thea, the therapist, the science teacher with the crazy blonde hair, Mr Gully, Mrs Davies, Mrs Riley, Mr Tinkarang…. these are some of the teachers you can count on to look out for your childs wellbeing and I appreciate every single thing they have ever done for me... for believing in me..."

"This is a very good school. It doesn't get the credit it deserves. My child is currently at the school and is predicted A's. This is thanks to the hard work my son has put in and the hard working teachers, The teachers have always been courteous and supportive of my son and me. I think some of the reviewers with negative comments have a grudge to bear. These are teenage children after all! Do you honestly think children from private schools and other schools behave like kings and queens? Being a parent and having friends with children from private, grammer and other schools in the area, i know, for a fact that is not true. This is a excellent school. Don't judge a book by its cover."