Our high expectations for every child, coupled with small classes has led to a high success rate for children applying to grammar schools and selective independent schools.

Destinations

As a one form entry school, which is non-selective at the point of entry, results vary from year to year but every year significant percentages of pupils gain places at Bexley and Kent grammar schools. In recent years a number of our children have been placed in the Top 180 pupils in the Bexley Selection Tests, a very significant achievement indeed.

A smaller but equally significant percentage of pupils move on to selective independent destinations. Equally, there are some parents who opt for local non-selective state schools and we are proud that parents tell us how well their children are doing at these schools benefiting from the grounding they have had at West Lodge.

Click on the image below to learn more about October 2024 Kent and Bexley Test results:

 

Whilst we are rightly proud of pupils' examination success, a great deal of emphasis is placed upon individual pupil progress. This close monitoring enables us to identify the children’s needs and next steps on an individual basis to ensure that each and every child fulfils their potential.

Destinations September 2024

Click on the images to read more:

 

A West Lodge family describes how their child was supported in the run up to the 11+ tests:

There is no doubt that the build up to the tests feels intense, however we and our child have always felt fully supported throughout the process.   

The Coaching Club is brilliant, the children feel that they are in a very mutually supportive team environment with their friends and ‘they can do this together’.  

The  11+ preparation week at the end of the summer holiday was also incredibly useful for further building confidence and honing exam technique as well as providing the opportunity for pupils to receive targeted support in the areas they needed it most.  

The journey to this point starts much lower down the school and although the children don’t realise it they are building the bank of verbal and non-verbal reasoning, comprehension and mathematical skills to help them be successful.  

Teachers intuitively know where any gaps lay and modify their teaching accordingly.   

At parents’ evenings we were given very tailored advice as to what home learning would benefit our child during preparation for the tests.   

It’s a journey that every single member of staff is vested in.   

WEST LODGE FAMILY 

Support with secondary school selection

The formal process of choosing an appropriate senior school begins in Year 5 with a one-to-one secondary transfer meeting with the Head Teacher where the options and suitability of different schools are discussed along with the support the children need. The Head Teacher and staff are always happy to meet with parents to discuss choice of senior school and provide support. We visit senior schools and over the years have built very good relationships with their Heads and senior staff.

Each family attends a transition meeting.  The West Lodge staff know our child very well and were able to marry this knowledge with their wealth of knowledge about all the senior school options available to provide a fully informed, and most importantly independent, opinion about which senior schools would be best for our child. 

WEST LODGE FAMILY 

Preparing pupils for secondary school 

Find out more about how we prepare pupils for transfer to secondary school here from Mrs Bartholomew and here from Mr Weighill our Year 6 teacher.

Meet the Alumni

We're always delighted to hear from our students about the next stage of their educational journey, 'meet' some of our former students here: