Top 10 School Districts in the UK: Hammersmith and Fulham

The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham is located in the west of the City of London and covers an area of 16.4 square kilometres with a population of 182,400. There are 39 public primary schools, 12 public secondary schools, 5 children's recreation centres and nurseries and 5 special schools. The borough's crime rate is in line with the London average. The parks and open public spaces within the Hammersmith-Fulham area cover 231 hectares. There are six libraries in the district, and the government also provides home library services to residents in need.
44.9% of Hammersmith-Fulham residents are white British, 19.6% are other white and 1.7% are Chinese. According to the 2011 Census, 16.2% of residents were under the age of 16, below the England and Wales and London averages, and 74.8% of residents between the ages of 16-64, above the England and Wales and London averages. The number of people in work is 66 per cent, which is higher than the London and England averages. The self-employed account for 12.3%, which is higher than the England average. Five per cent of the population is unemployed, and 16 per cent are employed in the vocational, scientific and technical fields.

As the population of the London area continues to grow and enrolment increases, the proportion of school-age children who succeed in attending their first-choice secondary school is decreasing. In London, nearly 30% of students do not get into their preferred secondary school. And for a school district as good as Hammersmith-Fulham, the admissions situation is even tighter. In the district, only 55 per cent of students were able to apply to the preferred secondary school. Outside of London, one in seven pupils is unable to attend a First Voluntary School. Some parents who live in the Hammersmith-Fulham area say their children cannot be admitted to First Voluntary School because of their religion. Mr Young, who faced the same problem, said that because the religiously selective schools in the Hammersmith-Fulham area performed far better than schools without religious beliefs and admission requirements, he was unable to send his children to more high-performing religiously selective schools because of his faith.

Introduction to excellent private schools

The Godolphin and Latymer School

Address: Iffley Road, London Area, Hammersmith, W60PG
Email: office@godolphinandlatymer.com
Tel: 02087411936
Date of establishment: 1861
Type of school: private day school for girls
Enrolment age: 11-18 years
Number of students: 774
Tuition fees: day study:  £6,060 per term
School Characteristics:

• Students are mostly from white-collar families and high-class intellectual families.
• Students excel in art, acting, music, literature and math.

Latymer Upper School

Address: King Street, London, HammersmithW69LR
Email:head@latymer-upper.orgORregistrar@latymer-upper.org
Tel: 08456385800
Date of foundation: 1642
Type of school: private day school, co-educational
Enrolment age: 11-18 years
Number of students in school: 1122
Tuition fee: Day study:  £5,770
School characteristics:

• The mother tongue of all students in English.
• Students excel in biology, chemistry, and physics competitions.
• Students have excelled in basketball, soccer, swimming and other sports, and the varsity rowing team has placed in the top eight at national competitions.

St Paul's Girls' School

Address: St Paul's Girls' School, Brook Green, London, W67BS
Email:hmpa@spgs.org
Tel: 02076032288
Founded: 1904
Type of school: private girls' day school
Enrolment age: 11-18 years
Number of students: 745
Tuition fee: £7,479 per term
School characteristics:

• Students excel in regional and national competitions and Olympiads in the arts, literary creation, poetry, debate, theatre performance, music, sports, mathematics and science.
• The school offers 23 subjects at A-Level and 6 modern and 2 classical foreign languages.
• There are 113 students whose first language is not English.
• Most students come from business and white-collar families in central and outer London.

Introduction to excellent public schools

The Good Shepherd RC Primary School

Address: Gayford Road, W129BY
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Tel: 02087435060
Type of school: Public Roman Catholic day school, mixed
Enrolment age: 3-11 years
Number of students: 255
Teacher-student ratio: 1:19.6
Student Achievement: 50% of students achieve Grade 5 in reading, writing and math in English.
School characteristics:

• Two-thirds of the students are of immigrant minority descent.
• The proportion of students whose mother tongue is not English is above average.
• Students have strong reading skills.

Miles Coverdale Primary School

Address: Coverdale Road, Shepherds Bush, London, W128JJJ
E-mail: admin@milescoverdale.lbhf.sch.uk
Tel: 02087435847
Type of school: public day school, mixed
Enrolment age: 3-11 years
Number of students: 246
Teacher-student ratio: 1:16.2
Student Achievement: 40% of students achieve Grade 5 in reading, writing and math in English.
School characteristics:

• Most students come from ethnic minority backgrounds.
• Two-thirds of the students' native language is not English.

St Augustine's RC Primary School

Address: Disbrowe Road, London, W68QE
E-mail: admin@staugustinesrc.lbhf.sch.uk
Tel: 02073854333
Type of school: public day school, mixed
Enrolment age: 5-11 years
Number of students: 205
Teacher-student ratio: 1:21
Student Achievement: 50% of students achieve grade 5 in English reading, writing and math.
School characteristics:

• Students come from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
• Two-fifths of the pupils were from white British families and the remaining three-fifths were mainly from other white families, black African families and black Caribbean families.
• Five per cent were in the early stages of learning English.
• School wins Healthy School Award.

St Stephen's CofE Primary School

Address: Uxbridge Road, London, W128LH
E-mail: admin@ststephensce.lbhf.sch.uk
Tel: 020887434483
Type of school: public day school, mixed
Enrolment age: 4-11 years
Number of students: 293
Teacher-student ratio: 1:24.8
Student Achievement: 64% of students achieved Grade 5 in reading, writing and math in English.
School characteristics:

• The students are mainly from white British families, black African families and black Caribbean families.
• The number of ethnic minority students is three times the national average.
• More than a third of the students' first language is not English.
• School wins Healthy School Award and Arts Award.

Sacred Heart High School

Address: 212 Hammersmith Road, Hammersmith, London, W67DG
E-mail: info@sacredh.lbhf.sch.uk
Tel: 02087487600
Type of school: Public Roman Catholic girls' secondary school
Enrolment age: 11-16 years
Number of students: 896
Teacher-student ratio: 1:16.8
Student achievement: 92% of students achieved GCSEA*-C.
School characteristics:

• Students come from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, and about half of the students are from racial minorities. The students are mainly from immigrant families from Ireland, Poland, the Philippines, and the Mediterranean region.
• The proportion of students whose mother tongue is not English is higher than the national average.

The London Oratory School London Oratory School

Address: Seagrave Road, London, SW61RX
E-mail: admin@los.ac
Tel: 02073850102
Type of school: Public Roman Catholic day school for boys (mixed A-Level)
Enrolment age: 7-18 years
Number of students: 1332
Teacher-student ratio: 1:13.9
Student Achievement: 37% of students achieved Grade 5 in reading, writing and math in English.
School characteristics:

• The school was attended by the children of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
• About half of the students come from white British families and the rest come from diverse cultural backgrounds.
• In addition to white British students, the highest proportion is among students of African descent.
• The school offers a special music program for students with special musical abilities, enrolling 20 students per year.

This article is contributed by Juwai Columnist, Annie