Reviews

1.7
Based on 40 reviews and 360 answers
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Student
Dec 5, 2024

ON EVERYBODY SOUL SWANLEA IS BAD

mr truman is one of the worst teachers in the world i did a thumbs up. shortly after he took me out of the line then reporeted me to the head of year for" apperently callling him gay"this was absured of [him i will be contacted the council to get him fires as he is useless and waste of space in swanlea
Student
Nov 8, 2024

huh nuh

nah id rather not duh
Student
Oct 7, 2024

Weird..

In my opinion, the school is okay I guess. But there are so many issues that the school chooses not to deal with.

Firstly, some teachers are too strict. What I mean by strict is that you can't even look in a different direction without being told off. If you look behind you obviously you would but why am I getting told off for looking at the table?

Also these types of teachers are the teachers that do not give clear instructions. For instance, someone was told off and then they were sent to stand by a wall, but there was something blocking them so they had to walk around, but when they did they got told off? Like what?

Also they doesn't let you get water from the fountains quickly when it's lineup since "it wastes learning time".

I once got an hour detention that wasn't supposed to be for me. When they found out it wasn't my detention, it was 55 minutes in. Nobody that had anything to do with giving me the detention apologised.

Staff members can't use their inside voices. Can someone teach them how to? It gets irritating when your feeling peaceful, then you hear this agitating voice that sounds like scraping a fork on a plate.. it gets especially annoying when you haven't realised you've done something wrong, or you haven't even done anything wrong and you're then being shouted at and spat all over.. absolutely horrible.
Student
Oct 1, 2024

Complient for not being a good school to students

Absolutely horrible I got a pastoral for Absolutely NO REASON. It might seem I am over reacting but blaming me for something I didn't do is ludicrous.The school is racist targeting darker tone people for what? I want an apology from my head of year if I could I would try to leave the school.
Student
Jul 15, 2024

DISGUSTING

BUN SWANLEA SCHOOL

this school is a hell they kick u out for not giving your phone in like wth their rue to students and think they are better than evryone slt is even worse they scream at yu for not hvaing yur shirt tucked in and everything yu do takes yu to the exclusion rom take your children here if yu want them to kill themselves
Student
Feb 29, 2024

STAFF ARE JARRING

some dead school staff are bare strict giving no second chances getting onto us for such little stuff some staff are nice and calm but most are bare jarring
Student
Feb 26, 2024

The survival game

Swanlea school is an ok school. There are some nice teachers and great lunches to boost your mood. There are also amazing trips to help boost your social confidence. There is also a residential trip which is really fun and if your parents do not let you go on a certain trip the school talk to them nonstop which makes you parents go crazy the end up saying yes. 😊😊😊
Ok you heard the good bit now it is time for the depressing stuff:

Swanlea is mostly hell. The start of year 7 is ok but once everyone is getting to know each other it gets chaotic. After a few years in swanlea you will regret it your whole entire life. People will start fighting acting as if it is normal and people being bullied for who knows how long? (Probably for the rest of your life) Teachers go on and on about how if we don't feel comfortable talking with a teacher about problems we put it in the stand up speak out box. I put one in and every week I check if it is there and yes it is still there! So what is the point of that silly box if teachers do not check it?

Lessons are worse. You sit down in a chair in a classroom for more than an hour and when you leave the classroom you will not know anything. You cannot learn anything in lesson because everyone else who are in the classroom will just mess about chucking the nearest things near them to someone else. You may think they chuck small pieces of paper or a tiny pencil but it is worse than that. They chuck huge tape balls and school bags. Next thing you know they will end up picking the whole entire table and throwing it at someone.

Teachers make the lessons even more worse. I said there are some nice teachers at the beginning but that is just the minority. some teachers are soo strict. You talk in lesson? 1 week detention morning break and lunch. You get up in class without asking? 1 hour detention after school. Your homework is to write down two sentences and you forgot because of all the stress and trauma school is causing you? 1 hour detention after school and you have to do your homework during school and when you are done doing the homework you read a boring book you probably know by heart.

Teachers also are not very supportive in lesson. If you ask for help all they give you is a question to think about to help find another answer to another question which will cause stress. Also if you don't reach standards and it is not your fault the shout at you and pick on you and act like your a little helpless baby lamb.

Overall swanlea is a terrible school if not the worst. But there are always positive things to look forward to in swanlea. It is like a survival game in real life and more dangerous than a survival game you see in movies or stuff like that(if that's even possiblle)I recommend this school to those that are reckless bananas who love to cause trouble...
Former Student
Jan 27, 2024

REVIEW ON TEACHER

Ms barker is one of the most annoying teachers i have had during my years in swanlea.One of the worst geography teachers ive seen in my life she loves to give detentions for no reason she deffo hates bengalis. She takes things soo seriously it seems like am in the millitary.Shes also a strange women i will never know how she became a secondary school teacher

if your also reading this ms barker please go away your unwanted
Former Student
Dec 31, 2023

Review

3.4/10 at best. Student safeguarding is awul outside of basic domestic violence abuses. Poor security 6/10 at best can easily allow criminals to enter the school that work for the government. Only good academically bad in all other areas. Support is not excellent outside of academics.
Former Student
Dec 22, 2023

Teachers

This is a really bad school, I disliked this environment and I have really bad experiences with teachers, especially with the maths departments. There was a former teacher who harassed me and gave fake detentions.
Former Student
Sep 11, 2023

False accusations

A lot of the teachers accuse students of homophobia. There’s many displays to do with lgbt in the school and if you’re caught standing next to one, just talking to a friend and smiling they start barking at you like dogs. When in reality what you were smiling about had absolutely nothing to do with what was on the display. Just paranoid and insecure people.
Former Student
Sep 10, 2023

Excellent school.

A superb school. Many of the reviews are from inadequate people who just make up lies.
Student
Jul 31, 2023

Swanlea sucks

this school is the worst school in existence no one should go to this unless you wanna kill youre self
Student
Jul 3, 2023

Swanlea is a Prison Camp

A school that gets decent grades, but have inhumane rules that needs to be removed for both students and teachers sakes. Also don’t know how teachers like Ms Dudia or Mr Zaidi still have jobs in this school, but knowing Swanlea is like a Prison Greenhouse Camp, it only makes sense why
Student
May 21, 2023

Things the school should improve on

There are 2 teachers they must fire because it gives children mental health issues these people are ms Khan and ms Khalique. Another thing they must do is serve water at lunch times at this point the school is being a cheapskate, they should also send us to multiple trips throughout the school year not just the last week of school. And when were outside the only things we can do is walk around because were not allowed to run outside and they say its for 'safety purposes' but its not like the moment we run we're going to break our leg so its a bit over the top to me.
Former Student
Apr 18, 2023

MY NAME IS ISMAEEL RAHMAN. LISTEN TO ME!!!!!!!

Mainstream school? Government funded? Absolutely ridiculous. It's atrocious that we are getting forced to be in schools like this and if we don't our family will face the consequences of law enforcement. I got bullied here nonstop day in day out. The teachers said I would be fine but the students ruined my life and 10 years on I'm still suffering from flashbacks over the immense bullying I have faced. Wallahi I am going through psychological therapy because of what I have experienced all the way from secondary school to sixth form. Ms Silvera is the worst in my opinion. Strict for what? Wearing a coat indoors? What is this?

My own friends did black magic on me (whether you believe in it or not) and betrayed my trust. I got called the worst of all names for no reason and they preyed on my weaknesses. I developed depression and while I was going through it I got made fun of it and got called "cry baby" in Bengali. I wish I listened to my own mother as she even said this school would ruin my life. The teachers socially engineered me to make me think this school is "good" while I was young and naïve. Mr. Goodman lied to me said I would be fine while I was on managed move from Oaklands Secondary School.

The only certified teacher is Mr. Grunt. He always was there for me to support me in my track and field athletics activities.
Former Student
Feb 19, 2023

Don’t send your kids to this school

Swanlea is downright horrible. Even though they preach about mental health in their pointless pd lessons and assemblies, teachers could care less about you and your mental health. Instead, they are quick to give you a pastoral or faculty detention and send you to the exclusion room to make you feel like a failure. One teacher told me that I ‘wouldn't succeed in life’, and it made me feel terrible to hear such a nasty comment from a teacher. Teachers are the ones who always make things difficult for us; never the students! Sending your children here will ruin you, so keep them far away from Swanlea!!
Former Student
Feb 14, 2023

Be prepared to teach yourself the syllabus

I was a former pupil at Swanlea School. I graduated in 2022 and achieved all grade 8s (A*), so it's fair to say I was one of the top pupils. My experience was terrible here. Despite my high academic grades throughout the years, I was placed in a bottom set at my school. Set classes ranged from 1 to 4, with 1 being the top achieving class to 4 being low achieving. I was placed in 3 during my time at Swanlea, and despite me complaining to senior members of staff and having multiple meetings at the school, they refused to put me in a higher class. Bare in mind that I was not progressing being in the bottom class and I was getting higher marks than people in sets 1 & 2. Seeing as they refused to move me up, I had to do my own revision and home and progress myself with online tutors and internet resources which was hard work as I had to teach myself the entire syllabus. Set 3 classes went at a much slower pace and my other classmates didn't listen in class which meant that the teacher would have to stop during teaching multiple times to tell off the students. After months of phone calls to the school, my Mum managed to speak to the head of my subjects in which he said there were no spaces to move me up. At this point, my Mum wanted to move me schools as I wasn't learning anything in my classes, and it was as if I was doing home-schooling as I taught myself the content at home. As it was Year 11, I figured it would be too late to transfer so I spent countless hours revising and trying to get the best possible grades. It eventually paid off and on results day, none of the teachers dared to congratulate me due to their guilt. Just know that if you want to progress at this school, be prepared to teach the syllabus to yourself. Their organisation is TERRIBLE and they have no care and consideration for people who have aspirations. If you really want to achieve well, I'd suggest applying for a grammar/private school - They take your education seriously. For sixth form, I got a scholarship at a private school so I'd highly recommend applying for a scholarship if you can't afford the fees. Swanlea is not the environment for someone who wants to do well academically.
Former Student
Feb 11, 2023

I got a lot to say about this place

Teachers are extremely inconsiderate and always very careless. The head of maths can’t do maths, I asked him for help on a maths question and he couldn’t do it and then just aired me afterwards. :) Amazing! Perfect! Just what I needed a month before gcses! This guy was a joke of a form tutor as well so whoever made him one is not doing their job properly. The school forced everyone to drop a subject last year and when I told them I still wanted to do it, they completely disregarded me and didn’t help at all. They don’t give a damn about extra curricular activities and literally have no clubs. They do however force everyone to do btec PE which is the most useless thing ever so don’t go here if you actually care about your future. Their logic makes no sense, apparently we didn’t have enough time to do an extracurricular subject of our choice, but then would waste an hour of our time every week forcing us to do a useless “qualification”. Make it make sense. They are very good at discouraging people. They only care about certain people and the rest are just left ignored and unheard. Favouritism was huge here. One thing I noticed about this place is that the teachers ADORE any white students just because they’re rare. They go on about “respect aspire achieve” but they don’t even RESPECT all ethnicities themselves. How can you work in a school in ZONE 1 London, in an area that is known for having ethnic minorities but encourage white privilege? If you love white people so much just go to the midlands or something, London is clearly not for you. Did you forget that half this city’s population are immigrants? Why would you willingly choose to work here with that kind of mentality? If it’s because of the higher pay, you clearly don’t deserve it. Even setting foot in this city comes with the responsibility of accepting and respecting diversity, which if I remember correctly you did a hundred assemblies on. How hypocritical huh? Many children of immigrants excel in education so you should respect them (the ones that have potential at least because you don’t even do that) and not deprive them of any opportunities, which knowing you, would probably give it to that one white kid instead. Admit it, you’re just racist. Moving on with that so called motto, don’t be surprised when you aren’t able to ACHIEVE everything you used to ASPIRE to be because this school will help destroy all your hopes and dreams, never actually practicing what they preach. :)

Classroom environments are loud and disruptive and teachers hardly do anything about it. The students here were extremely obnoxious as well and this was from a SET 1 class! It’s hard to get anything done in lessons. Don’t let the results fool you. Very few people actually get top grades, in reality it is extremely difficult to do well from a school like this, with such little facilities and care, not to mention how they can completely destroy any sane person’s mental health. Several times, a teacher would never show up and the classroom would suddenly turn into a war zone with these 14 year old boys who act like 3 year olds throwing anything they can find across the classroom. Honestly it was like going to a zoo everyday. For literally all of year 10 we never even had a teacher for science and no one did anything about it. I had to teach myself all of the science paper ones. Even the brightest students will struggle at this place. Trust me, you’re better off being home schooled rather than attending this hell hole. If you’re someone who only goes to school to mess around, distract other people, be rude to people for no reason AND you have so much free time outside of school that you are willing to self teach like 10 subjects and revise 24/7, then you are perfectly fit for this school. You’ll probably be very popular so enroll right away!! :D Also, you will often find teachers smoking on school premises, which is not surprising because one of the deputy heads himself lets students vape in the toilets. :D

I have sat next to some…. interesting people in the past. Believe it or not but I’ve been in a lesson sat next to these people talking about whether d1cks float or not. (These two girls and guy, 2020 yr9 g1 english, you know who you are if you see this you weirdos). It’s hard to believe that they’re even Muslim and this is coming from someone who isn’t even religious. Like how on earth am I meant to concentrate on my lesson? 💀They speak so loudly as well, makes me wish I was deaf. These people are simply impossible to even get along with so the joke of a social life at this place was absolutely PATHETIC. Seating plans teachers would make were UNBEARABLE with certain students whining and moaning about their seats all year long, always being rude to the person next to them for absolutely no reason, commenting on other peoples’ appearance when they look like an old mole rat themselves. These imbeciles are always complaining about how the person next to them “never talks” but they don’t even talk themselves. They got trash communication skills and can’t even say a single sentence in proper English or even keep up a 20 second conversation without stuttering or acting weird. That was a lot of nerve from such losers. Pathetic. They complain more than actually retaining any information from the lesson. What a waste of a space for a chance at education. These types of people don’t deserve an education, they’re just a waste of the government’s funding. Poor hard workers’ tax money is being wasted on these disappointments. What walking Ls they are. Most of the students in this school are just plain rude, super invasive and violating. They not only lack common sense and simple manners but also have no idea that there is a thing called personal space. You will find yourself in the corridor getting trampled by groups of boys who act blind, while moving to your classes. Also the toilets are tiny and crowded. I’ve had to spend my entire break times queuing to go. 1000+ students and you only have two toilets....seriously?

To add on, the other members of staff at this school are also extremely disrespectful, uncultured and lack a god damn brain just like it’s students. The receptionist is super rude and doesn’t talk to students or parents nicely at all. I think you kind of need to fix that because it is not giving a good impression of the school the moment you walk in, although I will say it is a pretty accurate representation of the environment at this place lol. Most on-call members of staff are incredibly rude and have such bad attitude. They behave so poorly with students for no reason and go around yelling and raising their voices. Who do they think they are? They need to be humbled. It ain’t our fault that your job sucks. The staff in the lunch hall.....again super inconsiderate. I was actually one of the very few students in this place that actually PAID for the food, and the way they treated me was infuriating. If I ever ran out of money they would send me to the office to call my parents, top up, line up again and THEN I could get food. I went home starving several days because lunches were only 40 minutes and I would simply run out of time. One day in year 8 I even got my plate snatched off of me because my card had no money. My mum told the school about this and the woman on the phone was completely useless, just going on and on about the rules about topping up and lining up..... like yeah okay I know the rules I’ve been here for years......I don’t care all I care about is WHY DID I GET MY FOOD SNATCHED FROM ME??? She never had the audacity or the brain to answer that. Like I said, teachers are so inconsiderate that they won’t even care if you have personal problems in your life and that it is affecting your education. They do absolutely nothing about it, in fact they make the situation worse by shaming you when you underperform and humiliate you in front of the whole class for failing a test, getting something wrong or not completing your homework. Why is it so difficult to question in private? Real immature behaviour honestly, just a bunch of children inside the bodies of adults. I had severe mental and physical health problems throughout yr10 and 11 and lost a lot of weight. Once a science teacher walked into my lesson and commented on my weight loss out loud in front of the whole class. How can one be so insensitive? I felt so uncomfortable. Not to forget the peers were no better, they are genuinely some of the most unsympathetic, vile people I’ve ever met. They’re the type of people who laugh at and mock serious events such as DEATH. They ain’t okay in the head.
I. Wish. I. Never. Met. Them!!!
Nothing can ever make up for the trauma and damage this place caused.
Go rot in Brady street the lot of you.

This is a terrible place and there’s not a single good person here and there’s absolutely nothing even the slightest bit good about this school. Mind you, I was never one of the “bad” students. I was always in top set for everything and never did anything bad in my life. I never bothered a single soul to face this kind of treatment in return. Swanlea school..... thanks a lot for making 5 years of my life completely miserable. One star is very generous, it actually deserves negative infinity : ) Thankfully I’m going to a different, better school for sixth form (where I’m having the time of my life by the way, so no these problems don’t exist everywhere) and never have to see this place and the horrible people in it ever again. Peace at last. It isn’t even hard to be a decent school and a decent person. You had potential and blew it. Well done! I tolerated too much for too long. I was a really nice person before I went to this place. The people you surround yourself with have a big impact on who you become. So be careful and good luck to anyone starting secondary.
Employee
Feb 7, 2023

shittiest school

i hate this school so much thetoilets stink like shit and its so disgusting i hate certain teachers too and the students here are disrespectful we have no privacy at all and students kick open the door while we take a shit.
Former Student
Nov 19, 2022

Dont come to this school

They dont care about anything.They give no 2nd chances. No freedom, trash lunch, treat you like a slave, detention for smiling, detention for not being in a straight line, whole class detention because of 1 student, keep you outside in the rain if you talk in line , lunch queues are so long most people miss break , Terrible food, terrible service, terrible conditions , terrible prices, if they give fries its probably around 3 and burnt like charcoal, All teachers are set to be strict even if you try to be nice this is a honest review it may have words that make it seem fake but it is very much true do not bring your child here
Former Student
Nov 19, 2022

the teachers are actually rude

the teacher talks about bullying and being nice to people but the teachers are so hypocritical and so bias
Student
Nov 19, 2022

The Food Prices And Expired Date Of The Food

me and my friend had a lunch time detention and we received the food, the teacher didn’t let anyone check the flavour sandwich and u had to pick a random one. then me and my friend sat down and he told the expiry date of the sandwich was 01/11/2022 and the day i received the detention was the 16/11/2022 so the food was 16 days old also they charge you for £2.30 for half a baguette or 2 small square sandwiches like what the heck?
Former Student
Sep 18, 2022

Outstanding

Outstanding school.
Good students will thrive. Scummy students should go elsewhere.
Parent
Aug 14, 2022

Uniform and Bad Staff

They change the uniform ever so slightly each year so you are forced to get the new uniform, and different uniforms for the different years also makes it so you have to get a new uniform. It's like they have no regard for families who cannot afford expensive uniforms and are essentially forcing u to spend money, and if you don't get the new uniform, students get punished severely like detentions for an hour a day for a week, which really doesn't make sense. Literally punishing students for not being rich tories and their families not making enough money. As well as some of the staff humiliating students for not being able to afford it. For a school that preaches respect, it's just gross.
Student
Jun 30, 2022

Worst school

Bro gave me 1 hour detention for burping, and I was minimizing it, I also covered my mouth. Unless you wanna be mentally bullied by the teachers in this school, then be my guest. Join it up.
Other
May 14, 2022

Disgusting

This school is so horrible. Teachers are way to strict. Like my child is not even allowed to walk inside the school? What kind of behaviour is this. The kids are getting fed disgusting food, like dry noodles with chunks of meat. This is not at all good as ofsted said. The teachers are so rude, giving hours and hours of detentions to students who are in line up?? Lining up for every lesson is a joke. Imagine having maths on the second floor but having to go all the way down to the playground, go line up in your tutor groups, and wait for your class to be taken up by their teacher. They treat the kids like pets after all the school does look like a prison. They aren’t allowed to stay inside the school in break and lunch? Kids aren’t allowed to sit on the benches that have been placed in the school to sit on. The teachers let the kids stay in the toilet for max 2 mins and watch the students till they get out. Food is overpriced. Your not allowed up many different stairs in the school, and it makes it cramped and overcrowded. The school is so rubbish. It’s Brenda landers you’ve got to kick her off.
Student
May 12, 2022

Don’t go Swanlea otherwise your career is over…

The school always dishes out punishments for no good reason, for example, I’m in year 8 and this boy in my year got in trouble for racism even though he didn’t mean to, the boy who told on him over exaggerated the story apperantly he called him a monkey even though he didnt, what he really said was “We all came from the same monkey” and even then after he told the story Mr. Hussain have him two days of Pastoral, and he said “Your lucky your not going exclusion room”, like what, punishments for no reason,strict teachers, teachers who don’t give a damn, and once I got sent out because of hiccups, LIKE WHAT IS WRONG
Student
Mar 24, 2022

Horrendous, atrocious, barbaric,disgraceful school

This is the worst school ever because students are being bullied and being accused for no reason. I used to get bullied and teachers never did anything, and no one did anything except for encouraging it. This school teaches students not to be bystanders and not tolerate any bullying when there are teachers who bully and make fun of students. For example, my headteacher and my brother’s headteacher used to bully me and make fun of me for no reason. I had my headteacher since year 8 and yet until I finish the school, he cannot say my name properly. I always think if he has disability or not. And the other thing was that I got in trouble and being screamed at my face for not knowing my friend’s sister’s name. Another example is that now me and my friend are involved in a fight that we weren’t involved in and the boy fighting my other friend wants to fight me as well and my parents are getting involved as well for no reason. I have no links to anything related to this fight and yet I am being involved, at the same time the boy keeps lying to the headteachers saying stupid things about us when me and my friend didn’t do anything. This is making me have mental problems because the fight started literally over some stupid chairs and tables. Can you believe it, over some stupid chairs and tables? When I told my own father, he looked in a way that he didn’t want to believe me.

So, I ask you, would you enroll your child or children in a school to become stupid and have mental health issues?
Student
Mar 18, 2022

Worst school

Literally so bad. The have so many unnecessary rules like not wearing earrings, makeup, hats, or having lines in your hair. I literally got detention because my hair tie “wasn’t the correct colour” mind you it was brown. The teachers hand out random detentions for petty things and seem to enjoy doing it and they put do much pressure on students and set unrealistic goals that are almost impossible to reach. Some teachers don’t even teach properly. They just read off a PowerPoint made like 7 years ago and then punish students for not understanding work or getting high test scores. The food is rubbish and they overcharge and sometimes if you have lunch detention, they don’t let you eat at all. When Ofsted comes, they literally only let the “good smart children” talk to them and don’t let them see the lessons or any of the other students. They talk about being supportive but things like homophobia, racism, and sexism happen right under their noses and they just let it happen. Many students have mental health issues because of this school and they don’t do anything about it.
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