WHAT? WHERE?

St Benedict's School Ealing London Senior co ed school pupils

St Benedict’s is a co-ed Roman Catholic all through school (ages 3-18), tucked away in a leafy residential west London street (opposite Ealing Abbey if you want to really get your bearings), with a cohort of 1,106 pupils spread across Nursery and Junior (320), Senior and Sixth Form (786). Its generous five-acre site is a rarity for London schools, and they also own a handy 14 acres of playing fields and sports facilities just down the road at Perivale.

The school was founded by Benedictine monks in 1902 to educate boys but became co-ed in 2008 – one of few co-ed options in this neck of the woods. The values-led foundation remains the same, however, with community, kindness and personal fulfilment high on the agenda.

This review focuses on the Senior School, but you can read more about the Junior school here.

FACILITIES

/SPORT

St Benedict's School Ealing London Senior co ed school pupils sport

Ready to stretch those hamstrings? Sport is a big deal here, and a major part of school life – its 14 acres of floodlit sports fields speaks volumes and many kids progress to an elite level. The recent Old Priorians roll call includes Emma Thacker (England Netball), Joe Simpson (England Rugby), Jonah Holmes (Wales Rugby), Dimitri Coutya (GB Paralympian Fencing), and George Loffhagen (current World ranked tennis professional). St Benedict’s focuses mainly hockey, rugby, athletics, netball, cricket and fencing, with football a late entry into the mix – it will be introduced for the first time in Jan 2025 as a main sport for boys and co-curricular for girls.

There’s a ream of excellent facilities here including a full-size all-weather pitch (hockey, netball, tennis), four rugby pitches, two cricket pitches, as well as a large pavilion for match teas. Plus, a large on-site sports hall, strength and conditioning fitness suite and a dance studio. Talented athletes can benefit from an elite mentorship programme, one to one sessions and links to professional clubs and it won’t surprise you to read that 90% of the school pupils represent the school in a competitive sport. Still, parents of less sporty-types shouldn’t despair as it’s not all about winning silverware – there’s a busy co-curricular programme of over 100 clubs (!) that includes sports such as badminton, basketball and volleyball to cross country running, and even weight-lifting. Lunchtimes are long so students can take part in activities and there are additional clubs at the end of the day too.

/CREATIVE ARTS

Music is very much the jewel in St Benedict’s creative crown, with a new superflash recording studio to develop musical, editing and podcasting skills, alongside traditional music lessons, peripatetic tuition, and the hugely popular annual music festival.

There are the usual mix of orchestral opportunities at the Senior school, with a Symphony Orchestra, big band, samba band (loving that one), jazz and rock bands, plus various percussion groups. The are six choirs, including a cappella group, and a Girls’ Choir, which will give you an indication of how seriously the school takes its choral music – St Benedict’s pupils form the treble line of Ealing Abbey Choir, who sing for the weekly Sunday service as well as Easter and Christmas. All that said, there is a music for all philosophy here, with all pupils given the opportunity to join an ensemble, whatever their standard.

St Benedict's School Ealing London Senior co ed school pupils dance

Drama is another area that has been given a new lease of energy with a refurbished drama studio that now features lighting and sound tech, allowing the Director of Drama to give increased opportunities behind the scenes as well as stage-front.

There’s a light, spacious art /DT studio for artists that caters to a wide menu of skillsets. Impressively (and unusually – I’m struggling to think of another school I’ve visited doing this) GSCE pupils here can take separate courses in Fine Art, 3D design or Graphic Communication. Co-curricular ‘arty’ offerings include photography, coding, robotics, animation and printing.

/GENERAL

St Benedict's School Ealing London Senior co ed school pupils duke of ediburgh

Greta Thunberg eat your heart out! A new Climate research station was installed this year. The station enables students to take a hands-on, practical approach to learning about weather forecasting and climate modelling – a useful and very ‘of the moment’ tool for Geography, Science and Maths students looking at climate change and the real time data collected.

SIXTH FORM

The Sixth Form Centre sits within the school campus but is set apart from the rest of the Senior School. It’s a deliberately grown-up space, with modern decor that would put many offices to shame, where pupils studiously work. Bridging the gap between school and higher education, the Sixth Form provides smart, university-style education with one-to-one tutor sessions and discursive teaching.

Subject choices are on the more traditional side, and tend to follow on from GCSE options (Art and Design, Drama and Theatre studies, classical civilisation, RE, to name a few) with the addition of Government and Politics, Economics, Psychology, Sociology and Business Studies.

Teens are taught the art of smart study – how to sift through information, and how to recognise what you understand and what you don’t. A dedicated careers department supports pupils with GCSE and A Level options, as well as uni applications, specialist higher education and degree apprenticeships.

Pupil choice is front and centre and there’s a focus on developing life skills as well as nailing their exams – a clutch of A*/As won’t open all the doors! But interview coaching, personal development and reference writing and developing transferable skills are all put in their toolkit. The Sixth Formers I met were charming, chatty, confident without being arrogant and comfortable in their own skin.

It’s also worth mentioning that there’s a strong connection between Sixth Form and the school’s young pupils, with training to mentor the Junior and younger Senior pupils. During our visit, Sixth Form students were supporting the Y5s during science activities. They were getting stuck in and were clearly enjoying the change of scene, and it’s all good leadership/mentoring/empathetic stuff to learn in peek-teenage territory.

ACADEMICS

St Benedict's School Ealing London co ed senior school academic

Pupil numbers per class hover between 18-20 which is pretty near the sweet spot I’d say – enough to create numbers and energy, small enough to be seen and supported. In Sixth Form numbers drop to seven, so lots of individual attention at the business end of your child’s education.

Academically, St Benedict’s consistently strikes gold on results day (a success the new head Joe Smith graciously attributes to his predecessor). The results speak for themselves, with St Benedict’s students achieving the best-ever set of GCSE and A Level results in 2023, a year when post Covid grading standards were hiked up. An impressive 41% at A*/A grades and 77% A*/B grades at A Level – 9 students achieved straight A* grades in at least 3 subjects. At GCSE 42% were graded 9-8 (A*) 69% were graded 9-7 (A*/A) and 86% were graded 9-6 (A*/B), with 39 students hitting the top marks jackpot with an 9-7 (A*/A grades) across the board.

The majority of Y13s head off to the UK’s top unis, with three students accepting places at Cambridge University to read Engineering, Medicine and Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic. US unis are growing in popularity too, and one student has secured an academic and sporting scholarship to play football (soccer) at UCCS and another has secured an apprenticeship at Amazon.

PASTORAL CARE

St Benedict's School Ealing London Senior co ed school pupils pastoral care

It’s natural for parents to worry about pastoral care and mental health in schools that do so well academically, but rest easy, the pastoral care here is exceptional, and in recent years St Benedict’s has won awards with NAPCE (National Association of Pastoral Care in Education). The school prioritises the mental health of both the pupils and staff. Every pupil has a pastoral tutor, and termly 1:1 meetings with their tutor and the school uses a ‘Skodel checkin’ app which allows students to raise concerns (or celebrate good things!) with the team.

There is also a small chapel for moments of reflection. Staff are trained in Mental Health First Aid to spot the signs if individuals are struggling and there is additional support from the school counsellor and chaplain. Early intervention and the right support is crucial, particularly for teens. Knowing the school recognises the scale of the problems young people face, is impressive and reassuring for parents.

Encouraging student voice seems to rank high at St Benedict’s – last term a whole-school consultation on the uniform rules (a brave move!) has led to the school modernising its approach. As of the start of this term rules around hair, makeup, jewellery and wearing trousers or skirts were made the same for boys and girls.

Students are also encouraged and trained to look after each other. Y11 are trained to mentor Junior school pupils and Sixth Formers receive further training to mentor younger Seniors as well as the Juniors. That sense of community and collective responsibility is very on brand for the school and spills out into the wider Ealing community too.

THE HEAD

Joe Smith Head St Benedict's School Ealing

Joe Smith took over the head hot seat in September 2023, having spent seven years at The Oratory School in South Oxfordshire and The Oratory Prep School before that, so I have met him several times previously. Warm and open, he arrives with a wealth of knowledge (Senior and Prep) and certainly knows how a Catholic school ticks. While many London families escape to the country, Smith’s bucking the trend, leaving rural splendour for the Big Smoke. It’s all about timing: he has one child working in London, one at uni and another in St Benedict’s Sixth Form, but the stars aligned when the St Benedict’s job came up.

He describes St Benedict’s as a ‘listening school’ – and although he’s a ‘crack on’ kind of head, admitting he’s a bit impatient at times for change, he’s mindfully taking time to talk and listen before announcing any change. Smith is also full of praise for the Benedictine community, which, he believes gives pupils a compass for life and is quick to credit his predecessor for the school’s academic rigour.

He’s keen to nudge St Benedict’s into the ‘outstanding’ category, and to attract more girls to the school (it’s a bit boy heavy at present). He’s already implemented the move to include football as a main sport. Smith, alongside his team, are also looking at the use of AI, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, especially for LGBTQ+.

QUIRKS

You don’t have to be Catholic, or any faith for that matter, to benefit from the Benedictine ethos – and kindness, respect (for themselves, others and the world around them) and community spirit are all solid values to have.

It’s always fun to the look at the alumni and there’s a couple of famous names lurking in the list: St Benedict’s patron, Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong, and Andy ‘my precious’ Serkis, who famously played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings.

St Benedict's School Ealing London Senior co ed school pupils giving week

The Y12 students all do community service – not the legal punishment but rather part of a programme of service in the local community. Each week they help in local charity shops, nursing homes for the elderly, primary schools, nurseries and special schools. In fact, the school is very much a part of the Ealing Community and there are plenty of events they get involved with.

The annual St Benedict’s Day celebrations which fall in March have been described as a frenzy of fundraising – and it’s one of the kids’ favourite events. After the more serious morning activities, the afternoon is spent finding cool and creative ways to raise money for good causes, Last year’s efforts raised £5,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust, the Felix Project and Donne, Women in Music.

SEND

Plenty of support in place and St Benedict’s currently offers learning support for kids with dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, ADD/ADHD, autism and hearing impairment. As well as one to one sessions, in-class support, small group study (English and Math Y8-Y11), reading support and exam concessions, a special and language therapist is on site every Monday and tailored study skills for Sixth Form students can be arranged with a specialist teacher.

INSPECTION REPORT

St Benedict’s latest ISI inspection report was published in Jan 2024. Read it here. The school’s careers guidance support was highlighted as an ‘area of significant strength’.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Mobile phones cannot be used during school hours (Y7-Y11), with the exception of Sixth Formers who can scroll in the Sixth Form Centre outside lesson time. Less screen time, more socialising and it encourages pupils to take part in activities.

TRANSPORT

Most kids either walk, hop on the school bus or public transport. The school is just 10 mins from Ealing Broadway Underground station which services the District, Piccadilly and Elizabeth lines. There are also three bus routes that stop nearby. Parking outside the school is largely restricted, so for those pupils who arrive by car, there’s no parental hanging about after drop-off. A bonus for easily embarrassed teens.

FEES

Blissfully straight forward fees with Senior School fees (ages 11-18) charged at £7,387 per term.

St Benedict’s is committed to supporting families from all backgrounds and means tested bursaries are available – partial bursaries for those with joint income of £100k per year or less or St Anselm Awards for families whose income is £60k or less.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Parents rave about the excellent pastoral care and sports provision. Their kids are happy at St Benedict’s and doing well. High expectations when it comes to behaviour also gets a big tick and they feel the quality of the teaching is very good. Although unapologetically Catholic, those of other faiths or none are welcome – just be prepared for daily prayers, Mass in the Abbey and four hours of RE a week.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: An all-round education focused on getting the boys and girls ready for the world. If you want your child to be independent, caring, well-rounded, then this is the place for you. It sounds obvious, but anyone looking for co-ed.

Not for: If you’re looking for an academic exam factory then St Benedict’s isn’t the place for you. Faith schools are not going to be everyone’s jam, but keep an open mind. There’s a lot to be said for kindness and respect.

See for yourself? Be my guest! The next Open Days are: 26 Sept (Sixth Form) and 5 Oct (Whole School).

St Benedict’s, 54 Eaton Rise, Ealing, London W5 2ES. Tel 020 8862 2000.

Read St Benedict’s Junior School review h ere.

St Benedict’s School (Senior & Sixth Form), Ealing

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