Bishop Challoner Catholic Secondary School

My son was bullied constantly for the past 2 weeks. Ive reported this situation and the school haven't done anything. My son became a Muslim because the school forced him to become a Catholic Christian! I didn't want my son to be like this. I'm happy with him being a Muslim. I'm moving him to costello. Staff always laugh in his face when he gets harmed! Not acceptable

I don't know what they teach the kids there, but once school finishes. I get a group of chav kids that just want to stand outside the one stop shop, right outside our house - and many others, they fight, litter, spit, harass, shout c*nt, f*ck, sh*t all day long right in front of younger kids, elderly people, whilst the teacher watches on as once they're out the school it clearly doesn't matter. Absolute disgrace, you call tell it's a bunch of council housed kids with parents looking for their next fix. Absolutely no respect for anyone around them, I cannot wait to sell up and get out of South Ham as all the people, kids and adults are the same - scum of the earth.

A great school with good teachers and excellent pastoral care. I felt really cared for during my time here and some of the teaching ignited passions for subjects that I still have years later. Most teachers were amazing, though there were a few bad eggs that I felt didn't really care much. Some facilities were a little shabby, but I think this is more due to underfunding than lack of care as the janitorial team were top notch.

Overall, the school is decent when it comes to learning.

Let’s start with the Head of Art. He can be extremely abusive towards students and often acts irrationally, singling out and profiling certain individuals. He’s notorious for making constant phone calls home—so much so that some students had to block the school’s number. During tutor time, he’s ridiculously paranoid about what’s being said, always desperate to find out whether any comments were directed at him.

But he’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The Art Teacher: Somehow, a teacher with a known history of using derogatory and racist language—including three separate incidents involving the N-word—was merely given a short suspension and had her tutor group taken away. Fast forward three years, and she was appointed Head of Diversity. How does that make any sense? What could she possibly know about diversity?

Then, there’s the corruption. The infamous SLT Couple. First, the husband was promoted to Assistant Head. Then, out of nowhere, the wife landed the same position. Not long after, the husband became Deputy Head—and, surprise, surprise—the wife somehow got the same role. Now, the school has two Deputy Headteachers, both part of the same couple. Just another example of the school’s obsession with power and favoritism, all hidden behind its so-called ethos.

And finally, the P.E. Department—the most unprofessional of them all. It’s more like a youth club than an actual teaching staff. One teacher, in particular, is known for dressing inappropriately—revealing way too much—and has (allegedly) even given her number to a student. On top of that, she’s extremely rude and condescending, yet she always has the final say. Because at this school, no matter what, staff are always protected, whether they’re in the right or not.

In the end, the school that proudly parades its so-called Catholic values is nothing more than an illusion. It preaches morality while protecting corruption, rewards incompetence, and turns a blind eye to abuse. The values it boasts about are nothing but empty words—ignored when inconvenient.

This isn’t just hypocrisy; it’s a system built to serve itself, where power comes before integrity and reputation before justice.

I went to Bishop Challoner myself many years ago, and was delighted at the thought of a close family member going there. I was bullied myself at the school, but was hopeful that being one of the top rated schools in the area this would not be the case any longer. How wrong I was. My close family member has been subjected to constant bullying by one particular student for the last 2 years. This student has also recruited other students to also make my family members life a misery. My family member is especially vulnerable due to several health related issues. Despite many meetings, incident reports, separation zones, none of which the headteacher has bothered to attend or comment on the student in question has never received a punishment. Letters of complaint to the governors were ignored and never responded to. On the other hand if my family member’s homework is late, her skirt is too short she’s given detention. This shows that the school is not interested in a student’s physical or mental wellbeing in any way shape or form only interested in seeming to maintain its image. Given the massive recent publicity of young people taking their own lives due to bullying at school this is frankly outrageous.
There is definitely favouritism going on with specific groups of students at the school with the staff in our experience.
Would definitely not recommend this school for any student who has any special needs being medical, emotional or intellectual as they will be bullied and the school will do nothing about it.

teachers are rude and racist

i am a year 7 going year8 and currently i am wishing i picked another school. Staff are so rude it is unprofessional and immature to an extent. they take their power over young kids to their advantage by scaring kids and severely telling them off.

for some reason they take homophobic language more seriously than racial comments and slurs. I have nothing against the LGBTQ community it’s just wrong to favourite these students over those who are bullied and severely punished for looking they way they are! homophobic language and racial language should on some sense be equal in terms of punishment.

for example i have an older friend who said one homophobic comment and she got suspended! whereas on the other hand TONS of racial comments have been made and not one of them have gotten more than ONE DAY isolation!!

Bishop Challoner Catholic Secondary School are one of the most diverse schools here in Basingstoke but they dismiss they’re most unique students and give them a hard experience leading them to hate waking up in the mornings to spend a full day knowing nothing good is coming they’re way. I would love to say one nice thing about the staff as a whole but i can’t!

there is this one receptionist lady whom i love the most she has been the most understanding and welcoming but as for the other ladies i beg to differ!

the canteen is WAY too overpriced for young kids you could buy at least 2-3 cheeseburgers at mcdonald’s or burger king for the not even a fraction of ours. the food variety and range is little to none and as one might say HORRENDOUS CHOICES ( i do love their waffles though😩)

i am a Muslim in a Catholic school and i am always getting comments from teachers regarding my religion my race and background which can be hurtful having and older sibling and being compared to them is even worse because they compare your academic abilities in the mix and bring you down.

sometimes you trust your teachers, heads of years and support team and beg for them
not to tell your parents but no matter what they call or email them and bring your scenario up in later assemblies recognising you as a victim of so and so

it is a really horrible feeling and not one i wish for on any young kid.

As a current year 8 going into year 9 in a couple of months, I have received little to no support with mental health. If I try reaching out to my tutor or the head of year they make almost everything public, I wanted to tell them about a struggle I was having and I told them that I didnt want to tell my parents. The very next day they informed my parents and my parents were certain I was going mad. I had a friend with a very low attendance and instead of letting her have more time in the class when she was in school, they took her out the classrooms for no reason to talk to her about attendance almost everytime she came to school.

The food quality is alright but definitely not worth the price, it's too expensive for the students to afford. Once I had forgotten my lunch at home so I told the office lady's and they said they would ring my parents, they said they weren't picking up and told me to come to the canteen with them and they tried making me pay for a certain food item I was allergic to (I told them I was) and they just said "it's the only thing that's left in the canteen sorry love".when I went home I asked my parents why they didn't pick up and it turns out they didn't even call them, I would brush this off as a coincidence but it happens almost every single time.

Teachers clearly picked favourites and don't treat all students equally. My friend is constantly being picked on and told off and given detentions for a simple of a reason like " she turned around" and even those would be lies. Teachers do not help with school work either; if I ask my teachers a question all they do is repeat my question I'm stuck on and walk away.

Although I do pretty well academically, it's not because of the school, it's because I self teach myself at home. Teachers need to do a better job at explaining and understanding that all students learn differently and at a different pace.

was a former student last year, did not get any support from teachers only the odd 1 or 3 but if you where ever upset they would show no care and put you back in class, i struggled with maths a lot and have a hard time consuming information but for the whole 5 years i never got good support from the maths department and never got the help i asked for instead i got put in random classes because of my out bursts and had no progression the maths for a good few years, bishop challoner is a very academic school you will either sink or float, as a student who struggled a lot i got nothing but rudeness off teachers and the reception staff, teachers and head of years projected unfairness, harshness and uncomfortable environment for all students, during year 8 i was very insecure and use to wear makeup and the horrible nasty comments i got off teachers i will never forget, if i could go back 5 years i would of picked a different school, a big issue they need to sort out is the racism because it is very severe . bishop challoner need to start sticking by their moto and stop giving a false image of this school .

School is exelent.Teachers are perfect they give to my daughter with anxiety very nice support.They understand how she is feeling and she get better and better every day.teachers are kind and very friendly.I’m recommending the school.

It was alright but definitely bordering on going downhill. Food is not great and too expensive for young children. Teachers can be abusive towards children and there is a clear lack of care.

This school did not support me well throught my struggles with mental health, learning difficulties and being called inappropriate things while in the school. Only around 3-4 of the teachers have shown some form of support for me. Others have lied to me and ignored important problems.
After I returned to the school from bring in the hospital for a suicide attempt, no one approached me to offer the correct support. I was given a medical card, meaning I can leave class for 5 minutes. After I explained I would not use this since I feel that it is unhelpful when I need to be out of class completely, they did not give me any other options.
I missed months of school due to bad mental health and not a single teacher followed up on that. During that time, when I came into school , I had obvious self harm on my face, neck and arms. No one followed up on this, no one asked if I was okay.
Studying in school was difficult for me because I struggle to read due to possibly having dyslexia. They helped out slightly by giving me different coloured papers and using a laptop during exams. This took almost 5 years to finally get sorted.
Overall, this school has not helped me much at all. A few teachers helped but they then left soon after that. The school should have offered more support while I was there.
Thank you for reading,
A year 11 student.

We've been at Bishop Challoner for 3 years now, and I couldn't be happier with the community and support here. My child is thriving academically and personally, and we've had amazing experiences with the Extended Curriculum, particularly with the volunteering and arts programs. The staff are always approachable and caring, and the facilities are excellent. We feel truly valued as part of the Bishop Challoner community.

We were a bit nervous about transitioning from primary to secondary school, but Bishop Challoner has really exceeded our expectations. The school's Catholic values and ethos are a big draw for us, and our child is settling in well. However, we've noticed that some of the technology and facilities could be updated, and communication with teachers could be better. Overall, we're very happy with the school and would recommend it to others.

We were part of the Bishop Challoner community for 4 years, and it was an incredible experience. The teachers are truly exceptional, not just in terms of their subject knowledge but also in their ability to care for and support each child. The school offers a wide range of opportunities, from music and drama to sports and volunteering, and our child was always encouraged to try new things and take on leadership roles. We have nothing but praise for Bishop Challoner and would highly recommend it to anyone.