Ondine

I don't know the current manager at all but my kids did 0-7 in the Villa and it was wonderful. I would be surprised if the proprietor has let it slip. When you say 'bad press' I take it you mean anecdotes from parents? Might be worth putting the comments directly to Amy (and Gillian Quinn) to find out what it's all about.

Just got power - excited teenager gone back to bed, and the younger one missed the whole episode

Yes we've got power failure here in Camberwell too. Weird as I was just reading the Carbon Diaries this evening....l

Again, not ballet but my girls loved the Hunger Games trilogy - think it's Suzanne Collins.

have PM'd - Lyndhurst was great for my 2

And what is the thing about chest freezers?

wjfox Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I live on Lordship Lane - but decided to leave my > flat as soon as the trouble started. I'm staying > with my parents in Cambridgeshire right now. Can > anyone tell me what the current situation on > Lordship Lane is? I am seriously worried about my > flat (northern end of Lordship Lane). Thanks. Extraordinary. Why did you leave?

You can serve broccoli without making anyone cry

And it's so cool when the toddler climbs into the cot to join the baby - got to let that happen!

My kids are 13 and 10 and their Tripp Trapps remain in daily use as computer/desk chairs - seriously good buy!

Has she got any of the klutz drawing books? Bug habitat, worm farm, ant farm - worm farm went down really well with my girls. Cool colouring books, eg the doodle series, with a big box of pencils/pens. Junie b jones series are brilliant us classics about a small girl starting school. Playmobil/Lego.

Love center parcs and been loads of times. We usually go to longleat. We were there for a 5 day stay this past new year and it was lovely. The houses are cleverly grouped in clusters of 4-5 so that you really don't see much at all of your neighbours. We tend to go for the woodland lodges, which are about mid-price and there are loads of them in all areas of the park. it's worth studying the map carefully to try and work out where you want to be. Eg how long a walk/ cycle to the pool. We tend to go for ones on the outer perimeter so you get lots of visits from the deer there, which my kids love.

Hmmm interesting... I have a year 8 at kingsdale. She had the chance of the Ypres trip for history last year and wasn't well so missed it. But generally she's the sort who's happy lashed to the desk. Have to commend kingsdale for their pastoral care. She's had a hard time going into teens and they have offered excellent support.

FatherJack Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > Who knows I still don't know why parents are > advised to accept their initial offer while > they apply to waiting lists/appeal. If everyone > does this there will be nothing to shake up. > Just to respond from my experience on this specific question - when my elder daughter was in the system 2 years ago she got her 3rd school which we accepted. I assumed this took us out of the system but we then got an offer of her 2nd school a couple of weeks later when the first round of movements had taken place, so we ended up with a real choice.

Schooldays over - Luke Kelly

Hop on the 171 and you're at the South Bank in 20 mins

we've been to whinfell once and longleat loads of times. Whinfell amazing for the red squirrels and the pheasants. Longleat closer and less rainy so it wins with us. If you book a house on the outer edge of the site you typically see the deer 2-3 times a day. My kids love to experiment with which foods draw which animals.

Anthony Horowitz is great - there's a crime series that might be good for his age - think my DD was 8 when she got into them.

Have you been to Tenerife before - loro parque is a must do

My daughter has just been to rye lane and the 363 is still terminating at peckham rye

My kids got quite a lot of use from one of those little Asus eee mini laptops. Ours is Linux which I find less intuitive than windows but they did fine with it. Big advantage is it's super tough and can withstand some banging around.

Lol was my kids I meant! Of course there are loads of books that would help. Was just my 12 and 10 yr olds I meant by "experts"

I just asked my daughters and they insist no such books exist :). Despite the expert advice, I suggest trying Jacqueline Wilson and Anne Fine.

Want about costa del sol? Did nerja in dec with my 6 wk old all those years ago and it was fab

I have a year 8 too and she's very happy there and has reported no problems. Like the poster above, I have found the school extremely responsive when I have raised anything with them. It's number one on my younger child's list. As to police being called into the area, it is standard practice these days for all schools to have connections with the local Safer Neighbourhood Team. PCSO's regularly attend many secondary schools at the end of the day to ensure that pupils go home safely. Could that be what's meant?