barrybarry

I'm so sad to hear this and wish I had known. Raj has brightened up so many days for me and my family over the past few years. I hope he realises how much he will be missed.

So my son isn't the ONLY child in the country not to have a smart phone, after all! We bought our 12 year old a brick when he started secondary school. It cost ?10, charges up in about 10 minutes and stays charged for literally about 3 weeks. He REALLY wants a smart phone - all of his friends have them - but we have stuck to our guns for now. I know he looks at stuff on everyone else's devices, but I'm keen to keep him off social media for as long as possible. He's easily distracted as it is and a smart phone would make it worse. Having said that, I do sometimes worry that I've made him a social leper. We have said we'll upgrade his old school Nokia when he turns 13 but tbh I'm dreading it.

The Norwood School - 'will reserve up to 10% of places as Bursaries offered to pupils who show a particular aptitude for our Specialism in Visual and Performing Arts.' www.thenorwoodschool.org

Extra tickets are available to buy in person at the gallery and they can be bought in advance. I went along on Friday afternoon and they had sold out for the rest of the day, but I was able to buy a couple of tickets for Tuesday.

Not sure what stage you're at/what the issue is, but Shelter's housing advice line is apparently very useful and not just for people who are homeless. They also have various fact sheets and template letters on their website http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice

My son got into the Phoenix when he was 8 and still loves it. Here's a link to an online version which just came out: http://www.thephoenixcomic.co.uk/free-digi-phoenix/

Does anyone know if it is a drop in event or a presentation-type affair? Could I come along at 8pm or will I miss important information if I do that? Thanks

I just had a joint party for my 6 year old daughter in the church hall at St Clement with St Peter (off Barry Road). It was great! We hired a bouncy castle from Jumping Jacks and the kids pretty much entertained themselves (with a few party games thrown in). There's a kitchen there so you can prepare or cook food and make the grown ups a cuppa if they're staying and there are plenty of tables and chairs. Quite a few parents said they didn't know it was available for hire - it's only free on Saturday afternoon for kids parties. Anyway, I'd really recommend it. http://www.stclementwithstpeter.btck.co.uk/FortheChildren

Has anyone here joined the Patient Group at DMC? I've been a member for several years (though must admit to only going a few times). They meet every month or so and the next meeting is Tuesday 6th November at 6.30pm. Last time I went there were only 2 patients and about 5 members of staff, including GPs. This might be a good place to get your voices heard. I have always had a reasonable experience at DMC - apart from it taking 20 mins to get through at 8am - but if you haven't this meeting might be a good time to let them know. I have also just been sent an 'Annual GP Patient Survey' from DMC. I haven't had one before but if you are at DMC and haven't been sent one, it might be worth trying to pick one up. I've ticked all the 'reasonably satisfied' boxes but couldn't say I'd recommend the surgery because I've heard so many horror stories.

According to St Anthony's website, 'The governing body has been unable to offer a place to a non-Catholic applicant at any time in the last 10 years.' I think that's a shame. I don't think you can describe people who would like their children to have a chance of getting into their nearest school (which is Catholic) anti-Catholic. Surely the opposite is true! I would love my children to have some Catholic friends but they aren't going to make any at school or cubs.

I have been interested to read the replies to my post and I do agree with some of the points - faith schools making it possible for lower income families to get into better schools etc. I'm honestly happy to have my opinion changed - I'm not sure if that makes me 'innocent' or not. I continue to feel a bit sad that the school we walk past every day will not/can not educate them. I understand that it is oversubscribed and I suppose you could argue the same for the cubs, but I genuinely think it is healthy for Catholics and non-Catholics to mix. I would like to reiterate that my children have a place at a (slightly further away) community school which I and they are happy with. I will teach my children about God at home and church and when they continue to ask me why they aren't allowed to go to St Anthony's or to the cubs that had that nice summer fair the other week, I'll keep trying to explain that it is full. They're bound to be interested in all the building work that will be going on over the road. I just wish I could tell them it was going to lead to a more inclusive school.

Thanks for the warm welcome, dolly daydream! I was using 'scouts' as an umbrella term, i.e. cub scouts, beaver scouts. I realise there is a waiting list for the pack that meets at St Anthony's, because I asked if my son could join it. I was told he couldn't as he is not a Catholic. To answer your other questions, yes I do attend church every Sunday but wanted my children to be able to walk to school, hence sending them to the nearest school that would take them (St Anthony's is nearest, but they wouldn't have accepted them). It's not relevant to my post, but Dulwich Hamlets is not a faith school. Dulwich Village Infants is, but they take 50% of non-church goers, which in my opinion, gives a much more welcoming impression of the church community it represents. Oh, and my comment about St Anthony's pupils who's grandparents attend was based on the admissions criteria from a few years ago. Perhaps things have changed since then. I certainly hope so.

After years of lurking, this thread has finally persuaded me to register with EDF! I feel quite strongly that this extension shouldn't be allowed to go ahead, because of the exclusive nature of the school. We live within view of the school and are Christians, but have no chance of getting in there. Meanwhile, people drive in from all over the place to attend, sometimes just because their grandparents go to the church. What really shocked me was that my son is not even able to go to the scouts that is held at the school! It is only open to Catholics. As it happens, I am happy for my son to attend a community school. The idea that children should mix exclusively with children of the same religion seems like an unhelpful one. I don't think we should be encouraging it. If the extension took place with the proviso that the school should start taking a proportion of non-Catholics, that would be a different story. It would also give the school a chance to spread the message that they clearly feel so strongly about. Isn't that the whole point of faith schools, after all?