Catchment Area for Dulwich Village Infants

[etta166]

The school office will give you the distances. It's huge at the moment, probably further than you'd want to walk with a 4 year old...

[Sol]

Thank you. They gave me the distances for first offers but not up to September offers. The people I know got places in 2015 and 2016 and they are more than 1200 meters away; certainly gone up compared to a few years ago; perhaps due to 2 new primaries in the area. The strange thing is that the Hamlet catchment this year was less than 800 meters so where do this other kids who joined in year 3 came from and the others who didn't get a place went to. Mystery!

I get my sister to put it as first option and see what happens.

[Sonners]

It stretches to at least the corner of Dunstans Road and Goodrich Road for Reception this year as a friend got a waiting list place last Friday. She's turned the place down so it will end up a bit wider than that. I think that the plan of what to do if you live at the edge of the catchment on the ED side of Lordship Lane and then subsequently don't get into Hamlets is quite important!

[Sol]

Thank you. Will ask my sister to take that into account as that's the risk she woild take if she is offered a place next year and accept it; however I would have expected that most children will be settle in other schools in year 2 and won't want to move for year 3 and most of then places will be for kids from the infant anyway; this doesn't seem to be the case though. I guess there schools like the villa and Herne Hill that only go until year 2 and don't get into the private ones and kids moving from other local schools for year 3 for whatever reason. It is quite tricky to predict what will happen in 3 years.

[etta166]

Again, you can contact the Hamlet school to find out.

When I asked many years ago, I was told that 20-30 children a year do not go from the Village school to the Hamlet, for a variety of reasons. I was under the impression that the Hamlet catchnment was bigger, normally, than the Village school catchment had been 3 years earlier. But you are right that every year children miss out on places in the transition between schools. Some also leave to go to other schools by choice. You could even find that you like the Village school but not the Hamlet school. They are different schools, after all.

[Sol]

Thank you Etta. I did call the Hamlet and this year it went to 790 meters for up to September offers. The previous years are on their website and it has gone up to 1000 meters. I know there are lots of factor involved including birth rate in the area each year.