Feedback on Harris Boys East Dulwich

[Lea pea]

Hi there, we are just about to embark on the secondary school application process with our Year 6 boy and I would be interested to hear from anyone local who has sent their son to the new Harris Boys Academy opposite Peckham Rye Park and what your experience has been? Current intake, wider curriculum - music/drama proviosion etc, after school clubs etc. I know that the Harris Federation as a whole has a great track record and is extremely successful but it still feels like a gamble with no GCSE results to refer to. Harris Boys is our nearest school but our top three choices would consist of Kingsdale, Harris Boys and Forest Hill Boys. Feedback on any of these would be welcome. Given that Kingsdale with the lottery system is, "statistically harder to get into than Oxford or Cambridge" (a quote from the head at our recent secondary transfer meeting!)I am wondering if putting it as our first preference would jeopardise our chances of achieving our second or third (more likely) preference? Any tips on this would be much appreciated! Thanks!

[BB100]

Firstly, as regards Harris Boys I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of GCSE results as many of the teachers have come from the Crystal Palace site so their results sort of speak for them and the Head is aiming to beat Crystal Palace's record and they seem to be on target for that. The range of activities and breadth of curriculum is really remarkable but if your child doesn't like sport then there is a lot of it. After-school activities are compulsory and take the form of Enrichment. The discipline is also on the heavy side and the boys can get dentention for very very minor offences and so some boys and parents have not liked this. The school day is long. It has a very slick and regimented organisation which is not a bad thing since things get done and are done well. It is better to go and see for yourself and talk to the boys and then you will understand what I mean. They have classes of 25 children in sets of ability.

Forest Hill boys I have heard mixed things but mostly parents are happy with it. The GCSE results seem to coast along around the same percentage for years so they don't seem to be making any improvement but they don't go down either. However, saying that the previous Head felt strongly that boys need GCSEs and refused to introduce alternative qualifications ie. BTECH as he said they were a waste of paper. Consequently their results are pure GCSE. That may well change with the new Head in post though. The extra-curricular activities is their specialism. They have classes of 30 children of mixed ability, except for some subjects which have to have smaller classes.

Kingsdale have been working hard to change their school and many Kingsdale parents have been very happy with their children there. Their exam results have not yet been published this year but that issue cannot be discussed on here yet. Drama/music is a specialism and they offer scholarships for music. It is unclear how many as their prospectus this year says minimum of 15%. It is unclear also whether the maths scholarship will run this year either, as details will not be avialable until their Open Day. Classes are around 20-25 children and sometimes much smaller, usually in form classes of ability.

[whirly]

Putting a school with a high number of applications first on your list does NOT affect your chances of being offered any other school.

The "computer" at PAN London applications submits your name to all schools you applied to without telling the school which number you placed it at.

The school then decides whether to offer you a place according to their criteria - distance/lottery, etc. All/some of the schools may offer you a place.

The computer only tells you about the highest ranked school in your order of preferences. Hence you must put them in the true order of your preference in order to stand a chance of getting the school you want most.

[DenmotherSmith]

Hello Lea Pea

My son started in Harris Boys this September and so far he is loving it. It was not my first choice, but it was his, plus he transferred with nine boys from his primary school so the whole transfer experience for him has been very smooth. So far I am very happy with the school, it is as mentioned above, very slick and organised. The teachers have been quick to respond when I have contacted them, and also telephoning to let me know that they have been very happy with his work.

It is very firm on discipline, but my son has not had a single reprimand, he's a smart boy, loves to learn, and understands what behaviour is required of him. He seems to like the fact that other pupils bad behaviour is not allowed to interfere with his learning. The behaviour expectations are very clear and the boys receive a verbal warning, followed by isolation if the behaviour continues, and detention. My son certainly does not feel that the discipline is unfair or metered out unnecessarily.

After-school activities are not compulsory, only the 'homework club' which is for those pupils who are not completing their homework satisfactorily at home. So far my son has joined the after-school art class, choir, and debating club. For such a small school (currently 450) there are a lot of after-school clubs ( about four to six different clubs each afternoon)

They are steadily increasing their music provision, with several instruments available for tuition plus music theory.

I do not think the provision of sports is excessive, the timetable runs over two weeks, and in that time my son has two hours of dance, one hour of swimming, two hours of outdoor sports i.e. football, rugby etc. and one hour of indoor sports basketball etc. In the same time period he has three hours of music, two of drama and three of art.

He receives quite a bit of homework, all of which has been interesting and he has enjoyed doing. The school does expect the boys to be responsible and organised, having the correct kit, books, uniform etc. and they are disciplined if they fail to do so. My son is the eldest of four, very mature for his age, and has not struggled with this but some of his friends from primary school have found it more challenging.

The food is also exceptionally good and he comes home raving about it! He also loves the fact that its so close (We live in nunhead) and he really enjoys cycling to school.

With regard to your application form, I suggest you really do put down the schools you like in order of preference, even it your chances are very slim of gaining a place, if its your favourite school put if first.

Good luck, I actually was very pleasantly surprised buy how good the secondary schools were when we were looking last year and did not visit one I thought he wouldn't be happy in.

[BB100]

Thanks for the update DenmotherSmith about Harris Boys- they have made a few adjustments in the past few weeks I haven't caught up with yet. Some boys did use to complain about the amount of sport probably because the enrichment was compulsory. It's still 2 hours more than most schools which is a bonus I think. Glad your child is enjoying it. I'm sure when their first set of GCSE's are published parents will be banging on the doors to get in.

[Lea pea]

Thanks so much for all your insights - most enlightening. My instinct tells me to encourage my son to go for Harris Boys rather than following the hordes to Kingsdale and your responses have given me much confidence in this so thank you!

[EDmummy]

I hope you don't mind me asking BB100, do you have some connection to the school? Although not totally supportive of single sex schools, I am really looking forward to seeing it and will be going with a completely open mind. Thanks for your insights.

[BB100]

I have a child at the Crystal Palace school but he has friends at Harris Boys so I get to hear all about it from both the boys and the parents. I know children who have moved from Harris Boys to Kingsdale, from Kingsdale to Harris Boys, from Forest Hill to Kingsdale and from Kingsdale to Forest Hill (but not Harris Boys to Forest Hill or back again, just yet) so really parents do need to go with an open mind and decide what will suit your child rather than whether you think it's a good school or not because they all seem to be good in their own way - and each have some negative points too.

One tip when you visit is to ask the children if you can see their planners (or ask staff for a copy). That way you can see what subjects are offered and how many lessons are allocated for each subject. Propectuses can be misleading.

[h1981]

I'd like also like to add positive feedback about Harris Boys East Dulwich, but as a parent of one of the aforementioned primary school friends of Denmothersmith's son who does find the organisational aspects a considerable challenge! My son was notorious at his primary school for leaving things and losing things at school and hearing about a strict regime at Harris we feared that he might get into regular trouble for something he finds genuinely hard to do. He has however (mostly) risen to the challenge, albeit with the assistance of some teamwork at home in terms of preparing for the day...though that help is becoming less necessary! He also happens to be a serial delayer/disliker of homework, and hearing homework was done every night, we feared this also might be an issue, but again he is adapting and it is becoming a comfortable norm (though the homework has admittedly yet to reach an over-challenging stage). Additionally, the option does seem to be there to do some of it in school time (ie not the post-school homework club). This week he twice started homework UNPROMPTED on his return home - unheard of whilst at primary! The boys all have a planner/diary which has been a great asset (possibly this happens at a lot of secondary schools?). I've just asked him and one of his friends who's here now whether they like the school. Both gave an unhesitant "yes". Reasons they gave, in enthusiastic agreement, were the equipment, the facilities, the lessons being interesting and fun...my son said he's learnt loads, which for someone who finds being distracted as easy as falling off a log is a big deal!

[15Daniele]

Hi

Any new thoughts about this school, 4 years on?

[EDmummy]

Plenty in a recent post here http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,1482802,1484860#msg-1484860

[EDmummy]

Their website also contains details of their recent GCSE results.