St John's and St Clement's and Belham Primary

[mollywynnowen]

Hi,

Would parents of either St John's and St Clement's or Belham Primary be willing to share their experiences with us? Are you/were you happy with the academic programme, the quality of teaching, the general atmosphere...? We are parents of a 7 and 5 year old and trying to decide which school to choose. Would hugely appreciate any insights (feel free to PM me).

Many thanks.

[scarlettbanks]

Hi Molly,

We live in the area, and our neighbours with kids at The Belham talk very highly of it. As you probably know, it's quite a new school (3 years so far?), but the kids we know seem extremely happy there, are excited when on their way to school, and seem very bright. Lots of art, music, and PE too, especially now that they've moved into their permanent building (which has quite a few purpose-built gyms/music rooms / art rooms etc). They don't have an Ofsted rating or exam results yet (not that one should care too much about these given the age of the kids), but the parents there reckon both of these things will fare very well when they happen. Our kids are too young, but that's where we'll be sending them I think. I've heard nice things about SJSC too, so I'm sure your kids will be happy wherever (and I think you don't have to be christian to go, although it's a christian environment). Both schools have open days coming soon - maybe you should visit.

S

[mima08]

HI Molly

I will be biased as my son has been at the Belham since reception (now about to go into year 3) and absolutely loves it. As do we as parents. The school is really driven by its vision to provide the best for the whole child, not just academic achievement but emotional, social and ethical development, too.

Saying that, the academic achievements are very good, too. The teachers are fantastically engaged and the level of activities is fab to inspire the kids and make learning fun. For example, in reception, the kids went around the local shops counting apples or sausages to get them started on math, read signs etc. There is a lot of opportunities for parents to contribute to the school, too, via the PTA, various sports activities (e.g. a few parents help with out-of-school hours football class, which is in addition to an afternoon football club), and I've been on a number of school trips as a volunteer which was great fun each time.

Come to the open day to find out more!

I should say that those friends whose kids are at SJSC are very happy, too, so it's a good dilemma to have to choose between these schools :)

[Ebeb2]

Bellenden Road School has an Open day this Friday, by way of comparison?