Another ED primary schools question

[alimc]

Hi all

I know the ED primary schools discussion is probably as eternal as the Waitrose one but it would be great to hear some of your thoughts again.

I am planning to move to SE22 or SE23 area from SE1 shortly with my husband and 10 month old girl. We have accepted that private school is not an option if we want to have more than one kid so we have agreed to target our searches around Heber, Goodrich, Fairlawn and Horniman as we have heard good things about them all. However there is nothing like some reassurance or warnings from those in the know when you are about to embark on a new chapter, so I'd be grateful to hear what you think.

My big concern is how these schools prepare the child for secondary school and beyond and which schools do the kids from Heber etc go to for secondary? If any of you recommend any other schools besides those above then please share your thoughts. Neither my husband nor I were educated in the UK so we're not really familiar with the system here (although we are doing our best to get up to speed).

Thanks in advance.

p.s. any general positive messages about living in SE22 or SE23 would be gratefully received also although we are already loving both areas but it's a bit tricky to choose between them. Cheers.

[LondonMix]

Do a search on the forum using the school's names. Part of the reason for few responses is a very similar thread was started on Goodrich last week for example. There are many recent parent views on all the schools that you can look up.

SE22 and SE23 have different strengths. I (living in ED :)) like Dulwich and Peckham Rye Park more than the green spaces of SE23 though the Horniman Museum and Gardens in FH are outstanding as are the Dulwich / Sydnahm Woods, One Tree Hill and the Nature Reserve in Honor Oak. I am just more of a park with a cafe person.

I think Lordship Lane is a terrific high street and Bellenden Rd in Peckham is easily accessible from ED and has more and more interesting shops and restaurants on offer. There are more places opening up in Honor Oak and FH is part of the Portas scheme to regenerate the high street so things look positive though it's not as good as ED / Peckham Rye yet.

Transport links are probably better in Honor Oak than most places you could live in ED- Victoria / London Bridge / ELL and City-Thameslink-Blackfriars (Crofton Park is nearby) trains all within a short walk.

On the objective academic stats, the schools in SE23 are better on average than in ED (including value add) but both areas offer quality primary education so neither area is a bad choice. SE23 is also still quite a bit cheaper than SE22 and with larger / grander hosuing stock so if you go there you'll not just pay less but you'll probably be able to find a much grander place.

It's really what's most important to you as both areas have a lot to offer.

[alimc]

Thanks Londonmix. That really is very helpful. I guess our major concern, not being familiar with the system, is buying a house in what we think might be the catchment area for a school only to find out when our year comes up that the catchment area has shrunk. It seems like such a gamble. I intend to call admissions at the schools to chat about it but I don't expect them to give me property advice or read a crystal ball. What if my kid ends up in a school that I am unhappy with because we have no choice or is it possible that our house may end up not being in the catchment area for any school. Is that possible? What do people do?

[nymom]

Sent you a private message

[redjam]

It is a gamble and the only way you can be sure of 'winning' is by buying a house virtually next door to the school of your choice, as obviously catchment areas differ each year depending on number of siblings etc. But the good thing about SE22 and SE23 is that there are lots of excellent and improving schools, so if you target a neighbourhood with a few decent schools nearby, you should be OK. There are certain 'black holes' to watch out for - some streets around Peckham Rye are not very near any primary schools so I gather there have been problems getting into local schools from there - but by and large most people seem to get a decent school in the end (though be aware that you might not get given on in the first round of allocations - there's a 'shakedown' period so don't despair if you don't get offered the school of your choice immediately).

As for secondary schools, that's a whole other ball game. All secondary schools set their own entrance criteria so it's fiendishly complicated and virtually impossible to work out whether you would get into one unless it's one of the schools that allocates places solely on distance (i.e. Charter), in which case, again, you'd have to live very close by to be absolutely sure of getting a place (and pay a premium for doing so). Probably best to do as we did and bury your head in the sand about secondary school places until it's time to think about them! Good luck...

[LondonMix]

Alimc, unfortunately, it's possible and it does happen. The council try to deal with it by creating special bulge classes but sometimes people are sent out of area (up to 2 miles away). I'll repost some info regarding how to judge your currently likelihood of getting into a school but things change very quickly. Southwark have plans to address the shortages (contact Cllr Renata who is very helpful and primary schools issues and active on the forum).

If its the kind of thing that keeps you up at night, just move as close to a primary school as you can (well within the furthest place most recently offered). In Honor Oak, the state primaries are clustered quite close to each other and are all very good so you'd likely be okay if you plopped yourself around the cluster including Stillness, Fairlawn, Dalmain, and St William of York which are all very strong schools.

Good luck and try not to stress out about it. For the vast majority of people, it works out just fine- kids attend a local primary school. Given that pretty much all the primary schools in the area are good, even if you don't get your first choice, you are unlikely to end up with a dog. I'm an expat too so I understand your concerns!

[LondonMix]

As promised some information on Southwark Primary admissions etc that can help you get an idea of recent furthest distances that I posted on a thread for someone living around Mamora road--

I suggest using two great resources for parents that can help you understand what's likely. In Southwark's brochure "Starting Primary school in Southwark" at this link [www.southwark.gov.uk] you can find the furthest place offered on distance (ie excluding care and sibling offers) for the previous year. Academies and faith schools don't provide that detail but I have found that if you email the schools directly, they can provide you with that stat within a couple of hours as they get the request so often! The brochure highlights if there was a bulge at a school as this will distort things and under those circumstances, I would again suggest you ring or email the school in question and find out what the distance was in the last year where there was no bulge.

Once you have that you can enter your postcode and the postcode of your closest 6 schools at the link below to see exactly how far away you are as the crow flies, which is almost always the distance measurement used for primary admissions. [www.freemaptools.com]. The schools postcodes and email addresses are in the brochure at the first link.

Good luck (it's so stressful). And remember, there are plans for permanent expansion of some of the local primary schools in the western part of ED / Dulwich Village etc. While you won't likely get into those schools, it might ease demand and therefore increase the catchment of some of the popular schools nearer you like Goodrich. Not sure what your timing is but Renata is usually really helpful and providing information about what's happening in primary education locally including where bulges are likely to occur next.

[Coach Beth]

We are lucky in this area in that, as Redjam says, there is not a massive disparity between primary schools and most primary schools are doing well. There are some areas which are 'black holes' and I think people living in Nunhead have had more problems due to the oversubscription of the popular school Ivydale than people living in SE22 Also, as your daughter is just 10 months old, you will find that schools will change by the time they reach primary school age - I remember about four to five years ago people were actively avoiding Ivydale it's now one of the most popular schools in the area!

A school that might be your first choice now might not be in 4 years time when your child is ready to go to school

I would encourage you to visit a range of schools in SE22 and SE23. Stillness in SE23 is a good school for instance that get's overlooked as Fairlawn is seen as the 'best school'. It might put your mind at rest that there are more than just 3 or 4 schools that you would be happy with.

Good luck!

[alimc]

Hi all

Just wanted to thank you all for taking the time to post such helpful responses. We might rent for a while and pounce on a house in a catchment area or we might put an offer in on a house we love in a black out zone and see what happens!

There are certainly lots of good schools in the area so that's reassuring.

Cheers

a

[Renata Hamvas]

Hi ,

just to say Alimc and I have been in contact via pm. All primary schools in the ED, Forest Hill, Nunhead area are good, so even if you don't get your preferred school the other schools are also good.

Renata