Moving to Dulwich

[canela]

We also moved to the area for an in-term entry to Year 1. The council told me to put 16 schools down on the list and "take it from there"!!! I put down 4 and got into my top choice. It can easier during term-time as places come up when people move. I would just choose an area you like and then go for the nearest schools. I think they are all pretty good around here to be honest.

I worried about this but it was a whole lot easier than it seemed to be at first. Good luck

[vez]

I also just heard about Langbourne totally being turned around with new head. People are now considering it who wouldn't have in the past. Tiny class sizes, motivated teachers etc. The area around has good housing and your husband could take a direct bus to Kings (not sure about trains there may even be a better route).

[Mucky72]

Hi ZGaze - Is your DC going to Reception at Dulwich Wood Primary?

Canela- Your words are encouraging. I just hope we don't get into a situation whereby we move to the area we like and then be stuck with sending kids to a mediocre / dodgy school allocated far away by the council due to over subscription in the nearby good schools! Will be truly stuffed then :)

Vez- Thanks. Might have to make a trip down before making a decision. I am wondering how far a commute it would be from Langbourne/ Dulwich Wood to DV (by car).

[sanity girl]

It'll be about 10 minutes in the car - but depends a bit on which side of Dulwich Village you are living in as the village can get v trafficky around school drop-off/pick up times

[ZGaze]

I think my DS will end up at Langbourne/DW - we have a closer school which is outstanding (it's one of the much sought after Gipsy Hill Federation schools) but it's a one form entry so catchment tiny - last year we would have been within the boundary by 47mm! I'm being negative and assuming we won't get a place this year so Langbourne it will be. Which is fine - he's already at the newly twinned nursery, and anyway I reckon in a couple of years it will be the school everyone wants - the grounds and building will be amazing once the work has been completed and I really did like the head and members of staff we met.

[ZGaze]

Also - it's easy from Dulwich Village if you park on College Road - there's a cut through from there via Sydenham Hill rail station straight to the school. It's actually an easy and nice walk - I regularly walk from the Crystal Palace end of College Road straight to Dulwich Park or the Picture Gallery.

[chuff]

My youngest went to the Dulwich Wood Nursery before starting at Dulwich Village Infants, I honestly thought Dulwich Wood was fantastic with my boy who at the time was refusing to speak. They identified this without any prompting from me and let him spend time in a sensory room before asking If i'd like to refer him for speech therapy. I had already put this in place but was impressed with the staff identifying a potential problem. He turned out just to be a stubborn thing and now doesn't stop, but still, they were good.

The surroundings of Dulwich Wood and Langbourne aren't the best and it did put me off a bit, but my experience there was all good. We live right by the village schools so it was a natural move once we had a place. I certainly wouldn't discount these schools and well worth a visit.

Also i've seen quite a lot of movement in DVIS and Dulwich Hamlet over the years, my eldest son was offered a place half way through reception due to moving to the area.

good luck.

[canela]

Mucky72, that was exactly my worry! In the end it didn't happen - so fingers crossed for you too! I think the trick is to move somewhere where you are definitely in the catchment area for lots of good schools - East Dulwich for example - and try and move really close to a few - which is not that difficult as there seem to be primary schools every couple of roads. Then when places come up - and they do - you definitely fit the bill. In my son's class there have already been 2 in-term entries this year alone - people do move for jobs etc, as you know.

[Mucky72]

Canela- Glad it paid off for you!

Have been hearing good things about Heber Primary and having checked out other reports and reviews and looking at the school's website, I was quite pleased overall. I have rung the school twice now and had a chat. There are two places available right now in Yr 2 and none in reception, although nobody in the waiting list for Reception has a sibling in school which means if my DS were to get a place in Yr 2, DD would certainly be on top of the waiting list due to sibling. All good so far and we might even be willing to take a risk on that.

However, here's the catch- DC and I can't actually move in to the area until end of March because of personal circumstances here in Cardiff one of which is we are committed to pay the full terms fees (until Easter) in DS's current private school in Cardiff since this relocation was all very sudden and we had to give a terms notice to the school. So align he only started a week ago, we couldn't pull out as we had to pay for the term! Same goes for our current house in terms of rent. Can't really afford to throw away term fees and rent AND rent a new place in London at the moment!!

I explained this to Heber and Southwark Council and they said if they were to offer us a Yr 2 place then DS would have to start there immediately. Well Heber said they could wait upto 2 wks but that's it. They can't allocate a place to us now and hold it until March. So basically I can apply a few weeks before march and hope the places are still available or apply now if we want the place but then he would have to start no later than 2 weeks after accepting the place (unless the head teacher uses his or her discretion to extend it beyond 2 wks, acc to the council).

Also just found out that for in year applications I can only name one school in the application form. Isn't that a bit harsh? So basically we have no choice and in case our choice isn't available the council can allocate us whichever school they want. That seems one hell of a gamble! Our kids are currently going to two wonderful schools in Cardiff and I would expect similar if not identical standard of schools to be honest. Is this the case with Lewisham/Lambeth/Bromley too??

Although DS is going to the best private school here at the moment, I am not keen to split the kids when we move to London as it will be a new place for them anyway and I don't want them to have the additional distress of being apart (and it would not be feasible to have them both in private school in London where the fees seem to be almost quadruple!!)

So I am now trying to weigh the pros and cons of whether to bide my time and apply to Heber now or later.

Fortunately Southwark council seem to be ok with us applying using our current address and not providing proof of address right now but am I right in thinking its not the same with Lewisham or Lambeth?

Also as a back up (and since I was told one can also apply to lewisham borough separately) would it be wise for us to consider an area with good primary schools closely even though none of them have spaces currently. The schools which come to mind are Stillness, Dalmain, Horniman, Kilmorie- is there an area which roughly covers these schools so that as a mid year transfer they might consider a place for us in one or two of theses schools even in the worse case scenario of the DC being apart but close enough for me to do the school runs and be in a good area overall, if that makes sense.

Apologies for rambling on....I have even started to imagine primary schools in my bowl of Weetabix every morning! ;-)

Whoever thought admissions could be such a nightmare!

[BeccaL]

Not sure about Stillness or Dalmain, but Horniman is usually only 1 form entry, so much smaller nos per year, so less chance of a place coming up. Kilmorie is bigger (think it's now 3 form entry), so likely to be more movement. I would expect (though no expert!) that if there are 2 places in yr 2 now in Heber, they'd probably still be there in a couple or months, though that's obviously a punt...

[edanna]

As others have suggested, it sounds like you need to pick an area you want to live in, can afford and is convenient for work and then find a place to live preferably near one or two schools, or more. As others have said if it's 3-form entry there is more chance a place will come up. Trying to find a school with current places is a red herring IMO - these things move quickly so just because a place isn't free now it doesn't mean one won't come up soon. My son is in year 1 at Bessemer and there have been 3 new children in his class (1 of 3) since September. I know there's an element of risk but I don't think you can avoid that.

[Olivetree]

Hi, I also work at Kings and live in Herne Hill. It's a 20 minute walk and my eldest son is in reception at Bessemer Grange, we turned down our Dulwich infants offer as we were so impressed with Bessemer! It's a lovely school and Herne Hill is a wonderful community to live in, we have been here for 7 years. There are trains from North Dulwich to London Bridge or Herne Hill station to Victoria.

Good luck with your searches!

[johnie]

Hi Mucky

I don't want to be negative, but I really think you should come a visit the area for a couple of days if you can. Rental costs here are much higher than in Cyncoed, and demand is very strong. You might be very surprised at what you can get for your money, and that might have a bearing on the schools that are available to you.

If you do visit there aren't many hotels local, but you might try the Victoria Inn http://www.victoriainnpeckham.com/home.html

It is pretty central to your search, and friendly.

Johnie

[Mucky72]

Hiya Johnie

Will probably drive down for a visit soon and kip over with family/friends but thanks for the hotel info. Londons like second home to us so this will just be one more visit! Will be easier to short list and take a call once we have a gander.

[Mucky72]

Hi Edanna/Olive Tree

Thanks for yr msgs. Yes going by a school and then picking an area to live might not be the best bet right now. We are still keen on Heber but will take a call once we go visit the areas shortly.

I was very disappointed to learn that we can only name one school in their year application form. At least that's what Southwark council told us. Not so sure about Lambeth/ Lewisham??

Olive Tree- Are you a medic too @ Kings? We have some friends who used to live in Dulwich village but have moved to herne hill now and they really like it! V encouraging words you say about Bessemer Grange. May have to give it another thought and visit the school since this name keeps coming up.

[SE22mum]

Mucky,

think it depends on who answers the phone. the woman I spoke to at Southwark about in-year admissions told me to list 16 schools!

[Mucky72]

SE2mum,

This is what baffles me how I always seem to get different responses from diff schools and boroughs! Doesn't help the situation does it! There seems to be no clarity or uniformity between and among councils and schools. Having said that I got a kind response from Bromley council today basically saying the same thing that I need to move into an area first.

[SE22mum]

IMHO if you move into a "nice" area then the primary schools tend to be all pretty good. I would be happy with my child going to any school in ED, Herne Hill etc to be honest.

[Mucky72]

Hello all,

So our move got delayed due to too many reasons. Now looks like we can move just after Easter. We spent the weekend in Bromley yesterday and narrowed down to Bickley and Bromley, (close to Bromley and Bickley stations)preferably Bickley, but could stretch it to Shortlands and Ravensbourne. Our first choice is Bickley Primary which may well be over subscribed atm.

However there are a few other schools around which we are likely to find rented accommodation.

These are:

Raglan

Downderry

Valley Primary

Clare House

Any feedback on the above schools would be much appreciated and also if there are any other schools in these vicinity please which are good and may have slipped through my net. X

[SE22mum]

Bromley consistently rates as the highest quality of life for families in London. I think the standard of primaries is very good.

[????]

...but it is a fair way from East Dulwich/DV/Herne Hill etc, so you may be asking in the wrong place

[sillywoman]

I agree. I doubt very much that anyone in ED will have children going to school that far away, especially when the schools hereabouts are so good, but you never know. Maybe Bickley has it's own forum you could ask on? As an interesting aside, we did the move the opposite direction 20 years ago. We lived in Bickley pre-children and moved here as soon as we could once we knew we were pregnant, never regretted it for a moment :D Good luck with your search.

SW x

[Belle]

I think there are a fair few ex-ED'ers who have moved that way and still visit the forum, so you may get some insight that way...

[sillywoman]

Maybe . . . . :D