House move and catchment areas

[Lucy10]

Hi there, My husband and I are thinking of moving to Dulwich/ East Dulwich/ Hearne Hill. I am pregnant so at some point we will need to think about schools. We thought it would be best to move into a catchment area of a good state school. Have heard that Dulwich Infants and Hamlet are great (and have outstanding ofsted reports). The catchments seems to be tiny though and the houses in the catchments very expensive. We are worried about paying over the odds for a house near the schools but still not getting in due to changing catchments etc. Does anyone have an opinion on which direction would be best to go to have good back up options (e.g.

- if went to Danecroft Road area we could maybe get into Jessop if don't get into the village schools.

- if went to Croxsted Road area we could maybe get into Rosendale if don't get into the village schools.

(Both have outstanding reports from Ofsted).

Do you think those would be a better options than going Beauval road direction where if we miss the village schools it looks like we would be aiming for Heber, which has a "needs improvement" rating.

It is our first child so we are very new to all this (and can't believe we are having to think of school catchments etc already but everyone keeps telling us we need to take it into account for our move). Not sure how much reliance to place on ofsted reports either.

Any advice would be much appreciated!!

Thank you

[etta166]

If you are really serious about moving for a school, then you should visit the school and not just read the Ofsted report. The schools you listed have quite a different "feel" to them, and there is a lot more to it than just the Ofsted inspection. You could also look at Bessemer Grange and Judith Kerr schools if you like Herne Hill as a place to live.

For what it's worth, the end of Danecroft, Frankfurt and Elfindale Roads nearest to Elmwood road were *just* in the Village school last distance offered zone for the last few years. The distance increased last year, so who knows what will happen in the future?

[mbennett]

Also bear in mind that you may move but the headmaster of the school may change and standards may drop, similarly often the schools that need improvement gets lots of funding and attention and can often improve dramatically over a 3-4yr period.

Therefore I would say schools can change so don't invest too much into it!

[sillywoman]

Headmistress. And they tend to be long-stayers, or homegrown at DVI & Hamlet. And they are just lovely schools - I speak with some 14 years continuous experience of both under my belt now.

You could do worse than look at the houses in the small enclave opposite ED hospital. We are little known of, but in the catchment for both DVI & DHJS, slightly cheaper than more popular ED/HH/DV roads, and a lot bigger square footage too. Our gardens are small but we the added benefit of being 10 mins from Lordship lane shops one way and 10 mins from Dulwich Village the other. To my mind this is the best place to live in SE London. I can't believe others haven't cottoned on to it! :D

P.S. I'm prepared to be disagreed with ;)

[hellosailor]

I agree with you Sillywoman! it is a brilliant location!

But?.you are unlikely to get into DVI or Hamlet from here based on recent years, or certainly, if you did, it would be last offer on the waiting list and by no means a certainty. You were one step ahead when you moved here years ago!

[sillywoman]

Can't speak for DV this year but next door neighbour got into DHJS this year on 1st round, & we're much further away from them than you. Does it persuade you to stay Sailor? ;)

[Ruffler]

Bessemer Grange is another local school worth considering - lots of positive feedback on here.

[etta166]

@ Hellosailor - the last distance offered for DVIS was larger for the current reception year than it has been previously. May well increase again this year, as there is now another school (Judith Kerr) in the immediate vecinity.

[sillywoman]

We get into Bessemer too :) (Can you tell I love where I live?)

[canela]

also bear in mind (as you can see from searching threads on the forum) that there a lot of parents with children at Heber who are very happy with the school. Ofsted is not everything.

[hpsaucey]

canela Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> also bear in mind (as you can see from searching

> threads on the forum) that there a lot of parents

> with children at Heber who are very happy with the

> school. Ofsted is not everything.

I'll second this. Despite the 'myth' of choice these days, I looked around a lot of schools because we weren't sure where we were going to be living and put them on the list based on where I thought my son would 'fit' best and be happiest - this was not the one with the 'best' OFSTED report. Hard, of course, to add this into the equation before they're born...

[Lucy10]

Thanks very much to you all for replying. I really appreciate the advice. We are now thinking maybe North Dulwich/Hearne Hill or the streets between Dulwich Village and Lordship Lane if the right thing comes up there. It is a big decision and a lot to think about. School-wise I am beginning to think it is a little early to make the decision based mainly on that. Either of these areas seem ok for schools so I think we will now look for a house we like there and re-assess the school decision later on.

Thanks very much

[Carbonara]

Bear in mind that catchments areas will probably continue to shrink year on year, so being equidistant between two schools but on the doorstep of none may not be a smart tactic and could leave you in a so-called 'black hole'. Better to be very close to one school and had a 'dead cert' with options to try for others.

Somewhere on this forum is a map showing the overlapping circles of catchments for all the schools.