tomskip

I think the main opposition to the development in Dulwich Village is to do with the basement excavations, which will be truly disruptive, require constant removals of huge loads of earth, noisy and time consuming. And, really, we are desperately short of affordable housing in London, not luxury houses like those proposed by SG Smith.

"It does, but it doesn't diminish the fact that high achieving kids have bags of choice...." What bags of choice would that be? No one has bags of choice in this area, which is what makes the 6 choices on the application form such a pointless waste of time. I can't speak for other schools but band 1A was the most oversubscribed band by miles at Forest Hill Boys this year.

Thanks juliap. Have read it now and see that it applies from 2016 onwards. I can't quite see how distance only, vs distance + banding disadvantages East Dulwich children but that's just something lacking in my brain and can't be helped!

Is there anywhere I can read online about the Lewisham schools change to admissions policy? My son did not get a place at Forest Hill Boys, although he did sit the banding test and his "rejection" letter gave details of number of applicants and number of places in each band. How does switching to distance only prejudice people in East Dulwich for Sydenham and FHB? I just assumed we live too far away now.

I don't have children who will go to this school but perhaps others at the consultation will want to ask how the new Charter proposes to handle the issue of families renting temporarily in catchment to secure a place for a first child and then moving away to Sydenham or Nunhead or wherever, and all other siblings getting an automatic place thereafter. Having sibling priority does not in itself ensure that a school remains "local".

(At the time) is not the same as anticipating the need for more secondary school places in the immediate future, and planning accordingly. As it is we have families in ED breathing a huge sigh of relief about the new co-ed school, when it doesn't even have a temporary site yet but it supposed to welcome 240 pupils just over a year from now.

All the so-called catchments are shrinking as the number of children moving up to secondary school is rising. The new secondary is very much needed in East Dulwich - such a shame it couldn't have been ready a couple of years earlier! All the data was there to indicate the need.

Yes hoona, I am fully aware of all that. My comment about fairness was meant to be ironic. There's much to be said for state funded schools being kept under LA control in my opinion. Just been reading a thread about the new Charter school which appears to be being creative with its proposed admissions policy too. I never was a cynical person until I became full immersed in the school admissions process!

Renata Hamvas Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hi Monkey, > It has, after the usual priority allocation, 1/3 > of remaining places will be allocated on distance > (but only up to 1km), the remaining 2/3 will be on > random allocation (ie Kingsdale style lottery). > > > http://www.harrisdulwichgirls.org.uk/uploads/key_i > nformation/2_0_admissions-policy-2016-17.pdf > > I'm not a fan of random allocation, I did put in > my thoughts into the consultation process. > Renata Terrible news! It just doesn't work when some schools run a lottery and others don't. It is so deeply unfair. But, then, expecting fairness out of state-funded comprehensive secondary education is probably too much to ask eh?

Why do people hate having Iceland on our High Street so much? We have a huge Sainsburys and other expensive specialist food shops. Why can't there be a place for a cheaper food retailer?

I suspect that jollyrogers on the previous page has it. It wouldn't actually occur to me to look for a cyclist coming down that street towards Lordship Lane as I know it to be one way, and did not realise cyclists could use it as a two way street. I would be concentrating on any traffic potentially turning in from LL.

There is a house on Friern Road (top end evens side) with a forest of EA boards outside it. It might well be on the market with multiple agencies but as I understand it only one can have a board up.

How many witnesses do you need for a thing like this? Asking out of interest.

Totally love Peckham Rye and the park. A beautiful spot for everyone to enjoy for free, no ???, nothing. If I had to make a choice I'd say Peckham Rye over Dulwich Park (even though I've given up on the cafe at the former). Love the Sexby Garden in particular. So reviving to take a book and a sandwich and spend a lunch hour there in the sun.

Horrific? When you have an older sibling at the school?

"Frankly there are some very ordinary students at Dulwich college" Is this really true? I know nothing very much about Dulwich College (or any other private school for that matter - our poor deprived children, sadly, have to make do with the turd schools) except that I thought you had to get through a fairly tough entrance exam to get a place. Perhaps I am wrong.

Bluerevolution Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I wake up with Robbie Coltranes agent every > morning, does that make me famous ? No.

The problem is the water efficiency! Clothes are rubbing together in very little water. When there is more water in the machine, clothing is cushioned slightly and kept separate. I have a fairly new Bosch and just have to grit my teeth and use the aqua plus button on every wash (which makes the cycles longer) but it is worth it not to have clothes worn out so quickly.

I agree that an anonymous note is a truly cowardly way of handling a problem with a neighbour.

I'd like Galloping Home, theme to the 70s tv series based on Black Beauty. Even though I'm not in the least bit horsey. and (Whats So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love & Understanding.

I'm interested in all of this, so please keep it public if you can bear to. Everything you say makes absolute sense to me ITATM.

I would be inclined to go with the Nursery that is attached to the school you are most likely to get a Reception place at (when your child starts full time school at 4). I don't think there are any roads in East Dulwich which would be in the catchment for both schools.

It takes a very long time to commute in to the West End on a bus. More than an hour. The trains from ED station are super fast (to London Bridge only) but a huge part of ED is > 20 minutes walk to the station, as the station is really on the border with Camberwell. It takes me an hour to get to Vauxhall on a bus practically door to door. So ... commuting is slow and this is why our house prices are not as high as other areas on the Tube.

KidKruger Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Is he still gigging ? Is that a serious question? Can't imagine he has much of a fan base these days.

There are three gates at Goodrich and I often see the head at one of them. He's probably not there every morning and evening but then he is in charge of a very large school and nursery and seems to have been busy making notable improvements in the past two years. I'm another who finds it surprising that a prospective parent would expect to have a personal meeting with a primary school head as part of the application process. Goodrich has 90 children starting in reception each year and many more starting in nursery. How would he have the time?