Renata Hamvas

Yesterday I spoke to the owner of Krystal Pharmacy. He has run it for 40 years. He has suffered verbal abuse from people who have been his customers for many years. I have seen the invoices for the hand sanitisers, I have been emailed copies of the correspondence with his suppliers if anyone doesn't believe me. He is making pennies in profit for the hand sanitisers. The supplier who used to charge around 85p for a 50ml sanitiser wanted ?6 plus VAT. Muslin tried various other suppliers and managed to get it for a bit less than ?5 and is selling it for ?4.99. He even looked on Ebay to see if he could get it cheaper! When his old stock ran out and he found the prices had rocketed, he dithered for a few days as he knew the prices were so extortionately high, and he wasn't sure whether to purchase any stock. Local residents have kept coming in and asking him for it and that's why he bought it at such an inflated price. He now wonders if he made the right decision as the high prices that are outside his control have caused so much backlash. Other products have also shot up in price at the wholesalers eg pine disinfectant has tripled in price over the last fortnight and paracetamol is about 5x the previous price. Please do support our local businesses. Renata

I would suggest postponing it. As the situation worsens, IMO it is likely that all shops that sell non-urgent items such as building supplies have to close, so your builder would struggle to purchase materials for the project. Renata

To confirm that they are closing from tonight. Renata

People have been behaving so irresponsibly, not only in Dulwich park, but Peckham Rye Park, Nunhead Cemetery and other open spaces in the Borough. In order to protect residents, this has resulted in closure from tonight. Renata

I did speak to Kristal Pharmacy and can verify that the high prices they have been charging for hand sanitizer are totally due to the inflated prices that are being charged by wholesalers. Others have even viewed their invoices and have verified this! Another pharmacy has told me that paracetamol prices at their wholesalers have been increased 6x.

Hi Ole, all Southwark secondaries are either academies/free schools or are voluntary aided/faith schools. This means they set and administer their own admissions policies. Southwark just does the school allocations at point of entry for year 7. Southwark can?t therefore alter any of the admission policies and the schools are responsible to check that parents haven?t made short term moves for admission purposes when the children start the school. It is a pan London set up, so I don?t see how a school could prioritise one borough over another. Charter ND and Kingsdale are both close to borough boundaries. Forest Hill Boys, Sydenham Girls, Deptford Green and Haberdashers Askes Hatcham are all Lewisham schools that have a significant intake from Southwark due to their proximity to the boundary with Southwark. Renata

Ole, it is not pot luck with Harris Boys. Harris Boys and Girls both use a banding system in combination with distance. If you have more siblings or SEN in one band (a)compared to another (b), this will influence the last place offered distance for the two bands, band a likely to have a smaller last place distance offer than band b. In general more parents seem to favour single sex schools for daughters than sons. There has been evidence in the past that girls do slightly better academically in single sex schools and boys in mixed. In general in Southwark's mixed schools you do tend to have more boys than girls (there may be cultural influences coming into play too). Forest Hill Boys is very close to the boundary with Southwark and is certainly an option for local parents of boys as well as Harris Boys and St Thomas the Apostle. Katie, The highest number of applicants for secondary was in 2019, current year 7 and very close behind was this year, both years there were around 3,000 applicants. 2018 had slightly fewer applicants. Beth, you are correct, there are fewer 4 year olds than a few years ago. Renata

Also, catchments do not exist for any of the local schools. In other areas there are catchments, this is where if you live within a certain fixed distance of a school you are either guaranteed or prioritised for a place over people living further away.

There is no guarantee for future years (more siblings, more applicants etc), but in general, from the last few years, I would say yes. Renata

Thanks Crokes, done. You can also email me on [email protected] too. Renata

Hi Apollo, no there is no priority for pupils over one Borough over an other, it?s a London wide system and allocations are done in relation to each school?s allocation process. Renata

Dear all, this was circulated by Cabinet Member, Cllr Jasmine Ali, Dear colleagues Starting secondary school in September 2020 Great news on secondary school places for Southwark residents in the new academic year September 2020. We have received a total of 2,947 on time secondary applications from Southwark families for the September 2020 intake and once again, we have been able to offer a secondary school place to every on time Southwark applicant. A total of 1,924 (65.3%) families received an offer at their first preference school ? this is an increase of 5.8% compared to last year and the highest percentage and number offered since our records began in 2009. All Southwark families that made an on time secondary school application for their child to join Year 7 in September have been notified of their school offer by email. Further information about the offer of a secondary school place including waiting lists, appeals and a list of frequently asked questions can be found on Southwark Council?s website at: https://www.southwark.gov.uk/schools-and-education/school-admissions/secondary-admissions/offer-of-a-secondary-school-place

Yes,Ali, they do. Renata

I would suggest contacting Southwark. You may not get an immediate response as Secondary school allocations came out last night. [email protected] If applying under the distance rather than lottery criteria, you would need to have moved into the area. If one child secures a place, then any siblings would go higher in the waiting list. Your likelihood of securing places for your children depends on where you move to and the school year. Places tend to come up more frequently over the school summer holiday than at other times. You always have the ability to appeal. You are less likely to win an appeal for years reception to year 2 due to the tighter rules on pupil numbers for infant classes. If you have special reasons for wanting this school over others, that helps an appeal eg your children are German speakers. Renata

Hello WorkingMummy and Monkey. I am sorry to read you didn't receive the outcome you wished for for your child. To confirm your child does automatically get placed on the waiting list of all the higher preference schools to the one you have been offered. There usually starts to be some movement on waiting lists after 2-3 weeks and this occurs all the way through to September. Be aware that your child can move down as well as up the waiting list as late applicants, such as people moving into the area are merged onto the lists according to each individual school's over-subscription criteria. You can also request your child's name to be added to other schools you didn't initially apply as well. Southwark do this very quickly, but I know from previous years, Lewisham usually wait a month or so before updating lists. Renata

I would suggest posting on the Facebook pages Nunhead Rocks and East Dulwich Forum and also within the General Health section on Mumsnet. Renata

St Mary?s pre-school on in the hall on St Mary?s Rd (Evelina Rd end)in Nunhead SE15. They are mornings and they take from aged 2 Renata

The hours were longer in the run-up to Christmas, that was a seasonal timetable that I think happens every year.I wonder Zak if it was then when you went to the sorting office? Renata

The safety checks were done and it is open again

The Cemetery remains closed today as safety checks are being carried out

Hi Girlelectric, I have found the following: If you have any questions about the event please email [email protected]. For residents tickets enquiries please contact [email protected]

To confirm it is Monday 24th February and the rationale behind it is it will encourage local residents to walk or take public transport to the park. Blue badge holders will be exempt. Renata

I haven't heard anything, I will find out for you. There is no Jam on the Rye this year, but 2 days of Gala. It's on the Saturday/Sunday rather than Sunday/Monday, residents requested this as it means a quiet day before return to work. Renata

Southwark have decided on the grounds of public safety, Nunhead Cemetery will be closed this weekend due to high winds. It will re-open on Monday if it is deemed safe to do so. Renata

To update, thankfully, no injuries and the fire has been extinguished by the fire brigade. Peckham Levels should be open and back to normal by tomorrow.