Havana

James, your analysis of the results is questionable: ? Key Stage 2 results have declined year on year over past three years (the % of children achieving a level 4 in both English and Maths went from 77% in 2008 to 71% in 2010) how are these results convincingly positive?!!! ? Key Stage 1 results are below national average. Markedly improved? How many parents do you honestly think would be satisfied with results that are BELOW NATIONAL AVERAGE? ? I?m in the dark about the November report you refer to. Why don?t you share this with us, so that we can analyse it with you? ? You talk about the present head taking a ?coasting Satisfactory school up a notch or two?. Exactly which notches are those? The school remains ?Satisfactory? on Ofsted?s books. It has never just been about results. Many of the schools' problems were raised in a recent parent/governor forum attended by over seventy parents. Now that you?ve spoken to the headteacher and Southwark, I would suggest you get down to the school and seek the opinions of those whose children attend it. Perhaps you should also talk to parents who have pulled their children out of the school and into other local schools? Goodrich is not a good school by Ofsted?s standards. It is a satisfactory one. Surely our children deserve better?

Keef, 'lost its way' was euphemism for gamut of issues afflicting school and to name but a few: academic standards have slipped, a number of great teachers have left, and staff retention appears to be a problem. Parents are looking elsewhere for their kids, and there is a rising sense of panic amongst the school community. If only Southwark was listening...

Goodrich is not short on committed parents; one of the great strengths of the school is its community.

Tony, my son goes to Goodrich which used to be regarded as one of the better local schools. However during recent years, the school has been on the slide. There is dissatisfaction among parents about the state of the school and discussion growing around the possibilities of starting a free school or Goodrich becoming an academy. It should be an outstanding school: it's a real shame that it has lost its way.

My sister has got 2 children at Dulwich Hamlet and from her perspective, she thinks becoming an Academy is a great thing because, for that already outstanding school, it won't make that much difference to them - except more money in its coffers. It will however take money from Southwark's budget (at present school returns 10% of budget to LA - as I understand it) something which is bound to affect other local schools.