
redjam
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Everything posted by redjam
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Virgin Media Outage - Northcross Road
redjam replied to Neil.P's topic in General ED Issues / Gossip
We also finally bit the bullet and switched to BT a couple of months ago. Don't know why it took us so long - they rely on our inertia to get away with such crap service. -
Primary school choices... Goose Green... Heber... Arghh!
redjam replied to tarafitness's topic in The Family Room Discussion
I think the good news is that you're lucky - there are lots of good primary schools round here so you're not going to make a 'wrong' choice! I can't speak for other schools and I'm sure other parents from Goose Green, Goodrich etc will come on and tell you about their USPs. But as far as Heber goes, I've been really happy with it for both my kids and I always find myself wanting to sing its praises in this kind of thread as I don't think it always does the best job at selling itself. It was sweet that they got the Year 6 kids to show round prospective parents on their recent open day but I don't think a lot of people realised that the senior teachers were available afterwards for a coffee and chat when the tours finished, so many parents left without talking to the staff. You're definitely doing the right thing going back and seeing one of the leadership team, OP. To pick up on some specific things you mention about Goose Green, which also apply to Heber - Heber also has a freeflow arrangement between Reception classes and outside space, so same as GG. It also has its own specialist music, art (and sport) teachers. It has outside space around three sides of the building so the playgrounds are divided into four - one Nursery, one Reception, and two bigger ones for Key Stages 1 and 2. The kids are divided by age range so you don't get older kids jostling little ones. The Nursery outside space has recently been refurbished with new climbing frames etc and we got a CGS grant to 'green' the rest of the playgrounds and build a greenhouse so the school now runs gardening sessions in the spring/summer. I agree the Victorian school building itself is a bit scruffy round the edges but I am always astounded at the creativity of the teachers (and kids) in the way they decorate the classrooms - you should see their World Book Day classroom doors/portals to other worlds! I could go on but you get the gist - I'm a happy customer. No school is perfect but they all seem pretty great round here so it's a good problem to have. In the end you just have to go with your gut instinct (not very helpful advice, I know). Best of luck with your choice! ETA: I wouldn't let a school's lack of marketing prowess put you off - they're about teaching, not selling, and in a background of budget cuts I'd be wary of any primary school that prioritised spending money on glossy brochures and slick sales pitches as opposed to teaching and facilities. So try not to let that put you off any school you visit... -
Denmark Hill station entrance shambles
redjam replied to Ginster's topic in General ED Issues / Gossip
It really is unacceptable. This was the queue at 8.40am today. -
I'd assume the reason they don't use that driveway is because it looks like it's only a single-lane width, so whichever coach was at the front would block in all the others. And it would prevent emergency service access, as mentioned above. ETA: Though it wouldn't be that difficult to widen it and make it two lanes!
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Well done you, Ruby. It really is a mess - I always avoid driving down Townley if I can help it as it's always so blocked (not easy when half of Dulwich Village is also in chaos with roadworks and sometimes it's the only way through). Glemham said earlier: 'All drivers are aware of the policy but enforcing it is difficult for the Coaches' small team of three as they cannot regularly be on site outside Alleyn's.' I have to say I don't really buy that - if there is a team of three surely ONE of them could simply patrol the street for an hour or so each afternoon to check their drivers are being sensible? Isn't that part of their job??? Even if they just did it once or twice a week the drivers/coach companies would surely get the message after a while.
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Our first time at Centre Parcs: recommendations
redjam replied to bee74's topic in The Family Room Discussion
Ha! Very true... My one bit of advice would be to self-cater and bring heaps of food with you to avoid having to do a shop onsite when you get there. We thought we'd eat out both nights when we went but it was a mistake as the food options aren't great and, as the previous poster implies, it does add to the not inconsiderable cost! Don't meant to sound negative about it on the whole - I was a bit sniffy about the idea of Centre Parcs beforehand but actually we all really enjoyed it and the kids bang on endlessly about going back again. It is wildly expensive but there is something about being in that lovely carless, natural environment - with loads of activities - that makes it a very good family destination. I came away a bit of a convert. -
costume ideas for fancy dress ideas for 'F' themed party?
redjam replied to Minitoots's topic in The Lounge
football fan fishfinger flamingo flapper French female (if male) film star Financial Times frogman Farrah Fawcett Father Time -
Stranded car at entrance to Crawthew Grove
redjam replied to worldwiser's topic in General ED Issues / Gossip
Wow, the milk of human kindness dries up quite quickly on this forum. I'm sorry for your friend, betty31. That bollard looks a lot less easier to see than a human, even a small unaccompanied one. -
Poor you. If it's any consolation, the second night after we moved to East Dulwich (from north London) some ars*hole broke into our car and nicked some random bits of engine from inside it. It was only a crappy Ford but they obviously needed the parts and thought they'd just help themselves! That was ten years ago and - touch everything wooden in sight - we've not suffered any more crime since. It's a nice place really. We're not *all* thieving peasants round here.
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If it is a spam advert I don't think much of the level of spelling/grammar they're providing!
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Re. Heber - the situation is that the headmaster retired last year and the deputy head Ms Rosenberg (who has been there for years and was co-head last year) is now acting head, with other senior teachers supporting her. She is very good and well-liked but she has a young family so didn't want to take on the full job herself. As I understand it the governors advertised the post last year but didn't find anyone quite right, and as they have the luxury of a strong 'acting' team in place they decided to re-advertise it again this year (obviously you only get one shot a year at advertising for headteachers). So although no one can say how long the process will take to find a new head, it feels like there's a secure set-up in the meantime. The senior leadership team of Ms Rosenberg, Ms Kyprios and Ms Jefford are all very popular with the parents and have lots of energy and enthusiasm, and they've appointed a new business manager to help with the admin side. Re. results - there's lots of info on the school website, link to the Ofsted etc. All seems good to me and going in the right direction (I've got two kids who've been through the whole school - youngest currently in Year 6). As I understand it you can book a tour of Heber with one of the teachers who can answer any more questions. Certainly as a parent I'm a big fan of the school and my kids have thrived there. It's always seemed like a very happy place to me. Good luck with your decision!
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I have been wondering about this recently too. When I was a kid I would go to a cool (but slightly scary) youth club then from the age of about 12/13 there were regular roller discos in the local sports centre which were the highlight of my social life for years. Can't think of an equivalent in London, which is ridiculous really. My daughter goes to Guides but if anyone knows of a more social equivalent for 12/13-year-olds, I'd be interested to know of it. Something regular rather than just a one-off, ideally.
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Thanks, Ilona, I've emailed them. Still interested to know if the other shoe bank is still at the Plough in case SDCAS don't want them.
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Just resurrecting this thread - does anyone know if the shoe recycling box by the Plough is still there? Don't want to schlep up the hill with a huge bag of shoes unless I know it definitely exists! I just looked at the link for Sal's Shoes that bels123 posted but they are not accepting donations at the moment as they are inundated - shame, looks like a great charity.
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Be Vigilant (found: piece of wood with nails in it)
redjam replied to seenbeen's topic in General ED Issues / Gossip
Don't really understand what I'm meant to be vigilant about. People coming at me with crude weapons? OK, noted. -
Yes, I was going to say - you don't mention how old your kids are, but surely schools will be the deciding factor? We live just off Lordship Lane by the cinema and I love being so close to everything - so easy to just pop out if you've forgotten to buy something, near to all the bars/restaurants/North X Rd market and extremely handy for buses into town. But it's horses for courses - parking is definitely harder round here and it's a ten-minute walk to either Dulwich or Peckham Rye parks. We nearly made an offer on a house in Peckham Rye when we first bought and I do think Peckham is 'cooler' than ED, but I've never regretted moving here. ETA: Ah, cross-posted - just seen you've got your secondary school sorted!
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I'm not a fan either - my parents have got one and it seems ridiculously complicated to use. Even the cleaning isn't straightforward as you have to use a special cloth. And you apparently can't use it as a useful space to rest a hot baking tray you take out of the oven as it damages it (don't know if that's my Mum's paranoia but that's what she tells me). The worst thing is that you can't do what my mum calls the 'Jamie Oliver shake' when cooking, whereby you shake a stir-fry pan on the ring to turn the food - she did it one time and it short-circuited the whole thing and cost over ?200 to fix! So now my poor parents seem to live in terror of it, as do I. I stayed there recently and was very happy to come back to my battered old gas rings afterwards.
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Nannies...advice please as to the "norm"
redjam replied to ClareC's topic in The Family Room Discussion
Sounds to me like she's in the wrong and you're within your rights to insist, if it's in the contract. But the nanny/employer relationship is such a tricky one - far more personal than a normal employer/employee. So I guess it depends how much you want to keep good relationships going, how strong the bond is between her and your children etc, as to whether you want to put your foot down over this. That said, I reckon it's worth broaching again - she might be a bit more reasonable once she's had time to think it over. Coming in for a couple of days to do a bit of light tidying and laundry sounds a lot easier than looking after young kids in my book - she could probably get it all done in one day and you'd be none the wiser. Maybe give her a list of the tasks you'd expect her to do so she can see for herself you're not planning to take the mickey? I guess she's worried that it'll set a precedent and she'll end up doing all the household skivvying in future, so you might need to reassure her on that point. But sounds like you've got right on your side. Good luck! -
What's needed is a new doctor's surgery.
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My older daughter is at Kingsdale and we are very happy with it but we have just put Sydenham Girls as our first choice for our second daughter! (Not sure she'll get in as I think we're too far but it's no. 1 on our list.) Our older daughter has a music scholarship at Kingsdale and it's been great - as well as her normal music lesson, she has a one-to-one lesson each week on her instrument, plus she's part of a weekly ensemble group, plus she has free lunchtime music theory lessons, plus they're allowed to go into the music rooms during breaks and rehearse/mess around on the instruments - really impressive provision. She also has a maths scholarship which is an extra after-school lesson each week - sounds deadly to me (extra maths!) but they make it fun and she's gained a lot from it. She's quite an outgoing child and she loves the busyness of the school and isn't phased by the size of it. Our younger daughter, however, is really into science and computer programming so Sydenham Girls seemed an obvious 'fit', plus I think she'd benefit from a slightly less overwhelming environment. From what I can see, Sydenham also has an excellent music provision though perhaps not as outstanding as the full scholarship at Kingsdale. But I was really impressed with Sydenham when I went round this year and I've got friends whose kids are happy and doing well there. So in the end I think both choices are great and you probably need to look at factors such as distance of the journey to school, whether or not your daughter would be happy in an all-girls' environment, how she feels about the size of the school etc. Ultimately I'd let your daughter choose if you can't decide! They're both great options. Good luck...
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Keeping a 8yr old and 12 yr old from boredom in e.dulwich
redjam replied to mary123's topic in The Family Room Discussion
Banana bikes in Dulwich Park? -
Virgin Media Outage - Northcross Road
redjam replied to Neil.P's topic in General ED Issues / Gossip
We've had no Virgin broadband or phone since Thursday afternoon (just off North Cross Road). Just completely dead. We have now finally bitten the bullet and are in the process of signing up to BT, though it'll take a month to switch. Anyone else having problems at the moment? They've been saying since Friday that it'll be fixed on Monday 'by 3.30pm', which seems very precise! Don't believe it for a minute. -
Secondary school advice needed
redjam replied to clashcityrocker's topic in The Family Room Discussion
Oh and yes, you go on the waiting list for all the schools 'above' your allocated school if you don't get your first choice. -
Secondary school advice needed
redjam replied to clashcityrocker's topic in The Family Room Discussion
Yes to pretty much all these questions. No matter where you put the school on your list (i.e. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, whatever) a school will see whether you fit the entrance criteria, be it distance/lottery/banding test/whatever, then offer places accordingly. In other words, Kingsdale will enter into the lottery any applicant who has put its name on the form, no matter which order. There's no preference given to anyone who puts it first. (Though in Kingsdale's case there is a preference given to anyone who's got a sport or music scholarship, but that's a separate issue.) Where the order of choice is relevant is after the schools have given their initial list of kids to whom they are offering places to the council. The council then correlates those lists with your choices, so if e.g. your child has gained a place in your 2nd-, 4th- and 5th-choice schools, it will offer you the 2nd-choice school and automatically place you on a waiting list for the first choice. So there is a great deal of shakedown before you even get to find out what your first offer is (as obviously your 4th and 5th-choice schools will have freed-up places to fill) and there will also be a lot of shakedown after the offer date (as some kids take up private school places etc). I always think it's quite an ingenious system, though quite hard to get your head round at first. Good luck with your choices!
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