Carbonara

This sort of thing: http://www.lovetippytoes.com/?gclid=CL3vlpnlirICFYcNfAodgXMAow Available at Biff, JoJoMaman, John Lewis, and is Soupdragon still open?

It's a 1% difference. That's less than one student in the year group. One student's results will throw the whole thing. This is statistics - they can prove everything and nothing at these low numbers. And as for 'one of the best schools' and the difficult entrance exams - with a highly selective intake I would expect a high result. The 'intake v standard of education' debate replaces the 'nature v nurture' debate with regard to selective schools. Anyway, well done all successful A level students, whatever your sex or school, and whatever sector it is in. Schools are for educating young people not for keeping house prices ever more astronomical.

I assume you have specifically put your name on the waiting lists for the schools closest to you? In fact every school within a 3 or 4 mile radius? If you live close to Rosendale school it may be that places come up quite quickly at the start of term. Have you contacted your local councillor? Don't panic - what is it about homeschooling that worries you (if you are even at home in the day?). You don't have to follow a formal teaching curriculum like a teacher. Could you afford a tutor a couple of times a week? there are some excellent ones in E Dulwich, who do small group study.

It sounds exactly like Night Terrors, and as Alieh said, overtiredness can be a trigger and they are common during times of fever or a virus. It is very unnerving, but we found that the more we tried to wake our child, or soothe, re-assure or respond, the longer it went on, as each of our interventions was trigger for more screaming 'NO, NO, No' etc. They never remembered it in the morning. So we sat quietly to make sure they didn't hurt themselve, and kept the light low or off. Each phase lasted 2 or 3 nights.

Southwark keep a list of registered childminders, many will offer after school care. Or advertise on Gumtree, or if you prefer try SimplyChildcare http://www.simplychildcare.com/about_us.asp : you place your ad for 3 months, and can see all the childcarers advertising. It is very good. If it is your first time using this kind of childcare you might prefer SimplyChildcae to Gumtree as they will advise on contracts, checklists etc. Have you asked the school whether they have any local networks? Many parents from the same school will be in the same boat. Some schools have after-school clubs until 6pm.

Whitstable has shingle and then gritty sand at low tide. Try Minnis Bay?

I don't use it at all!

It's C-A-L-A-M-I-T-O-U-S. Fact!

The 'I am wanting / needing / loving' etc is, I think American, and made popular here by the Macdonalds ad ;'I'm lovin' it'. It is horrible, I agree. I am more intolerant of TV-culture Americanisms than changes to the language that have come as a result of real people forming new communities together.

Myatts Fields and Sydenham Wells both have great interactive water features. Crystal Palace?

'aks' is well established in our primary school and has been for the last 4 years to my certain knowledge, why wouldn't it? My child picked up 'aks' and 'haitch' from nursery workers, went to school with children whose parents and grandparents say 'aks' and 'haitch', it filters in. As doubtless other language filters out and dilutes what were regional accents or dialects. Interestingly none of the children I know who say 'aks' write it like that, they write 'ask'. I am relaxed about it, as long as my children know the corrct word and can write it correctly. They are being brought up in S London, and pick up S London habits. If we lived in Yorkshire they would be picking up something else.

What did you do Sunil? I might have kept her off, let her do lots of practice and then sent a letter saying she was not at school because she was doing intensive music and maths practice. They would have put it down as unauthorised absence but in the context of her overall good attendacne, nothing would happen. I would be a bit sad though if my own child wanted to miss out on a school journey in favour of intensive music practice. Good luck to her, though.

Yr 6 children raising champagne glasses? I know it won't be champagne in them, but why is the school posting pictures of children aping adults celebrating with alcohol? 11 year olds should stiil enjoy drinking fizzy pop through a straw!

Mine have walked to school from 8, but no big roads to cross, and there were always other families on the same route. They have walked to and from school unsupervised since Yr 5. And been to the park alone from 8 or 9. Build up slowly. When out walking let them take the lead on finding the way and crossing roads and only intervene if they make a mistake Then I did the same thing on buses - let them decide which bus to catch, where to get off, but all the while alongside them. Then the same thing on tubes and the overground. Equip them to ask questions, get them to ask directions or ask ticket people at stations. I am far more nervous about cycling, but I think traffic has changed hugely since I was young and carefree on my bike, both in amount, speed and attitude of drivers.

Mrs T - I agree.

oimissus - yes, you have to look ebyond the headlines, but a school which gets 50% A-C GCSEs may well be a very good school. You can't say anything about the standard of education unless you look properley at the stats. Which may show that the school has pushed low ability pupils to a higher standard than predicted - whilst in another school with a better showing of results the actual progress of high ability pupils may be less impressive. I can't talk about Peckham Academy specifically, but yes, a school with those results can be doing an outstanding job.

nunheadmum Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I do wonder who has fuelled the concept? Those > who make the money out of servicing the market I > suspect. > The renters of 'limos' and 'hummers'. Ugh.

Supercamps who use Streatham and Clapham Girls school in Streatham Hill do 8am to 6pm, and are very good, and start from 23rd July.

Will it be as bad during the Paralympics?

Oh, yuk at 'Prom' for primary school children. No, thank goodness this hideous pretension has not reached our friendly down-to-earth primary, which will be celebrating in a way made traditional over years within the school - no imported American HSM nonsense here! I would rather see a film of the idiosyncratic, individual traditions within each school. But good luck!

Penguin - if that were all the case then wouldn't the turnover be replicated in othe similiar schools? The strong likelihood is that 'something' is going on, but we don't know what, exactly. Although some googling and searching of Twitter (as prompted in the first post) suggests that it is 'bullying' (I put that in quotes because it is a quote from a Tweet) of staff in the wake of the whistleblowing.The question is, how can concerned parents find out?? Is there a parents forum at the school? And yes, of course the Guardian are free to report it - my plea is that if there is something worth reporting can they please give details and researched background and likely reasons, not facts and stats which could have all sorts of explanations!

Metallica, I have no axe to grind at all* - and certainly don't want to see posts or threads pulled. I posed 'smear campaign' by teachers as one possibility, set against another possibility of teachers unjustly silenced. Or maybe there are ordinary reasons for all this. The point is we just don't know and the Guardian article gets us no closer. We need truth and detail in order to understand the meaning. * not quite true - am anti the Academy movement, very anti free schools, and KD could be an option for us at some stage.

If there are legitimate things to be said is there not any open accountable way to say them? Either there is an unfair smear campaign against the school by aggrieved parties, or there is an important view from teachers or other parties that should be heard publicly but can't be because they have no forum within the system to voice their concern. Or perhaps we can trust that if a member of staff makes a report to ofsted it will be diligently followed up.

It's inconclusive because a) we are not told WHY they left - if pushed because of poor performacne that suggests it is good for pupils, if driven out by poor management, then bad for pupils. b)it doesn't tell us what proportion of overall staff that number represents c) or how many have retired or been made redundant because of curriculum changes etc. d) there are no clues (probably rightly) as to whether it is linked to the investigation into previous allegations, let alone what the outcome of those investigations might have been.So again, no clue as to what this represents for the future. All we know is, it happened! Which does suggest some degree of lack of continuity at the very least, but that's all we can really deduce.

Move them! Bins in the road are simply bins blocking the road, there is no such thing as reserving a space.