telemum

Mine really love PGL - the younger one did horse riding in the summer (she's 12) and the 14 year old some course where she can go to theme parks. Both desperate to go again asap!

Does he do music or drama? Lots of clubs up to 16 in those areas - often not full day, but at 12 they can take themselves home? I agree it's tricky. My daughter (also 12) will do one week residential, one week orchestra, one week drama club.

This one at Sydenham high is very good (I can barely get my children to go on holiday, they love it so much) https://www.gemsperformingarts.com/holiday-clubs

I don't know Harris I'm afraid, but my daughter is in Year 7 at Sydenham. It's been a lovely transition, and I can't recommend it highly enough - I thought it would seem big and impersonal, but she's been really excited and has taken them up on many opportunities from chess, to orchestra to lots of stuff run by the library - and has joined a band. Made lovely friends too. The academics are good and she enjoys the Latin and is keen to go in the morning. But from what everyone says Harris East Dulwich is great as well. My daughter does have one friend who moved from Harris to Sydenham when a place became available in mid September, but I think that was much more to do with the fact her primary friends were all at Sydenham rather than anything at all that was wrong with Harris. Good luck - the waiting lists do move if you decide you want to go for Syd, but from what people say both are good choices.

Thinking of you all. We had a very similar experience to Carliebloom above this time last year, after expecting to get Sydenham and receiving none of the schools on our list (35 metres too far away!). The lists do move (though Syd was very, very slow after an initial flurry and there were children near us who didn't get in until after September). We eventually won on appeal- although that was totally unexpected. But we also loved Deptford Green when we went to see it after our daughter's allocation, and it was a tough decision to accept Sydenham when the appeal was won. The head is very inspiring, and I loved the range of subjects. I would have been happy for our daughter to go there. So do add yourself to waiting lists and consider some other options if you've had a shock. It can be a horribly tough time- but most people I know were happy by September.

I'm really pleased for you - and hopeful that it might come out a bit further as we are in the same position - do you happen to know how far away from the school you were in metres? Thanks Rosie

We've done Cambodia with kids (they were 6 and 8 at the time). Angkor Wat is fab obviously, and do see Phare, in Phnom Penh, which is a Cirque de Soleil type thing. The Killing Fields is sobering but worth seeing, and we also took a boat to Battambang, where not much goes on. Lovely, lovely place to spend time with children. I'll link to our travel blog here in case it's helpful. https://packingitallin.wordpress.com/category/phnom-penh/

We've just gone through Vietnam on our one year trip with our girls (little older at 6 and 8) - we loved it. You'll have a blast. . We travelled independently but I took lots of inspiration from the family tour companies mentioned above. This is our blog, which should give you an idea of the itinerary we did http://www.packingitallin.wordpress.com Good luck! Rosie

Hi, We're looking for a wandering magician to do tricks amongst the people at our school fair on December 5th. Magician booking is very far from my usual skillset so I thought I'd pick your considerable local brains. Anyone know anyone they can recommend? Thanks Rosie

Hi, We're looking for a wandering magician to do tricks amongst the people at our school fair on the 5th. Magician booking is very far from my usual skillset so I thought I'd pick your considerable local brains. Anyone know anyone they can recommend? Thanks Rosie

ood morning all - just a quick announcement to let you know that Dalmain School, in SE23, is having its fair this Saturday between 12-3pm, and you're all welcome. Come along for Samba and drumming lessons, carnival parades, musical instrument-making workshops, masks and other craft, human football tables,World Cup zone, Brazilian cocktails, yummy food and drink and much much more. We'd love to see you there - tickets are ?2.50 for adults and free for children - and there's lots of free stuff inside once you get in. For more info you can find us on www.facebook.com/friendsofdalmain. Thanks!

http://www.raggedschoolmuseum.org.uk This place is great - v restricted opening hours but the Victorian lessons are great and there is LOTS of dressing up.

I have two summerborn girls (one 4 and one 6) with nearly identical summer birthdays (end of July). They're both in school now. The first was not ready, and I deferred her for a term before putting her into Reception, and I am still glad I did. Even in Year 2 I can see that she would find it easier if she was older in her year - fine motor skills still hold her back for example. All of her friends are learning joined-up handwriting and she's still not ready, and she doesn't always grasp concepts fast enough, despite reading fluently and being (biased mummy) a bright little button. And the worst thing about it is she doesn't have much confidence in her ability as she compares herself with much older friends. Her sister, on the other hand, is totally and utterly fine in Reception, and would have been extremely bored if left in Nursery. She's the left hander, so I thought she would struggle with writing, but it isn't so. Her confidence is sky high. Interesting that school-readiness in the two of them is so different - I assumed that given they have similar opportunities, birthdays, upbringing and plenty of books etc at home they would both have similar school experiences. One size doesn't fit all. Sorry for waffling on. Horses for courses I guess, but I would definitely have deferred my oldest if I could have done.

Dalmain in Honor Oak/Forest Hill has its fair on Friday night - 4:30pm tp 7pm. German-style craft market, Narnia experience with Tea Dance for Little People, and Narnia treasure hunt, as well as Santa's Grotto, carol singing, raffle, mulled wine and food and traditional fair stalls.

we have one (two actually) and really like them- though they are a little heavy for my 4.5 year old (though she is very small) my 6 year old can carry hers fine and you can fit a surprising amount of stuff in them. should last them for ages, too. we already saved the cost of them by not having to hire car seats on holiday this year.

Dalmain 4:30pm on Friday 6th - Santa (of course) but also Narnia experience with Tea Dance for Little People, and a german-style craft market for the adults. se23 1rx

We had a lovely time with ours there - had a riad with family and someone came and cooked every evening. They also brought some of their Gnawa musician friends in for a little private concert which my girls adored. A trip to the local hammam was also very popular with my (then) three year old. They popped her into a bucket and scrubbed her - she's never been so quiet! Beach was fab fun too, despite the wind, and the markets much less hassly for kids than Marrakech. Icecream place in the square was lovely! Have fun

Hi My girls love audio books at bedtime. We invested in an ancient ipod mini (from Ebay, but you may well have one lying around) and a cheap iPod dock. Can rip story CDs onto computer and then iPod or buy them as downloads that way. Now that the girls are older, they can operate in themselves.

Helen is right (thankfully, since it would be terribly stressful any other way!) Put them in order of preference - so if you want Stillness put it first. If you want Dalmain put it first. If you want Fairlawn or Kilmorie put it first. You'll get your highest preference school that has a place for someone your distance away. IE, if you put stillness first and are too far away, but have put Dalmain second, you'll get a place at Dalmain if you are close enough, regardless of it not being your top choice. If you're not close enough to Dalmain you'll then get considered for your third choice, but purely on distance, not on preference. If that makes sense. It's a tough time, but really not a bad system - gives people a pretty equal shot at all community schools.And you can automatically go on waiting lists for your top choice school and any others you want if you're not happy.. Though I'd argue all of the schools around us are pretty good so there shouldn't be too much handwringing (Dalmain, incidentally, was our first choice and we are delighted with it for both our daughters but would have been very happy with Stillness, Kilmorie, Rathfern or other local schools too) School fairs for most of these schools are this weekend by the way, if you want to go and see them 'in action'.

Hi overtherainbows If you look at the distances for most schools in Lewisham in the Starting Schools booklet they are a few hundred metres. However, siblings get priority over children who live closer. Using the only example I know for sure, both of my daughters' years at Dalmain include families who have moved home after ther first child. They live way outside the 470m odd area that is mentioned in the booklet. This year, although children in the school nursery who live, say, 500 metres away in Honor Oak, didn't get a place, children who live in Brockley and Catford with a sibling on the roll did. I'm sorry the booklet doesn't make it clearer - but the schools will be able to explain, they're usually pretty clued up in the school offices.

Honor Oak Park is lovely (and about to get a Sainsburys, which will be useful). I'd recommend it highly as somewhere to live. Stillness nursery has fewer nursery places for its size than other local schools, so not getting a place in the nursery isn't necessarily a cause for panic. What I mean is, that, like the other local schools, it has around 25 in each class in nursery (50 odd in total). However, it takes 90 pupils into Reception compared to 60 at Dalmain (same number of nursery places) and 30 for William of York (ditto) - means that the nursery looks more oversubscribed than the school is. The published figures for last child to be accepted on distance does not include siblings, (who can be from miles away), and should not be deceptive when you are looking for a school. They are also only the first round of offers, and many people get into preferred schools on waiting lists. So, yes, it is popular, but it is also a large school. You can ask the council for the distance of the last child admitted - Lewisham are quite good at giving these. If you are too far away, I have my children at Dalmain, which is also excellent, as another non-faith local primary. St Francesca Cabrini also takes non-Catholics.

Hi - I have lots of friends with children at Stillness Infants who are really happy with it. It does seem a lovely school. The one thing I would say about the set up is to make sure that, unless you're planning on moving or going private at seven you are happy with the Juniors as well. I'm not saying that because I know anything bad about Stillness Juniors (all I know about it is that it is very separate, though at least admissions are linked), but as a mum of a nearly-six year old I am amazed at how fast children move from infants to juniors. It seems only minutes ago that I was looking at schools for my tiny daughter, but she goes up into year 2 this September and then will be in juniors the year after that, which seems extraordinary. She's at Dalmain though, so it is only a matter of 'going upstairs' rather than changing school altogether. I quite like the fact she has the juniors around to look up to, as well - but they did seem rather huge when she first started! Good luck

Forest Hill swarming with good schools. Friends have children at Kilmorie and are very happy. Likewise Stillness. My children are at Dalmain, and we are all very happy with it. Would have been happy with any of them, though.

I deferred my July born elder daughter for a term. She stayed in the school's nursery (at a school in Forest Hill - Lewisham was still offering deferral as a choice on the application form, now think you have to talk to the school) and joined her class again in the January with about three others. With the headteacher's blessing and a good early years department it went well - and she joined her Reception class for phonics every morning until she joined them agai. She integrated fine. That said, I will not be doing the same with her July born sister, as I know she'd be the only one this year and I think she's readier for Reception. But it gave my big girl a chance to become more confident and be the oldest in her class for a while, which I think was good for her.

Really good to see fewer London schools below the 'floor' target for these test results than any other region in the UK. On the subject of Honor Oak Park schools, Dalmain did very well too. Percentage achieving Level 4 or above in both English and mathematics 2009 2010 2011 2012 School 73% 83% 67% 95% LA 69% 75% 75% 85% England - All Schools 72% 73% 74% 79%