Coach Beth

Are you a parent or carer of a child going to the Charter School East Dulwich? Maybe they are returning into Year 8 or perhaps they are excited to be one of the new Year 7 student? The Friends of Charter School East Dulwich is having a Welcome Back Picnic for all students, parents, carers and families (both new and returning) on Sunday September 3rd, 1 - 4pm. Bring food and drink to share! And if you have any balls or games for the kids to play that would be great. Do feel free to invite others you know who are part of the Charter East Dulwich family to come along. And remember to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter - we post latest news and information on both platforms. Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/Friends-of-The-Charter-School-East-Dulwich-448480545503664/ Twitter Handle -

If you have no luck with SELDOC or Health Hub, try a Medicentre, private GP's practice in Central London - there is one based at Victoria and one near Bank. You can walk in or make an appointment http://www.medicentre.co.uk/location-1.htm

Great idea. I've submitted my vote. Hope the school is successful. I know the school has had several gardening and environmental education initiatives over the years as my son was a student at GG. They received funding for the eight fruit trees in the playground which the children over the years have looked after and which produce fruit. They have an established forest school programme with kids going to Lettsom Gardens every week. There is s vegetable container garden. Bird boxes for swifts were built by students and then installed near the eaves to encourage swift nesting. The Wildlife Garden Centre was involved in developing the area near the fence to have a more biodiversity wildlife area. I think the school has done more than most in regards to environmental education - particularly considering the small playground space in a developed urban area. However, the car pollution issue needs specific planting as has been discussed above. A fully grown ivy fence/screen would take 3 years at least to grow so a more immediate solution is needed. The funding is coming from an insurance company - so not public funds.

My son loves the football camp at Dulwich Hamlets .... he is at the upper age limit and isn't really in need of childminding so much (he has just finished year 7 and can hang about home as we are both self employed and go to park with friends) but he really enjoys the training and personally, I love the fact he is doing something structured every day that he enjoys. Next year he will be too old but I've heard that Althernay club do summer holiday schemes for up to 14 year olds so we will look into that I think.

Thanks - it was very much a collaborative effort. We set up a fundraising committee separate from the Friends Group (which does all the community fundraising and events like the book drive, summer walk, curry night etc). The fundraising committee has reps from the senior leadership team, parents with professional fundraising experience for charities & arts organisations, governors and the Friends Group. Parents with fundraising expertise draft the bids which are then finalised and signed off by the school. So the school is responsible for the oversight of the funds and ensuring project management and evaluation happens in line with the expectations of the funders. We have two parents with extensive Trusts & Foundations expertise but we could do with parents with corporate fundraising & major donor expertise on the committee so if any parents with those skills sets are joining the school, message me please!

Taking the coach through Stratford towards Stansted, it's a shame to see how much the high rise dominates at the expense of a cohesive, street level community. I also did abit of work for a charity in Canning Town which has been targeted by developers and high rise flats. The reality of the blocks is nothing like the happy community photos on the billboards. And in areas like Imperial Wharf, where clearly the majority of the people don't live there, the effect is abit like a ghost town - one small cafe and on the weekend, hardily a bustling place. If someone has an example of a high rise community that works and contributes to the area as opposed to making the community even more lonely I would geninuely would love to see it as I also think that there is a excellent point about the need for more housing (but should be affordable housing)

Thought some folks with kids going to the Charter School ED or who are thinking about the school might be interested in this article on Around Dulwich about the Awards for All grant the school has received. The grant will be used to improve the playground at the temporary site through a container garden, sports equipment and a mural... all of which will be moved to the permanent site when it's ready! Link to article - http://arounddulwich.co.uk/charter-school-east-dulwich-big-lottery-awards/

It's the school's temporary premises (used to be a centre of Southwark College) while the permanent school is being built on the Dulwich Hospital Site. That is due to be completed by the end of 2018 and then the school will move into the permanent site. http://www.chartereastdulwich.org.uk/page/?title=Our+temporary+home+on+Southampton+Way&pid=120

It's got to be the same gang... really frustrating. I doubt will see our bike again. My son is really annoyed... he doesn't want to even get a new bike now because he feels like what's the point, it will just be stolen and then he and we will be upset all over again. If the police can't identify the genuine owner of the bike we have been left with (have searched for the frame number which will help them but no joy - will take it to the bike shop to see if they can find it), we'll keep the old bike they left and get it serviced. At least it will be something he can use and as it's used unlikely to be stolen.

Hi all, I've reported this to the police and posted something in lost and stolen but thought it would be worth posting it here as it might be worth others discussing with their kids what they would do in a similar situation. At 8:30pm, my 12 year old home he was on his way home riding his new bike (a Carrera Valour Mountain Bike) home from a short cycle round the neighbourhood. An older boy - about 16 on another bike stopped him near Coplestone Road & Oxenford Stret and asked him if he could ride my son's bike. My son said no repeatedly - about 10 times. Then the boy said, well I will leave my bike for you here so you know I won't ride off with yours. My son gave in reluctantly (he now knows he should have just rode off as quickly as possible but in the moment he didn't know what else to do as he felt intimidated)- the boy then circled round on the street a few times and then he speed off round the corner. Son waited a few minutes and then realised boy was not coming back. He came back to ours with the boys bike which looks well used. (I have reported the bike details to the police so that if it was stolen it can be returned to it's rightful owner.) I went out and waited on the corner to see if the boy perhaps would return (it does feel odd that he left his bike with my son but as my son's is brand new and the bike we were left with is well used perhaps that makes sense) but after 20 minutes I gave up. Anyway, son now knows he should have just sped off on his bike and shouted for help if the other boy followed ... it might be worthwhile having a chat with your kids what to do.

So, a month ago I was nearly knocked down by a man using a mobility scooter in the road - he merrily ran the red light at East Dulwich Station. And yes, I did look both ways but I made this crazy assumption that he would actually stop at the red light so I started to cross and as I mid way across, he appeared to speed up and I then stopped just in time and he zoomed by! Then, last week I was outside SMBS looking at the fruit and veg and and a male jogger pelting down the pavement SHOUTED at me 'Get out of my bloody way.' I wasn't in the middle of the pavement - I was looking at fruit and veg under there awing and the shopkeeper was very annoyed on my behalf. The moral is that there are rude and inconsiderate people in the world of different ages, genders and abilities.

This researcher is looking into cat vocalizations - personally, I feel my cat has learnt how to give an inflection to her meow to make it sound like a question. http://vr.humlab.lu.se/projects/meowsic/catvoc.html

Mixed State schools just outside the area include: - Harris Crystal Palace which I've heard is very good but is very strict - http://www.harriscrystalpalace.org.uk/ Tiny catchment so you would need to move to Crystal Palace. - University of Engineering - don't be fooled by the title, this is a secondary school! Relatively new, this is a sponsored secondary school of the University of South Bank. There are some kids from ED going here - call them, they might have more openings in year 10 as they say 'University Academy of Engineering South Bank is currently offering places to year 7-8-9 and 12 and for years 2017-2018 will be offering places to year 7-8-9 & 10 and post 16' I think if your child is particularly into STEM this could be fantastic! http://www.uaesouthbank.org.uk/about-us/why-specialism-in-engineering-stem.html

Yes, sad day for the community! But all the best to AJ and the family from Beth, Dave & Sam!

I'm up for that.... have sent you a PM!

My son was in Year Six at GG last year. We had been at the school since reception and felt it important to support our local school which we did. We did have good years at the school and my son made many solid friendships with children from diverse communities that have carried on - this was really important to us as both myself and my husband grew up in prominently white areas and we wanted our son to have a different experience. Anyway, it was indeed rocky for that year group at GG last year - there can be no denying that as they had to put up with a very new curriculum right at the end of their school year and be assessed on things that hadn't been prioritised before (i.e. handwriting), AND have new leadership and other staff (both year six teachers changed after the first half term and there were supply teachers until replacements could be found which did not help their classroom experience and I think impacted on their results). From my perspective, it was an unfortunate combination of the new curriculum changes AND change in leadership and other staffing that was the problem. Although his first year at secondary school was abit rocky and I was initially worried that his academic performance would be far behind from where it should have been, now in the 2nd term of secondary school he has bounced back up and is doing well - both behaviourally and academically. Talking to friends with children at Goose Green school, things this year have stabilized and it sounds like there is a solid plan to get things on surer footing now.

Hello! My 11 year old son has been going there since it started - three years ago when he was in primary school. He is now moved on to secondary school (year 7) but he decided to continue with the Saturday school. He has progressed well - working towards his grade 3 drum kit Trinity-Laban exam. He isn't much of a one for organised activities either.... unless it's football related! But he really likes his drum tutor (who is a proper professional jazz musician!) and has been enjoying the percussion ensemble, particularly now that there is a dedicated orchestral percussion ensemble teacher (in addition to his one-to-one drum teacher). The percussion ensemble gets the kids playing together and also supports the percussionists when they join the wind ensemble to play together. It's been great to see the school develop and grow and to see the different ensembles take shape.

I don't know anyone who was part of the Old Charter Cohort - but I was recently talking to someone at a charity I'm doing some work for and explaining about my son's school (Charter ED) and him being in the founding cohort. And she got very excited and said she had been in the founding cohort of her secondary school - somewhere outside London. She said it was great, they loved it - they had a real sense of ownership and belonging and they loved being the oldest children as the school grew and she felt it gave her a sense of confidence.

Haberdashers now have a primary school in their federation - so those children automatically move into the Habs Secondary School. http://www.haaf.org.uk/Primary-School-Day That does reduce the general places further at the secondary school.

Do remember to check any deadline for scholarship tests at Kingsdale and Haberdashers. They tend to be in September and early October. We did the rounds of many of the local schools and felt that we would have been happy with most we visited - Deptford Green was very impressive and we also really like St. Thomas (boy). My son got a full music scholarship and half-sports scholarship at Kingsdale - in the end though he much preferred the idea of going to the new Charter school because he liked that it would be so small in the first year and we decided it was the best choice for him too. However, some kids I know really loved Kingsdale and the buzz there. For us, we felt that as our son isn't super enthusiastic about school generally, we wanted him to feel like he had a choice and if we pushed him to go somewhere he didn't want to go we thought it would be an uphill battle.

I've lived in the East Coast of the US and Canada and go back once a year with my son. We went to a family wedding to Mystic Conneticut (a couple hours from Boston) last year and this is a lovely little town. My son went kayaking on the river with his uncle, there is a Historic Seaport which you can spent ages looking round - lots of lovely little shops and restaurants. We rented a very nice airbnb cottage. In the surrounding area you there are lovely places - like the Florence Grinwold Art Gallery & Museum. Or you could go North, drive up to Maine - Maine coast is so beautiful but it could be further than you want to drive I reckon. But Maine is really great! OR, if you want to fly, you could do a stop over in Halifax Nova Scotia - easy flights from Boston and then onto the UK. Nova Scotia is a great destination for families! Enjoy!

Here is a new website just set up where you can report racism and xenophobia http://www.istreetwatch.co.uk/about