intexasatthe moment

joobjoob - When I read your post I thought heck ,didn't realise Harris Girls had been closed down because of gang activity . But having read the link you posted ,it seems that one Friday afternoon Harris Girls and Peckham Academy ( presumably the Harris Academy@Peckham ) closed an hour early because of fears of gang activity targeting children leaving school . Which ,to me ,gives it a slightly different emphasis .

And learn how to fake home address ,if my experience of Charter is anything to go by . Moi ,bitter ? Noooooo.

Thank you John Fowler for that post and for clarifying the process that attempts to change admission policies need to take . I'd not considered that admission policies might need to be kept under review - I spend so much time wondering what the perfect admission policy would be ,and giving up - that I'd not considered that it might be something that changes over time . Good luck with the Uni applications ,major A level traumas in our household :( .

Perhaps they are just not interested - no perhaps about it .

You could always try the lovely cafe in Dulwich Park . Although if you go before 4pm the scrummage will put you off and they'll have run out of basics like chips and white bread hours ago . If you go after 4pm you'll find half the seating closed off and drinks and food served in and off paper cups and plates . Well they're doing you a favour aren't they ,remaining (seemingly under duress ) open and relieving you of your money ? What more do you want ?

earlier discussion here http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,612634,614416#msg-614416

Letter in SLP yesterday criticising Lib Dem/Tory led Southwark (as it was last year ) for failing to challenge Kingsdale's admission policies . The writer notes "prospective parents ,and indeed Southwark council ,are able to ask the Secretary of State to make Kingsdale's admissions fairer for 2012 entry ...There is no time to loose .The Academy should confirm its 2012 admission arrangements by April 15 ,and although appeals can be lodged as late as July 1 ,it is best to have done so by mid May " Is Kingsdale a new Gove style Academy yet ? Is it still a Foundation school ? Is the process complaint to adjuicator ( who's resigned hasn't he ,because of proposed changes to code ) ,adjuicator makes recommendation to Sec of State the same for both ? Fuschia ?

Despite dominating the first half hour ,when they should have scored 3 times ,Dulwich lost 2 nil . It's the hoping that gets to you .

Renata - am I correct in believing that Southwark have been unable to offer a secondary school place to aprox 40 children ? Is this unusual ? And if Southwark is short of secondary school places was it really wise for one of it's Academies to reduce it's intake by 60 places ?

Mark - the EBac refers to a selection of GCSE's that Gove prefers (maths, English, science, a language and a humanity) ,so doesn't affect A levels . The International Baccalaureate offers much broader depth than A levels and some schools offer it as an alternative . Citymum - yes Peckham Academy has already opened a nursery on site ,as a precursor to the primary school . I suppose I can understand Peckham Academy's thinking and imagine they're correct in thinking it will give them a good intake .But was it a decision they made on their own ? It seems a bit ...isolationist ...,will suit the school ,but reduce secondary school places at a time when there is a shortage of secondary school places in the area . I wonder what real involvement ,if any ,Southwark had in this decision . I say if any because I know for instance that Southwark recommends that children only sit one set of banding exams for the secondary transfer but have seemed powerless to prevent the Harris Academies having their own banding system and tests . I worry that all the schools just end up as individual little states ,with no coordination . Maybe that wouldn't matter ? I don't know . Apparently the new education bill has proposals to change the rules that regulate admissions - eg there will no longer be a requirement for local authorities to have local admissions forums . These are made up of parents, headteachers, faith group representatives, and local authority and academy staff, and are supposed to consider the fairness of admissions arrangements across an area. http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/mar/22/schools-admissions-reform-select-pupils And that does worry me .

I can't help wondering about the decision making process ( the rationale and input from Southwark ) behind the reduction * in roll of the Academy @ Peckham . Maybe just to make space for the 2 form primary school it's opening on the same site ? * from an annual entry of 240 to 180 . Hadn't realised it was such a big jump !

Head since 1998 and building revamp finished in 2007 - I agree Msgee ,schools also have to have the right intake to take off .

It does sound as though LED family have been thoroughly traumatised I have low low tolerance for bad behaviour and have perfected this very passive aggressive technique of giving very angry stares to children on the brink of feral behaviour. I do detest soft play type places and playgrounds for that matter - seems to bring out the worst in kids and parents (who mostly seem to be doing their best to ignore their kids). On the few occasions I have been, I spent all my time saying 'hey, watch it.. I'm watching you.....'. which I think is awful ,what a shame to feel you have to avoid playgrounds and soft play .

James - I'm shocked by your remarks about Deptford Green and by your reference to Harris Boys's admissions policy not taking distance into account .Which of course it does . Maybe you didn't mean the latter to be read like this . But I find the former unforgiveable . Are you having a bad day ? Coming down with something ? Seems out of character .

Hi - I've only skim read your post ,too much info for my little brain . But I've always thought hoe good it would be to have a kind of speaking tube attached to pushchair so that pusher and child could easily communicate .

However at crystal palace they don't hand them out like sweets like the boys school do. They hand them out like sweets at the boys schools ? Do they ,why would that be ? And why the difference ?

Kingsdale is meant to be a fantastic school . Some discussion here http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?29,629067 but put Kingsdale in the search box ,top right of page . I'm certain that your daughter will love Kingsdale and will do really well .

Kylie - that's awful for you and him . How's he going to learn anything if he feels like that ? Sadly discipline always seems to be the corner stone in schools trying to establish themseves/turn themselves around . They seem to treat all the children the same - as if they're all feral hoodlums who have to be broken. They don't seem able to treat children as individuals . You must make sure that the school understand how much this is impacting on his learning - how are they going to help him ? He's just as important as all the potential troublemakers that they're trying to mold .

If there's a banding expert around ,( or possibly just someone who understands numbers ,unlike me )it would be good to hear their views on banding . I'm afraid I find it confusing . I understand that Harris schools have a banding system based on national scores ,so obviously aimed at getting a school population that reflects national attainment . Which maybe is not very different from Southwark's profile ? But I think the middle bands in popular schools can be very hard to get into and you need to be living very near the school . Sorry ,not adding anything to the debate here ,just expressing my confusion !

Ever heard of crossing bridges when you come to them ?

well,and banding of course . Though not the same system of banding that Kingsdale use.

Ok ,we have Open Office but son does coursework ,school computer converts into Word which he then can't edit back home . Though no doubt I'm missing something here ,but not knowledgable enough to persue.. So was thinking would buy Word - looking on line but getting confused . Can find this http://www.software4students.co.uk/Microsoft_Office_2010_Professional_Plus-details.aspx?gclid=CMmv0ZD3wacCFcod4QodJTglAg but would that be ok ? Amazon have some that say Product Key code only - ? We have a Dell laptop which seems to have Microsoft Office Word 2007 loaded ,but needs a Product Key . We have only one machine and would ( according to DS ) need Excel for data handling and drawing graphs . Any advice gratefully received ....

Thanks for that - was worried by the awful banging in our pipes ,thinking ( as much as one can at 4.30 am ) that it was some dreadful plumbing disaster about to unfold .

Fierce airlocks in kitchen cold water supply this morning . Could the mains water have gone off in night ? Anyone else with problems ? Thames Water site says nada.

High protein , low/no carb lunch is a good energy boost . Fish /meat + salad ...