intexasatthe moment

Yes good points . I think Kingsdale especially were clever in fine tuning their admissions policy to overcome their geographical position . And also by the confusing scholarship system . Perhaps it's a good thing that individual schools can tailor their admissions to cope with the specific circumstances of the school . Though I feel the competition between schools is more harmful - leading to ever more creative ways to manipulate the system so that statistics look good - than good .

Those parents who are concerned about the prospect of their children travelling to far away places like Catford ,Westminster etc and are looking for a local school that caters for local children need to think about the admissions policy of the " provider " . And they need to think about the implications of schools next to eachother having different admissions policies . If one school always ensures that their pupils' abilities reflect the national average and ensure that every intake includes a number of the brightest children in the borough then their results should always achieve at least the equivalent of other schools . And to have a head start in climbing those league tables and likely to climb higher than a school whose admissions policy means that they draw from a small geographical area . Such issues are what you get from a fragmented education system run by various " providers " for whom competition has become an overriding feature . Harris schools who have a banding system can take pupils from far and wide to fill their school with cohorts that reflect the national average range of abilities . The 63 bus I was on the other day had many Harris boys travelling well past the Elephant , a distance which it seems many parents regard as unacceptable for their children to travel . So if you want a local school taking it's pupils from the immediate geographical area then you might want to think not only about which " provider " you are opting for but the admissions policy they operate . And also whether you mind if that policy has the potential to detrimentally affect the schools position in the league tables . And the trend for Academies to develop all through schooling from primary age also gives pause for thought . How long before primary school age children are travelling on buses to schools where the " provider " wants to ensure an intake that will give them a head start in the league tables ? Obvious stuff I know and I'm probably teaching grandmothers to suck eggs . So apologies if I'm labouring stuff that goes without saying .

What I don't understand about Rye Lane is why the pavement surfaces of the main drag and the side roads can't be resurfaced and maintained to the same high standards as the shopping area on Lordship Lane . Anyone know the answer ?

TPO'd trees can be pruned/reduced in height ,details to Southwark and permission needs to be obtained.

James , I'm sure you have more experience of decision making on this scale than i do - what would your suggestions be as to how the steering group come to a decision ?

James how will the parents on the steering committee reach their decision regarding choice of manager/"sponsor " ? ( I believe the provider is the tax payer isn't it ? )

The Rose ,Forest Hill Rd ? http://uk.local.yahoo.com/London/SE23_1/Greater_London/Public_Houses/2045392611-e-26351379.html

On this point - whether James had made it clear if the proposed school was to be a Harris one ,James said " For clarity we have sufficient highly performing Harris Schools in the area. The idea of free schools is to bring choice but our application will also be about bringing more capacity. Hopefully this is clear enough. "

Thanks TE . I hate this fragmented ,competitive education system . See little good coming from it and much that is bad . And much ,to use the words of my son's school's sponsor ( now a Lord and a mover and shaker in current government as Education minister ,one with his own curriculum think tank " inspired " by E D Hirsch and his knowledge/content rich education system ) that equals a " cash flow ".

we do,we do . feel quite excited . well very excited actually !

Oh red devil that's so helpful ,just what I was looking for . Thank you so much .

Thanks Red Devil - I have seen the trimetals ones ( and actually don't consider them that expensive for what you get and compared to cost and distress of loosing bike ) just wondered if there others . What I wonder is how easy it will be to get one bike out if there is another bike in front of it - we dont go out on our bikes together and I can imagine having to lift one up and over the other might be tricky . When one is old and a bit creaky like me . Sadly locking and covering bike still leaves them open to vandalism so feel will have to go with store . I cant imagine they need planning permission ,but guess a phone call would clarify .

But is a shed a building ....? ( think we have same in our deeds and hadn't thought that would prevent a shed ) Would take up less room than the 5 wheelie bins there at the moment .

what are you going for Dulwich ? I recently posted looking for advice on what type for myself but got no replies so would be interested in any experience/views .

My son attended a school that was made an Academy . In the sixth form he was first asked to produce nearly ?300 so that his AS exams could be taken " privately " . He was later told that if he didn't reach certain targets he would not be entered for his A levels because he was not expected to reach a C grade . This was not a Harris school but I'm afraid pressure and bullying to get children who are not expected to do well to leave does happen .

I am tired of people repeating that Harris have made previously failing schools successful without acknowledging the political agenda and support given to Academies . With similar support and financial input to LEA schools a level playing field may have seen similar success in what were previously failing schools . Just saying .

" I agree with you James, that given that many of the schools were failing, Harris is probably doing a better job than the previous management. " Maybe the schools would have done better if they had been given the same amount of governement financial input as given to Academies .And of course altered their intake by banding . Which incidentally if done by ALL schools in the same way I would see as a good thing .

Sssh.

But , as pointed out by Fuschia above ,the Harris intake is banded so that the school ensures that each years cohort reflects the ability range of the national average . Previous schools who didn't band had different intakes - determined by proximity to the school or ,in "unpopular " schools made up by pupils who had been unable to get a place elsewhere .

Great suggestions thank you .

Thanks Pugwash .

I'm sure this has been asked before but do people have recommendations ? We have 2 bikes ,nothing expensive ,but special to us and I'm getting to the point where dragging them indoors and upstairs is putting me off using the bike . We don't want to go for a wall mounted rack indoors and have plenty of room on our forecourt . Any recommendations ?

Friend has asked if I have any ideas re contacts for her son who is looking for a 2 week placement - something in the caring area - homelessness /counselling/psychological research . He is over 18 and studying psychology . I really don't know what to suggest ,any advice would be very gratefully received . Though my instinct tells me his search is going to be tricky and involve CRB checks .

http://www.camberwellboroughcouncil.co.uk/ any help ?

"NUT/NASUWT issues first strike notice at a HARRIS Academy (Harris Boys? Academy East Dulwich) Posted on January 29, 2014 by mwdavern If there is no progress in negotiations over ?the unreasonable frequency of full scale external observations, workload and the failure of the head to meet with unions to try and resolve? then the first day of joint strike action will be on Thursday 6th Feb, with other dates to follow should no progress be made ."