Primary school advice

[thundercats]

Hello

Thinking about moving to the ED area with two young preschoolers. Having he minefield of narrowing down where to live and what school argh. Obviously will visit schools but as we don't know where to start it would be really great if anyone has any advice on any schools to avoid! Plus any schools they would recommend. I would love a school that is in the middle - not too hothousey but not overly laid back. Forest school would be great and/or emphasis on being active. Nurturing and warm staff the priority. Looking around ED, WD, Herne Hill, Forest Hill and Peckham Rye.

Thank you!!

[Saffron]

Sorry, I don't have personal experience of those schools, but just wanted to say that when I was looking for schools for my daughter, I found thoroughly reading the schools' websites to be useful in addition to visits.

Also keep in mind that catchments are very small for many schools. So unless you're moving almost next door to certain schools, the likelihood of getting a place can diminish rapidly with distance.

Best of luck. xx

[LondonMix]

I have no experience of it but I've heard Fairlawn has a Forest School type approach. The schools in Honor Oak and Forest Hill are all good as are all the ones in Dulwich. I wouldn't worry about avoiding any schools but for convenience sake it might be worth trying to avoid blackholes as it can be a bit more stressful come admission time.

I live in ED and the 5 or 6 roads south of Whately have the greatest choice of schools. In any given year, depending on exactly where you are, you may be in the catchment of: Heber Primary, Goodrich, Harris ED and Dulwich Hamlet.

The houses and gardens in that stretch can be on the smaller side of average for this area though so I'd just find a house that suits your needs as the schools are all generally good.

[nylonmeals]

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/education/school-sat-tables-results-for-every-london-state-primary-a3421116.html

Sure you've seen but this lists out the primary school results out by borough so you can search Lambeth (Herne Hill) and Southwark (East and West Dulwich) - makes it very easy.

We're in Herne Hill - got some great local schools. Jessops and Bessemer Grange which are not church schools and Corpus Christi which is catholic.

Good luck!

[Elfy]

My son goes to Rosendale in West Dulwich/ Herne Hill. It's a great school; has high standards without putting pressure on the kids. Take a look at the website for more info, each class has a blog and there are blogs for other things, including the forest school and various after school clubs. Gives you a good idea about what the school is about.

http://www.rosendale.cc/school-life/class-blogs/

[Norfolkvillas]

Harris Primary East Dulwich does Forest school sessions in reception, in the grounds of Alleyn's. I always got the impression that Horniman Primary did lots of that kind of thing...

As other posters have said, we're so lucky to have so many good primary schools in ED and surrounds. I can't think of a school that doesn't have its own tribe of supportive families.

The other thing I found helpful when looking at schools was to look up their PTA websites and / or Facebook pages - it can give a different insight into the school community.

Good luck with your search!

[cactus]

Just to add, St John's & St Clement's also have outdoor learning /Forest school sessions.

[Jemmarc]

I don't have any direct experience of local schools yet as I also have a preschooler but I've been to a few open days mainly around Forest Hill and this is what I've thought:

Horniman is great for being so small and for having it's own forest area which seems to mean they do more of that sort of thing than most other schools. They also run a lot of lunchtime and after school clubs. Very small catchment though.

Fairlawn is raved about by lots of people in SE23, it seems to get great results and has been consistently good for a long time so it's a pretty safe bet. Catchment is very small - about 300 metres max I think. It's likely to be bigger in 2017 as they are apparently having a bulge year. Downsides - There is limited outside space so I think one of the two weekly PE lessons is often held in the classroom. And lunchtime

play is or will have to be staggered as there is not enough space for the whole school to be playing outside at once.

Harris East Dulwich is new and increasingly popular as confidence grows. The catchment may shrink massively over the next couple of years because of this. Harris will also have to stagger outside play I am told as the playground is small but I believe they are negotiating use of on another school's playground. The children learn mandarin which was extremely cute to see and probably more useful than French which is still taught elsewhere. I think some

people still feel it's a bit of a risk as it's a new school but parents of children there speak highly of the school.

Ivydale (Nunhead) will be very big but split over two sites so may not feel that way. The catchment should grow for 2017 as they are taking an extra form.

My favourite of all the schools I saw was Eliot Bank which is more the Sydenham side of Forest Hill so may be too far out of your chosen areas. It gets great results but at the same

time just seemed so friendly and relaxed. For a school that is academically high acheiving I found that really

refreshing. Sadly we do not live near enough to that one.

Hope that helps a little!

[iliana]

Kilmorie In Forest hill.I would say just visit all in Forest hill.Domain is great ,Fairlawn,Eliot bank,too many. Kilmore has no uniform,arty community feeling,outdoor day and say that boys outperform girls for first time as there is more outside play,so they will implement as much as they can outdoor learning.Too happy with our move.I have been visiting lots of private and public to make the move choice.Good luck and pm if you want to