Southwark Primary School Admissions for Sept 2013

[Saila]

It's clear that GG is an excellent school. I guess all schools that have been through special measures will go through a transition period. GG has managed an amazing transformation in a very short period of time so it's understandable that local parents are still nervous.

The current head mistress is very highly regarded. The school is lucky to have her, and the staff that work alongside her.

Once the wider community realise this, including the mum like the one in that evening standard article, there will be a huge shift in sentiment towards the school.

Give it a couple of years and it will be another heber IMO

[Renata Hamvas]

Hi all, here are the details of the drop in service at Cator Street for those of you who need help/advice over your primary school Offer:

SPA Primary Transfer 2013

Post-Offer Advice Session

Would you like to discuss your child??s primary school offer?

The School Preference Advisor is on hand to offer independent, impartial support and advice to parents and carers concerning the school admissions process.

The Southwark Learning and Business Centre, Cator Street, Peckham, SE15 6AA.

Commencing: 19th ?C 29th April 2013 inc. (weekdays)

Time: 9:30am - 12:50pm and 1:50pm ?C 3:30pm.

?? The School Preference Adviser is part of Southwark Parent Partnership, an arms length service funded by Southwark Council.

?? 20 minute slots will be available on a first come first served drop-in basis.

?? Please note this is a parent only event; There are no childcare facilities.

?? Parents are asked to sign in on arrival and complete the SPA referral form before the discussion begins.

Alternatively you can contact Southwark Parent Partnership

Liam White Tel: 0207 525 5211

Macarena Gajardo-Sheridan Tel: 0207 525 7545

Email: [email protected]

www.southwarkparentpartnership.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter: @southwarkpps

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

Posted on wrong thread

[bjm]

I think anyone with a place at Goose Green should be thrilled.I think its insulting for someone to be moaning in the paper about being allocated a good school when there are lots of fraught people here with no school place at all yet.

[Renata Hamvas]

Gina, it is better to e-mail school admissions than ringing them. Put in details of your child's application number, address and DOB.

I was informed that you need to check with other LAs about if they do automatic placement on waiting lists. It seems from what posters above are saying that Lewisham do.

Goodrich last place distance offered was 457 metres. Heber had a last place distance offer of 263 metres.

The reason I mentioned Ivydale is that Haberdasher's Aske Free School which is likely to have an overlapping "catchment" with Ivydale (and some nearby Lewisham schools) had independent entry this year. This means that applicants holding 60 place offers to the Aske's Free school will be holding offers at close by Southwark and Lewisham schools. It is really hard to judge what will happen here as Aske's Free School is a bilingual English/German primary, so a bit different to most community primaries and also pupils at this school will be able to move directly into the linked senior school. Kes, re your second choice school, you will be informed if a place comes up. If this happens you do have the option to turn down the place. This happens quite frequently if offers come through later on in the process when parents have bought uniform etc.

Londonmix, all I know is that they have some money, the decisions were very much delayed, so at the moment, sorry, I have no update for you. Abney, the position of 14th could be possible, but it depends on where the school is, how large is reception entry no ie 30,60,90.

There are some Southwark schools that currently have vacancies, some of these may be better than the offered ones in terms of location or transport links. You will need to contact Southwark if interested in any of them:

Community Schools:

? Crawford ? Gloucester ? Keyworth -? Langbourne -? Robert Browning ? Townsend ? Victory

Academy and Free schools:

? Harris Academy Peckham Park ? Harris Free School Peckham ? Southwark Free School

Foundation Schools:

? Charlotte Sharman

Voluntary Aided Schools:

? St George's Cathedral? St Joseph's Infants? St Judes ? St Pauls

Renata

[Indiana]

Thanks Renata

Do you know what Bessemers last place on distance was?

[Kes]

Many thanks Renata.

Fingers crossed then!

[minder]

lightweight - nobody seems to have answered your concerns about accepting a place at the Judith Kerr School, especially now they are suddenly going to be located somewhere in Herne Hill? Surely they can give a rough location for would-be parents? Thought it was more East Dulwich/Peckham Rye way? A bit tight if you don't want to compromise other choices of schools.

James Barber might be the person to ask.

[Otta]

When will people realise that special measures are a good thing! That's kind of the point. That woman in the paper is the stereotype that gives a lot of Dulwich mums a bad name, even though the majority are perfectly sane women.

[Chillaxed]

Here is James' latest comment on the location of JKPS:

"The preferred SE24 site for JKPS is on the SE22 border"

Hopefully he can update you further lighweight. Not sure it's right to say JKPS have suddenly opted for HH; they've kept parents as informed as possible and HH has been on the cards for a good while. Good luck!

[GreekMum]

Hi, I am new here and a very disappointed mum too! We didn?t get any of the six schools we applied for and got sent to Langbourne also. We live in Highwood Close and our choices were Eliot Bank, Fairlawn, Horniman, Heber, Goodrich and Dulwich Village. This morning I e-mailed admissions team about the waiting lists and Mrs Anita Hawksley answered in 10 minutes (really impressed), so e-mailing really works! I can?t say the same about our place in the waiting lists: Heber 62, Goodrich 39, Dulwich Village 52. Have asked Lewisham to put him in their waiting lists, and appealed too, so fingers crossed there! Good luck to everyone, it?s going to be a long run!

[James Barber]

Attached is a partial list of Southwark primary schools - shows max. distances for admissions this year (so far in the process).

Goodrich - 457m

Heber - 263m

Bizarrely Goose Green, Judith Kerr, religious schools not listed. Hope to have them later.

Hi Chillaxed,

It seems clear the extra supply such as Judith Kerr free school and bulging has helped again. More data to come.

The next two weeks people on hand at Cator Street to help people steer through all this. Lots of places do free up.

It's not as bad generally at this thread might at first appear.

But we do have at least 139 unhappy families across Southwark we all needto help.

[ABirney]

Two questions

- What is the average number of places that come up in a school - I am 8th on the waiting list and want to know the likelyhood of getting in. Any examples from previous years of number on waiting list and still got in?

- Can we trust that Southwark will call us when the place becomes available - I can't find anything that outlines the procedure, e.g. if they don't get a reply from a parent (on their mobile) do they just move down the list or do they send a letter out and wait for a reply and then if not accepted they move to the next one?

Thanks in advance

[alieh]

I wonder why Southwark/Lewisham don't arrange some kind of bus transport if there are areas with lots of people and schools near-ish by but a nightmare to get to. Couldn't they do a couple of pick ups to take children to Langbourne? By public transit this location is a nightmare from East Dulwich and too far to walk but maybe people would be fine with it if there was bus transportation from a very convenient location? This is what they do in Canada to match supply and demand for local schools.

Sympathy for everyone - what a stressful process. We have been frantically measuring catchment distances for probably two years now. We are very fortunate to have gotten our first choice but were only 94 m so were really hoping it would be okay! If we hadn't got this, the next option would have been miles away and impossible to get to on public transit 4 times/day.

[intexasatthe moment]

I had exactly the same thought alieh .

Kingsdale secondary eventually organised buses ...possibly fraught with accusations of intake manipulation though ..

[intexasatthe moment]

And also with such wee ones parents would need seats on bus as well ...

[simonethebeaver]

James, do those distances include sibling places and other entry criteria, or just admission by distance?

[GreekMum]

I have used this tool and gives me for example Eliot Bank 0,421 though http://schoolsfinder.direct.gov.uk gives me 0, 36 . Any idea what they are using?

[GinaG3]

Greek Mum, your choices are EXACTLY the same as mine!! I got offered Langbourne too. I'm on Lordship Lane estate, Dulwich Common side. I'm just about to email, I telephoned yesterday but call back is a few days want a quicker answer. Expect I'll be same position on waiting lists as you. Got our refusal letter from DVIS this morning, wasn't expecting to get in anyway.

[Otta]

alieh Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I wonder why Southwark/Lewisham don't arrange some kind of bus transport

Money.

[GinaG3]

Blimey Southwark are quick on email.

Goodrich 41st

Heber 64th

Dulwich Village 51st

So now what do I do to get on Lewisham waiting lists? I know they aren't releasing waiting positions yet. My above chances are slim, right? Has anyone ever been around the 50's on the list and still got a place? Seems to high to me. Horniman is my closest school, so need to contact Lewisham, followed by Goodrich which is a further 160 metres from memory..

[LizzieF]

Greekmum, who did you speak to at Lewisham? I've phoned twice about waiting lists and been told two different things. First they said, Yes, Southwark residents would automatically be on waiting list for higher choice schools in Lewisham. Then this morning they said only Lewisham residents automatically added and we have to tell Southwark we want to stay on waiting list for Lewisham schools and Southwark then send a list to Lewisham when 2nd May deadline for accepting school place passes!

Utterly confused and scared! We're also in Highwood Close with the same schools applied to as you so Horniman and Eliot B are our closest and obviously in Lewisham - doesn't bear thinking about if it turns out we're not actually on the waiting list!

Had no reply from the schoolpref email address but imagine they're very busy.

[GinaG3]

Thats what I'm worried about too Lizzie, my top preferences are all cross border into Lewisham. My southwark choices don't even look too great either. Gets a bit confusing when your trying to apply within multiple authorities, I don't want to miss being on the waiting list for Lewisham schools 2 of them are preferable but at the same time everyone has different things being said to them. I haven't even contacted Lewisham yet, my brain is a bit too muddled!

[LondonMix]

GinaG3, see if there are other schools who's waiting lists you might be able to join even if they weren't originally one of your 6 choices. I don't know if that's possible-- Renata?

My guess is you might be higher up the wait list based on the distance criteria at schools with a broader catchment. For instance if you had applied to Bessemer originally you would have gotten in (based on the figures James B provided) so you'd probably have a very good position on their wait list. It's a very good school but may still be less than ideal for you from an access point of view.

Best of luck.

[GinaG3]

I will look in to Bessemer, I'm not quite sure how though. How do you apply to go on wait lists this late? Its on direct P4 route so not too bad if push comes to shove and still closer to me than Langbourne! Renata and James both already suggested Ivydale and Bessemer earlier on, my daughters best friend got in to Bessemer as their 1st preference. Would be nice if only it wasn't for distance.