Primary schools dilemmas

[crystalball]

Hi all - we're probably less ED and more Denmark Hill/Herne Hill but I hope that the hivemind on here will be able to give me some insight in to the process.

My daughter starts at Reception in September 2016. Been to see 7 schools (I'm schooled out, I tell you!) and the more I see the less I can decide what it is I'm after. This is my list of favourites with distance next to it

Bessemer (0.38 miles)

Lyndhurst (0.62 miles)

Dulwich Village Infants (0.78 miles)

Dog Kennel Hill (0.52 miles)

Is there even any point in putting down the ones that are more than 600 metres away? And if I don't, would that mean that if we don't get any of our two choices, my daughter would end up at an undersubscribed school far away? I still haven't figured that out.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[goldilocks]

Its been covered on here lots but put down 6 choices - better to chose your fallbacks than have them allocated. What is your closest school? Assuming its probably Bessemer from your list - but is there anything else nearby you could add to your list for the final 2 choices - maybe Goose Green and even the Belham whilst the catchment is larger in the early years?

[crystalball]

Thank you. I did suspect it would have been covered a lot but after looking around for about an hour, I didn't manage to find much. Sorry for repetition!

Our nearest school is Bessemer, yes. Next closest is Jessop but I wasn't sure about that school when I went to visit.

Is it generally advisable to put the schools in a genuine list of preference (regardless of possibility of getting in)?

[redjam]

crystalball Wrote:

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>

> Is it generally advisable to put the schools in a

> genuine list of preference (regardless of

> possibility of getting in)?

Short answer: yes.

[LondonMix]

Agree with everyone else. Fill in all 6 options and list in genuine preference order.

Unless things have changed dramatically, you should be able to get into your first choice (Bessemer Grange) given your proximity. Its a 3 form primary and has a fairly large catchment as a result of that and it being somewhat hard for some parents to get to. I agree its appears to be a terrific school.

Good luck!

[crystalball]

Thanks all. That's all really useful!

[ktrd80]

I put my son down for six schools in order and a separate application to a new school in the area - Belham Primary. I was not offered any of the six I wanted but did get into Belham, which is a briliant school. Two weeks after my boy started at Belham - he was then offered a place by my top three choices however I was really happy with Belham so stuck with that.

[crystalball]

Glad you found a good school for your son, ktrd80. Out of interest, were you turned down by schools fairly close to your house?

I'd love to see Belham but it'd be quite a journey for us.

[DuncanW]

Our kids are at Bessemer; one in year two, and the other in the nursery with an application submitted for her to join Reception in Sep 2016.

We?re really happy with the school. It has great facilities with access to neighbouring school fields. All of the teaching and leadership staff we have met have been very impressive and we feel our kids are doing really well there.

If Bessemer is your first choice, you should still fill out the other five choices, but given how close you are it is difficult to think of any circumstances where you wouldn?t get it.

[Pickle]

Personally (just my opinion), I think having your closest school at the top of your list is a really good option.

Schools change very quickly, and what you feel on a school visit may have no bearing on what it's like when your child is there. No matter where you are, if you are prepared to get involved - both in helping your child at home, and by mucking in at school as a volunteer/making cakes for cake sales/helping on trips etc - you can make the experience what you want it to be.

For me, the biggest thing is that if you go to your closest school, your child gets to know local kids. On our walk to school in the morning we know most of the people in the houses we pass. My kids knock on the door of their friends houses, and play dates can be impromptu. We don't get stuck in traffic, can leave home 5 minutes before the bell rings, and life is much easier for it.

Worth thinking about.

[Carbonara]

"Is it generally advisable to put the schools in a genuine list of preference (regardless of possibility of getting in)?" It is essential if you want to get the school you like best.

You don't give yourself a disadvantage if you put your 'most likely' school last - it just means that if you don't get offered your other preferences from higher up the list you will be allocated your 'most likely' school if they are able to offer you a place.

You seem to be in the excellent position of having your first choice as also your 'most likely' school.

But do fill out all spaces if you can, and in the order in which you prefer them.

Of all the schools on your list the LA will allocate you the one that can offer you a place and which is highest up your list.

[crystalball]

Thank you, everyone. Really good to hear these opinions. And thanks for the reassurance about Bessemer. It'd be a lovely, safe walk for us there and, like previously mentioned, we'd be surrounded by kids who go there. I guess I was wondering if it'd be worth filling all six spaces if I don't have more than three or four schools that I like...

[landsberger]

Do put all the schools you like down. You don't need to limit yourself just to Southwark, either.

[mouseysarah]

Just a warning - think about whether you would prefer Jessop to something much further away. In the even (sounds unlikely in your case but still) that you don't get a place at any of your preferences the council will allocate you somewhere. I sometimes see people on here saying "why have the council given me a place somewhere miles away?" - well, if you don't tell them you would rather go to Jessop if push came to shove than go three miles away, the computer won't know that. Definitely don't leave any spaces on your application unless you are truly indifferent at that point between all the schools in the whole of Southwark.

[crystalball]

Thanks all! We are actually Lambeth (on the border) but, apart from Jessop, all the other schools we've seen are in Southwark. I'll make sure to fill all the spaces.

[landsberger]

mouseysarah Wrote:

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

> Just a warning - think about whether you would

> prefer Jessop to something much further away. In

> the even (sounds unlikely in your case but still)

> that you don't get a place at any of your

> preferences the council will allocate you

> somewhere. I sometimes see people on here saying

> "why have the council given me a place somewhere

> miles away?" - well, if you don't tell them you

> would rather go to Jessop if push came to shove

> than go three miles away, the computer won't know

> that. Definitely don't leave any spaces on your

> application unless you are truly indifferent at

> that point between all the schools in the whole of

> Southwark.

I echo what Mouseysarag says - people get allocated somewhere miles away with spaces because they make 2 or 3 really unrealistic choices (usually outside the catchment area, or a religious school when they are not religious) - and then wonder why they've been given a school in Nunhead instead of West Dulwich.