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Talk to me about primary schools (again!)
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baggydave


Posts: 390
Joined: May 2004
Post: #21
15-03-2011 04:12 PM

You will need to check which are the best feeder schools for Charter or Kingsdale, you may therefore need to consider moving out of the area into Southwark. Alternatively shift South into Bromley.

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rshdunlop


Posts: 1,111
Joined: Jun 2008
Post: #22
15-03-2011 04:53 PM

Feeder schools? I didn't think this applied now we have the Pan London applications wotsit. My daughter moved to secondary school last year. There was only one school with specified feeders, and that was a very oversubscribed Catholic school. Otherwise there was no mention of feeder schools at all.

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tallgirl


Posts: 1
Joined: Mar 2011
Post: #23
15-03-2011 05:07 PM

St Francesca Cabrini School is also good, a Catholic school on Forest Hill Rd.

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roz


Posts: 1,796
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #24
15-03-2011 05:13 PM

Is part of this thread missing? I didn't see any query about feeder schools. However interesting nonetheless.

I wouldn't knock Sydenham Girls or Forest Hill Boys as both have.are having investment put in so may be completely different in a few years time to what they are now- the Girls school in particular.

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rshdunlop


Posts: 1,111
Joined: Jun 2008
Post: #25
15-03-2011 05:21 PM

I was responding to Baggydave's recommendation to find a primary school that was a 'feeder' for Charter or Kingsdale (neither of which are our local secondary schools, as you pointed out, Roz). I didn't think the concept of feeder schools was used under the current Secondary Transfers system, so thought that piece of advice might be out of date.

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baggydave


Posts: 390
Joined: May 2004
Post: #26
15-03-2011 06:16 PM

There is the theory and the reality.

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Perryman


Posts: 820
Joined: Dec 2006
Post: #27
15-03-2011 06:19 PM

There was an excellent thread on the finances of FH Boys on the sydenham forum a few months ago. Summary - because of the new building and over estimating external income, they had a very significant financial deficit.

Savings have been made, they say, by reducing the number of teachers and learning assistants, by replacing experienced teachers and they plan to reduce the number of lessons taught each week to 25.
They freely admit all this will impact on curriculum provision.

link

This is all before any government education cuts are introduced.

The building is no doubt a vast improvement and the children absolutely deserve it, but neither the school or lewisham now own it - it is rented.

This whole PFI model is fundamentally flawed and vast sums are being diverted away from education into the private sector.

Maybe this is just a blip, but it is certainly cause for concern.

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baggydave


Posts: 390
Joined: May 2004
Post: #28
15-03-2011 06:24 PM

I've beem here before and now will gracefully retire: http://www.se23.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=318

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rshdunlop


Posts: 1,111
Joined: Jun 2008
Post: #29
15-03-2011 06:24 PM

Baggydave - I'm not sure getting into the popular sport of Secondary Schools Admissions Conspiracy Theories is going to be very helpful to the OP, who hasn't even had a chance to grapple with primary schools admissions yet.

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Sherwood


Posts: 1,413
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #30
16-03-2011 07:41 AM

I think the PFI model was fundamentally flawed. Why would a private company build a school? To make a profit, of course.

The News of the World recently carried an article about this.

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Contrary Mary


Posts: 124
Joined: Oct 2008
Post: #31
16-03-2011 11:51 AM

Baggydave: I'm shocked at your attitude. Your comment at the top of the page is so out of character that I can only assume it was tongue-in-cheek.

I've been there before, and am providing a link to the relevant thread, including OFSTED reports:

http://www.se23.com/forum/showthread.php...509&page=1

(see post #8)

These show that (although as even the highest achieving schools can benefit from investment, so I am sure it's true for ours) it is not a matter of them needing to become "completely different" in a few years time - they are fine now.

Can we all, please, knock this nonsense about our local state secondary schools being somehow second best on the head?
Mad

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Perryman


Posts: 820
Joined: Dec 2006
Post: #32
16-03-2011 01:47 PM

Funnily enough all those living in the posh roads in forest hill are in kingsdale's catchment area, whist those living on the kingsdale estate next to kingsdale school are not.
Cherry picking by an academy - what a surprise.

link

And yes we should support our local schools but not to the extent of being totally blinkered. The facts are neither FHB or Sydenham Girls are classified as excellent, and both are marginally below the national average at GCSE level.

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rshdunlop


Posts: 1,111
Joined: Jun 2008
Post: #33
16-03-2011 02:21 PM

Perryman - where did you get your information about 'catchment' for Kingsdale? It is my understanding that they do not have a catchment area, and do not offer places based on distance. Are you talking about people's perceptions of some unofficial catchment system operating at Kingsdale?

There is plenty of debate over on the East Dulwich Forum about how Kingsdale does not use distance from school for admissions and how some local people wish they did.

Kingsdale admissions policy is here

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Perryman


Posts: 820
Joined: Dec 2006
Post: #34
16-03-2011 03:38 PM

I have no inside information rshdunlop, but the South London Press article ties in with my view that Kingsdale has been massively turned round mainly by adjusting the intake.

As you point out, Kingsdale do not offer places based on distance.
No-idea about Charter.

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rshdunlop


Posts: 1,111
Joined: Jun 2008
Post: #35
16-03-2011 03:45 PM

Fair enough - it was just that this statement here:

"Funnily enough all those living in the posh roads in forest hill are in kingsdale's catchment area, whist those living on the kingsdale estate next to kingsdale school are not."

is very specific. If it was based on the SLP interview with people who were not happy with not getting into Kingsdale, I think it needs to be treated with circumspection. Not saying it isn't true, just that it is hearsay. There are definite questions to be asked about how a school changes the 'quality' of its intake, but this thread might not be the place.

There are people who post on this forum because they are at the beginning of the schools admissions process, be it primary or secondary, such as the OP here. It's a baffling process sometimes, and terms like 'feeder' (as used by Baggydave) and 'catchment' have specific meanings in relation to schools admissions, so I think they should be used carefully so as not to cause further confusion.

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Sherwood


Posts: 1,413
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #36
16-03-2011 04:58 PM

Feeder schools are normally primary schools that are part of an academy. Children in the primary school part are guaranteed a place in the secondary part of the academey. Thus competition for places in the primary aprt will be fierce if it is a good academy.

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Perryman


Posts: 820
Joined: Dec 2006
Post: #37
16-03-2011 05:24 PM

It is all a very sensitive area for sure.
If I have stepped on any toes, that was not the intention.

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roz


Posts: 1,796
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #38
16-03-2011 05:29 PM

I'm not aware of any such schools in this area- are there any?

We are at the beginning of the entire process so its a learning curve however our experience to date of dealing with private although excellent nurseries, ( but still private and therefore expensive and unaccountable) just makes me so glad that we have such an excellent state education system in this country. Could always be better in many ways but hey, it will be nice to be able to stop paying exorbitant nursery fees( exhorbitant in relation to household income!) and to have ' free' education from an accountable body .Long may it last, however with this government, and its free or not so free school policies, who knows what stunt they will pull next. I am aware of some schools being placed under pressure to ask parents for contributions to curricular school trips and other things which is outside the normal fundraising scope; they are not comfortable about it but feel its necessary to at least ask for some contribution and hope that some of the better off parents will cough up.

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rshdunlop


Posts: 1,111
Joined: Jun 2008
Post: #39
16-03-2011 06:45 PM

Asking parents for contributions to curricular trips isn't new - I've had kids in primary school for the past ten years and we've always been asked for a 'voluntary' contribution.

None of the local secondary schools I'm familiar with have a feeder relationship with a primary school. Haberdashers in New Cross recently established a local primary school feeder. There may be others. However, as roz pointed out, things are changing and all parents needs to do their own research.

Moreover, secondary schools change - both for good and bad. And kids change too - what seems perfect for them at age four may not be right by the time they are eleven. You could move heaven and earth to get your kid into a supposed 'feeder' primary, only to find six years down the line that the secondary school it is linked to is one you are no longer interested in.

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Sherwood


Posts: 1,413
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #40
17-03-2011 07:23 AM

In that case you will still have the guaranteed place in the secondary part of the academy, but will also be able to apply for places elsewhere.

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