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Kilmorie school
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Lizzie


Posts: 3
Joined: Oct 2007
Post: #1
05-03-2012 02:31 PM

My daughter started reception last year and we are thinking of moving to FH which means she has to move schools. I know that Kilmorie had a new head last year (?) and I just wanted to see how people think the school has changed/improved since her start. I've heard that she is not a primary school expert? Is Robin Bosher still involved in the school. I know that the previous head was not doing such a great job which I know put some people off.
Dalmain is also a choice but the road outside and the small play ground puts me off even though i have heard lots of good things about it.
Any feedback, honest, would be most gratefully received.
Thanks, Elisabeth

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Sherwood


Posts: 1,412
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #2
05-03-2012 04:12 PM

This is the link for the league table:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/educat...m?compare=

A nearby school (Rathfern) is number 2 in the table!

Robin Bosher will be moving elsewhere. See another thread.

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roz


Posts: 1,796
Joined: Mar 2005
Post: #3
05-03-2012 05:53 PM

Im not a Kilmorie parent but I would have faith that despite Robin Bosher moving on, things will improve now that its part of a soft federation and is receiving lots of attention in respect of improvement. Any school can go through a bad patch but most do come out the other side. It is expanding to 3 FE hence it should get a Head with lots of suitable experience.

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Lizzie


Posts: 3
Joined: Oct 2007
Post: #4
05-03-2012 09:53 PM

Thanks for the replies.

It is expanding to 3 FE hence it should get a Head with lots of suitable experience. I thought they had a new head already? Some friends whose kids that went to Kilmorie felt it was very disorganised under the old head so it would be interesting to know what improvements/change they have made.
I notice that Dalmain is below Kilmorie and Rathfern in the league table (which i admit i have never looked at). Aren't they supposed to be a very good school? i.e. better than Kilmorie?
I am grateful there a several good schools in the area but it almost makes our decision harder.

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P1971


Posts: 816
Joined: Feb 2009
Post: #5
05-03-2012 10:42 PM

My kids have been and are at Fairlawn and Robin Bosher was a fantastic head for the past 8 or so years but he is now moving to the department for schools,education and children but Miss Christian is a great acting head for the school. Hope this helps. Call him and he will speak to you No is 0208 69907948

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P1971


Posts: 816
Joined: Feb 2009
Post: #6
05-03-2012 10:48 PM

Stillness is a good school... check it out ...

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P1971


Posts: 816
Joined: Feb 2009
Post: #7
05-03-2012 10:53 PM

Made a mistake in the no it is 699 7948 hope this helps. Fairlawn is a fantastic school. Stillness and Elliot Bank are also very good so have a look at them too.

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hellohello


Posts: 42
Joined: Sep 2010
Post: #8
06-03-2012 10:18 AM

Hello, we have recently gone through the admissions process and we ended up putting Kilmorie as our first choice. We are equidistance from Kilmorie and Dalmain so went to see them both and thought they were both great schools but what swung it for us was the onsite afterschool care at Kimlmorie. The head at Kilmorie seemed lovely and from feedback from parents there seems to be doing a great job so far. There was a recent meeting there with head and PTA to discuss Robin Bosher leaving and from what I gather the new head seems to have everything very much under control. Robin Bosher seems to have come in and sorted out a lot of the disorganisation at Kilmorie and I think (I may be wrong here) there are some great new teachers in place. Also with Kilmorie and Dalmain, without exception, every parent who had a child at either school, had nothing but great stuff to say about both schools. The results at Kilmorie have gone up this year and Dalmain have gone down but if you are concerned then call the head teacher, I know others who have and she has been more than happy to speak to them about their concerns. OFSTED at Kilmorie hasn’t been great but to be honest I think you will learn a lot more about a school from parents than an OFSTED report (our old nursery was rated Outstanding and we took our son out of it after 6 months because we were so unhappy with it). I don’t really know about Rathfern but again people speak really highly of it and the head is meant to be incredible and they also get to use St Dunstans sports facilities! I also got some good feedback on Dalmain and Kilmorie from Mumsnet so might be worth posting on there. Good luck with it all and welcome to SE23!

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rmurraywest


Posts: 42
Joined: Jan 2010
Post: #9
06-03-2012 10:19 AM

I'm not sure I would judge a school on the strength of one year's SATs results (whatever you think of Sats anyway). But then I'm a Dalmain parent, so maybe that's why I'd say that. I'm also not wild about league tables (my mum was a primary teacher until very recently and I'm well aware of the many, many factors that can affect results - as well as some of the factors that affected Dalmain specifically last year).
You could also look at Ofsted reports (though not all very up to date), and go round the schools (all very open to visits). I did all of that before my daughter started Reception, which is where she is now. It was very illuminating.
I've many friends who are very happy with Kilmorie and the new head. I'd also say that Dalmain is an absolutely fantastic school and our daughter is thriving - the size of the playground has not been an issue so far and the school also has the Pen and the Wildlife Garden, which help to extend its space.

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Jane2


Posts: 221
Joined: Jan 2007
Post: #10
08-03-2012 01:59 PM

Lizzie - just to explain about the head teacher situation at Kilmorie. Liz Stone is the Head of School, she was recruited by Robin Bosher last year. As others have said she would be very happy to talk to you about the improvements the school is making.

Since Robin and Liz came on board the school has definitely improved.

Robin Bosher was 'Executive Head' so led the school at a strategic level and headed up the 'soft federation' with Fairlawn and Haseltine. This federation is going to continue - the schools have voted for this - despite Robin's departure. They are recruiting a new Executive Head who will have the same position that Robin had.

This means that the school will have both a Head of School who is hands-on and very much involved in the day to day running, plus an Executive Head who can be involved at a leadership level and helping all three schools to benefit from their links.

I have 2 children at Kilmorie and I am very pleased with it, they are both making great progress, but most importantly are happy and enjoying it. There is a great range of after school activities and music tuition, and a well regarded after-school club.

The last Kilmorie Ofsted report was done when the previous head was in post. One hasn't been done yet since the new head took over. So its not an accurate reflection of the current school.

We are lucky in this area as we have a really good choice for primary schools, as others have mentioned; I have friends with children at Dalmain, Stillness, Fairlawn and Horniman, and all are happy.

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pebble


Posts: 47
Joined: May 2011
Post: #11
11-03-2012 10:33 PM

I agree with Jane2, we are very fortunate to have so many good primary schools to chose from around Forest Hill/Brockley. Even Brockley Primary is now a good choice.

The Head at Kilmorie used to be a teacher at Fairlawn so she does have a great deal of primary experience in an outstanding school - I don't know where you got the idea she hasn't. If fact her particular expertise is in phonics and early years. The staff team at Kilmorie are excellent and I would have no hesitation sending my child there or Dalmain - I have worked at both.

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P1971


Posts: 816
Joined: Feb 2009
Post: #12
12-03-2012 08:24 AM

Liz Stone was my daughter's year 1 teacher 8 years ago at Fairlawn and she was an excellent teacher.

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