Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Secondary School Recommendations/Admissions
I know I'm beginning to think about this about a year ahead of when I need to but I'm beginning to ponder the options for secondary school for No. 1 son.....
We had a wretched time with the primary school admission process (had to wait 2.5 years for a school place within walking distance) so any recommendations around the quality of schools and the admissions process for secondary schools would be very useful.
We live on Umfreville Road so I am anticipating that we would end up being offered a place at Park View although Gladesmore would be easier to access by overground. Has anyone on the ladder managed to get a place there? Or does anyone have anything good or bad to say about Park View? Hornsey School for Girls is out (he won't go to school in a dress no matter how much I bribe him) and as a non-believer, I am not keen on religious schools.
Any information gratefully accepted.......
Tags for Forum Posts: schools
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Helen Riley on
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My son is in Year 10 at Greig City Academy and we have always been very happy with the school academically. He is happy there and the teachers are unbelievably hard-working and take a real interest in your child. My son came home at 7.30pm every night last week - he was staying at school to work on a robot which a team was taking to Birmingham to compete in the national robotics final. They left at 5am last Friday and came back at 7pm on the Saturday. All the time teachers were also on the school site into the evening and in Birmingham with them. This is not untypical.
They introduced a Classics and Latin GCSE course recently and they have a fleet of boats (possibly I mean yachts, I'm not a sailor myself). It's very innovative and on the new progress 8 scores they do really well, in the top 2% in the country in some aspects. But lovely, kind and caring staff also, as well as the academic focus.
We are not religious at all and it's a non issue at the school. There is no priority given to 'church' places, hardly anyone takes a place on that basis - and anyone expecting a traditional Church of England school would be sorely disappointed. There is someone from everywhere there and numerous different faiths and non.
I volunteer in the school library sometimes and I never want to stop; even when my son has left I hope they will still let me volunteer. It's a such a positive place to be.
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Thanks for that. I'm particularly pleased to hear that the religous aspect isn't invasive. I mentioned the robotics club and my son went la-la! In his mind the decision is already made!
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Hi there
I also have two boys at Greig City and I second all that's been said already from everyone about going and seeing for yourself. My son in Year 10 is also super keen on robotics - they won the Oustanding in Haringey STEM Award this year. The other son in Year 7 is making rocket cars (don't ask me!). It's not just good at technology though. The website has some nice stories of what's been happening. I find joy in reading the Twitter accounts - particularly the GCA Sailing Club Twitter - they've entered this year's Fastnet race! It's not too big. Good leadership and amazing kindness. We're not religious either. Always think it's good to weigh up pros and cons of a school with a sixth form. When we visited IAMS it didn't have one - may have changed now. Our thinking was that it's good to have teachers who can teach sixth form. Anyway, go and visit them all and good luck!
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Greig City hosted a Faraday STEM Challenge day earlier this week with teams from GC and Park View. My son was on the PV team and talked at great length about it afterwards (which is unusual for him, it really captured his imagination!)
I believe Hampden Road has been the cut off point for the catchment area for Heartlands for the last couple of years, whereas PV and GC are not oversubscribed (or are less so). But obviously this changes year by year.
We are going through the 6th form application process with our eldest. That's a whole nother level of stress...
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Hi Antoinette. We are about to move to Umfreville Road and the experience you have shared about getting your kids into S Harringay primary have given me the fear as my daughter is a year off from starting reception. I was wondering if you had a moment you would direct message me to let me know what happened and any other insights you may have? Many thanks.
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I'd be interested in hearing more about this as well. In my case, I have two children moving from the Continent so would not be first year. I'm told there are no places for one of them and maybe for the other--even though the school is not 100 yards from my house!
Meanwhile I have an offer for both from a private school which I like but which will bankrupt me. I have to decide with the private school now or risk not getting into S. Harringay. If one or both doesn't get into S. Harringay then where are they sent instead?
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Permalink Reply by JulieB on
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You'll be offered the nearest school with places, a few years ago that would have been somewhere like Seven Sisters School or Tiverton - but I don't know if they have become over subscribed now.
I imagine you'll be high up the waiting list for South Harringay as you're only 100 yrds from the school. Generally there is a bit of movement in years 3, 4 and 5.
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You are joking right? So instead of walking 30 seconds to a school I would be expected to get into a car (that I don't own) and drive all the way to 7 Sisters (since I can't think of a bus that goes there from Pemberton road)?
The issue for me though was when I talked to Haringey council they said that there was a waiting list for each class level my children would be in. Being 100 yards even doesn't strike me as meaning much if there is no space! As you say there is movement but it's a gamble and if I lose I have to go to some place like 7 Sisters. So of course being from America where --gasp-- you know the school you go to because there is a school district, my wife is freaking out about something like seven sisters and because of this I'll get to pay £15k / year to send them private till they go to St Thomas More. That will be about £50K or so. I am very angry as I pay 45% of what I make in tax and don't even get one little benefit of it like this.
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I'm sorry I didn't mean to alarm you, I was guessing at those schools because I know, at least up until a couple of years ago, they weren't over subscribed and therefore more likely to have spaces. The council's in year admissions dept will be able to tell you where there are places.
Where I grew up (Up North) we also had set catchment areas so it made it much easier to know where you would go to school.
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I'm afraid to say that is the truth of the matter. My walk to school now is under 5 minutes (it would be less if we didn't stop to stroke every cat on the way). But I had to take my son by car 1.5 miles there and 1.5 miles back for over 2 years against my better judgement because the alternatives were a 45 minute walk or 2 buses which wasn't much quicker. I need to hold down a job so really didn't have any other option. I don't know which private school you are referring to but that can't be any closer. Speaking as someone who went to both private and state schools, I don't think private education is worth the money (unless you're seriously loaded and money is no object).
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Places do become available but I'm not surprised to hear that they may be able to accommodate one but not the other. My advice would be to get one in there, and then that gives you a priority for a sibling place for the other. It's a tricky one with the private school - you can stay on the waiting list for S Harringay and transfer when a place becomes available - if you're lucky that shouldn't be longer than a couple of terms. Tiverton and Seven Sisters are both currently under-subscribed so that is likely where they would go if no places were available at S Harringay. My son was at Tiverton - perfectly nice staff and good Head, but they tended to concentrate their resources on those at the bottom of the educational spectrum and leave those more able (like my son) to their own resources. I can understand why, but it meant my son wasn't stretched or pushed and he needed to be.
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