Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Primary School Places/N Harringay School
I read with some dismay the recent news stories regarding the shortfall of primary school places in London, and the numbers of pupils who do not get their first preference for places. My son will start school in September 2012, and I would love to hear first hand from parents who have applied this year. Questions that I have running around my head include:
Has anyone not got a place at all?
How many parents got their first choice of schools?
What criteria did parents use to make their selection eg, location/Ofsted reports etc.
Of the three primary schools within a mile of me, North Harringay seems to rate highest on their Ofsted report, but is the furthest away. South Harringay is closest, but scores much lower. I don't think Ofsted reports alone can tell the whole story - so what would parents recommend?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by JulieB on
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In my experience you get into the school closest to you, especially if they are over subscribed. My son goes to Chestnuts which I think is a fantastic school, and my daughter has just been offered a place for Sept 2011. There was a record number of 38 siblings which has meant that the furtherest away child offered a place is 0.236 mile. I think both North and South Harringay are also over subscribed.
I know a few people that go to South H and they really like it. I would say the best way to judge a school is to go and visit it, you quite quickly get an impression of the staff, the children and the atmosphere, find somewhere you're happy with. Going to an event at the school is a good idea too - a jumble sale, summer fair etc - a good way to meet parents at the school and they will be very happy with your support at an event. Ofsted reports can be misleading, sometimes they are 2 or 3 years old and lots of improvements can have been made in that time. You'll need to go and visit schools (and I would say go and see 2 or 3 - or more) this Autumn and keep an eye out for the deadline for applications.
My other hint is don't put schools in Muswell Hill or Highgate down as your choices, if they are miles away from you and they're over subscribed then you're not going to get in. You'll be offered a school which isn't over subscribed - which tend to be the less popular and lower ratings on the Ofsted report and possibly miles away.
The council publish an application document which gives details of all schools in Harringey, and a chart of the oversubscribed to give you an idea of how close you have to live. The one for 2011 is here: http://www.haringey.gov.uk/primary_admission_booklet_-_full_version...
As far as I'm aware everyone has got an offer of a place, but there are no spare places and several people got an offer they're not happy with, and not one from their 6 preferences.
Good luck, I hope this is helpful and I know how daunting it is for your first child starting school.
Julie
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Permalink Reply by Germana on
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Hi Antoinette and Julie,
a good time to start this discussion. I am also having to start thinking about this for my son for September next year. I am intending to go and visit some schools but then how many do I have to look at now there is so much uncertainty on whether one gets a place at all in any of the chosen ones (by the way, how many choices can we put down?)
I have to say I am slightly panicked by what I hear about this year's intake and I am generally not prone to worrying too much about this issue, comparatively speaking. We live something like 0.3 miles from both Chestnuts and South Harringay (but closer to Chestnuts as I am in the Gardens), but this year I would not have been offered a place in either as the furthest away pupils who got in were 0.236 for the former and 0.249 for the latter. The furthest pupil to get into North Harringay was 1.013 which means we would have got into that one (just....) - but then who knows if next year the catchment area will be the same, or whether it will be smaller. I know it depends on siblings, etc and that's what makes this whole thing so unpredictable.
To be honest, we moved to the area assuming we would manage to get our son into one of these three - Chestnuts, SH or NH and now we are having to look further afield - it may not be a bad thing necessarily but we have to start completely from scratch in figuring out what schools are like. Plus there is the fear of being offered a place in a school that is so far that the school run will become a nightmare.
So this is where advice is needed. I checked what other schools there are around here (on the eastern side of Harringay assuming applying to one that is closer will make it easier to get a place) and the Ofsted reports to not look too promising to be honest - of course I know that's not the whole story, etc. Does anybody have any advice on which ones to prioritise? Also, many of the schools a bit East of here seem to be Catholic or Church of England. What are the policies for offering places to children not from those faiths? I have no idea as I always thought I would never consider a religious school.
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Permalink Reply by Old-Age-Emporium(OAE) on
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Germana, remarkable how many parents choose the Damascus Road Junior/Infant/Nursery or St Paul's Primary in the Street called Strai(gh)t when toddler turns three. They've both got excellent Ofsted Reports in Acta Apostolorum, I believe.
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I think all the faith schools near here are oversubscribed, they have their own entrance criteria so you need to check each one. But generally you need to go to their church at least once a month for 2 years before your child is due to start school. And I know for the catholic ones you need to be practising and have had your child christened and confirmed.
You get to list up to 6 schools. I'm not sure how the priorities work. If all the schools on your list have places then the council will offer you a place at the one you put highest. I would say put them in the order you like best, and put at least 3 really local schools that you would be happy to go to.
I know at least one of the gardens roads was close enough to get into Chestnuts. The siblings really put everything out of balance this year. Last year there were 23 siblings and the year before only 15 - so 38 this year is unusually high.
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If only the Jehovah's Witnesses would open a school over there in Kingdom Hall to sort of compete with Chestnuts. At least they would come to our doors twice a week and save us the onerous imposition of turning up at their church once a month or dabbling with this christening and confirming tomfoolery. Maybe they'd even provide our kids with home tuition free of charge?
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yes, and people would welcome them very warmly instead of being so irritated by them ringing the door, ha ha!
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Thanks Julie, I think given what we hear is happening all over the borough it can't be just a problem with siblings. I hope so, but it seems unlikely. Something else is going on. Has anyone seen any useful news reports that give a bit of background perhaps?
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Hi Germana
We've lived here (Conway Road) for nearly 8 years and the area has changed a lot in that time. There have been lots of new families move into the area, the ladder, the gardens and roads around mine because, for London, houses are relatively affordable. Lots of houses in my street used to be rented, some as temporary accomodation, but slowly this is changing as the houses are sold and 'done up'. So we have more perminant residents with young children who need school places.
In the case of Chestnuts, 8 or 9 years ago it wasn't a popular school and the Ofsted report wasn't great. The current Head has worked wonders, parents became governors of school and became much more involved, and it's now a great school (in my opinion at least). It's only been oversubscribed for 2 or 3 years.
I haven't seen any news reports offering other explanations as yet, but will keep my eye out.
Julie
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Well your explanation works very well for Chestnuts....so I guess now may be the time for some of us to consider getting our children into another school further east and try to do what we can to help it improve...
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Sorry I've posted loads on here, but just wanted to say that I know our Chestnut's head teacher is very keen on helping other schools in the area to improve. And I know the head at Downhills has improved things a lot there in the last few years.
So it is possible to improve a school that isn't doing too well. I would say get together with some like minded parents and see what you can do. This is exactly what happened to Chestnuts a few years ago.
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Permalink Reply by Mark B on
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Strongly agree! Julie. All of them want to be better - they need interested parents to get involved don't they.
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Hi All,
I would second / third all put by the others. We visit NH, SH, and Chestnuts and after asking lots of questions and speaking to the teachers and leadership I have to say as a parent I would have been happy to have my eldest at any of the three.
The OFSTED reports are useful but you have to understand the language they are using. For example what does "good" mean. And if you are basing these grades on an average of the intake where all three schools clearly have a wide range of intake (english as a second language etc) - then what does it actually mean?
Go visit and ask questions. And even ask the parent teachers committee - they could have some suggestions.
Good luck - and try not to get stressed by it.
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