Schools in Heathfield (East Sussex)

[firestorm]

we may be moving to the heathfield area next year & i was wondering if anyone had any info on local schools? (or the area in general) my youngest will be starting school sept 05 but we will not be moved in time for the admissions process, so will only be able to apply for a school that is not generally oversubscribed to have a hope of getting in. either that or hope that our prefered school has places for her & my 5 year old (who would then be year 2) unfortunately the school in the area im hoping to buy a house is oversubscribed so there would be no point applying there. we currently have to drive to school & i was really hoping to go to a school within walking distance this time.
ive read ofsted reports on all the schools & they seem good, but i was wondering if anyone had any pearls of wisdom they could offer me?
thanks.

[firestorm]

oops, how did that happen?

[jane313]

My friends children goes to the school in Punnets town which is just outside, not sure if its in your area. She was really pleased with it and shes a primary teacher. From some of the things she has said it sounds a great place

[firestorm]

hi jane, thanks for that. punnets town is also somewhere we would consider. do you know if that school is usually oversubscribed?
firestorm xx

[jane313]

hmm, I'm not sure. She lived very close and its not a big place (no corner shop!). Its pretty small; not one class per year group. She moved slightly further away and was still allowed to let her children go there so that may mean its not that over subscribed.

[firestorm]

thanks jane, i will definitely consider that school when we move.
firestorm xx

[thepin]

I am a primary school teacher and live in Heathfield. There are many schools available depending on where you move to and what type of school that you like. In Heathfield itself are Parkside (but you basically have to live on the Green Lane Estate to get a child into it) and Cross in Hand School. This is quite a large school taking in two classes per year group. The other schools are small village schools apart from Maynards Green, which I believe takes one complete year group each year, mainly serving the Horam area.
My children attend All Saints and Saint Richards School in Old Heathfield. They are very happy there. We are very impressed as well with the teaching. Other schools in the area include Punnetts Town, as mentioned, Broad Oak, and slightly further afield Dallington, St Mark's at Hadlow Down and Five Ashes. My advice would be to be wary of Braod Oak. The people that go there like it immensely, I have reasons to think otherwise. Other than that check out OFSTED reports and/or visit. I think all are of a good standard, from what I have heard. As mentioned it does depend on your own preference in types of school. We wanted a small school, hence our choice. There are many advantages and disadvantages in all options, thus decide on the criteria that you want for your child/children and visit the school which fits the criteria best.

[firestorm]

hi thepin, having done some reasearch, it does seem that all saints & st richards is probably the best school for my daughter because its so small & my daughter is quite a shy child who i feel would benefit more from the smaller friendlier environment (her current school is 650 pupils & she is just another face in the crowd) luckily all saints isnt usually oversubscribed so i will probably apply for a place for my 3 year old (who will start school sept 05) when we get the admissions papers through in jan & she should get a place (even though we live a 45 minute drive away) & if she does then my eldest daughter should hopefully be priority for a place to start year 2 in sept 05 too.
its quite likely we will be moving to green lane estate, do you know if many children from there go to all saints? also could you walk from green lane area to all saints or is it too far? i know that heathfield park is between green lane & old heathfield area but thats private isnt it? or can it be used as a short cut?
thanks for your help.

[thepin]

All Saints is a possible walk, but along country lanes. Ok in good weather, not so good in bad weather! Your eldest daughter will have no problems with a place. Numbers in the hEathfield area have been quite low recently. I believe that next years Y1 have about 14 children, Reception 16ish. They take upto 20 per year group.
All PTFAs in the area are very active. We pay for half the cost of leesing laptop computers for the school. We have also put interactive whiteboard and projectors into classes so that there is one of each in each room. We have also recently payed for musical instruments and are looking to improve the playground equipment and apparatus.
I don't think that Heathfield Park has public right of way (apparently Robbie Williams wanted tobuy it at one time!)
Some children from the Green Lane Estate do go to All Saints. With Old Heathfield itself being quite small, lots of children come from all around. I think that the furthest that I know about is Hailsham (although she moved there after starting but still comes).
Let me know if there is anything else that you want to know.

[firestorm]

hi thepin, many thanks again for your invaluable info. you have really put my mind at rest about possible schooling for my children. i was wondering one other thing though. i know that the classes at all saints are mixed age groups (i dont have a problem with that at all) i was wondering if you knew how exactly they are split? as i said before, my daughter will hopefully be starting in year 2 sept 05, is the year 2 class mixed with year 1 or year 3? or is that class not mixed? i ask this because my daughter is very shy & would possibly not settle so well in a class with lots of children older than her, the year 1/2 split or just year 2 would be much more suited to her needs. also, how big are the class sizes there generally?
thanks, firestorm

[thepin]

There are five classes. Class 1 at present is YR (reception), class 2 is Y1 ans half of Y2, class 3 is half of Y2 and Y3, class 4 is Y4 and half of Y5, class 5 is half of Y5 and Y6.
The splitting of year groups is not necessarily by age. They take into account friendship groups and the child's needs. If it is better for your daughter to be in Class 2 I am sure that they would accommodate this.
We choose All Saints and Saint Richard's because our daughter was shy. It has a very 'family' feel about it, with most children knowing everyone's name. Our daughter has really come out of herself.

[firestorm]

hi thepin, thank you so much again, for your invaluable advice. the school sounds perfect for my daughter. the only problems we have to look forward to now are finishing the house we are in, selling it & finding another in the heathfield area. im really dreading the whole house sale/purchase thing again.
still this time next year we will (hopefully) be settled in the heathfield area, i will continue to look forward to that.
thanks again.
firestorm

[thepin]

Hi Firestorm, did you receive email. If so contact me through that and will give information that you want and also arrange for a cup of tea when you come down this way, if you would like.

[firestorm]

Hiya, no i didnt receive any mail, thats strange, i dont normally have any problems. i would love to come & have a cuppa with you in heathfield. my email address is [email protected] try getting me on that.
luv firestorm