Garden Suburb Junior School, Property/School big decision to make quick! Please help.

[phr1]

Looking for advice on Garden Suburb Junior School and/or other primary options in Hampstead Garden Suburb, NW11.
We need to make a very quick decision whether to rent a house in HGS.
We have two kids entering yr 5 and yr 1 in September.
We don't have a lot of time to look around as we are moving back to the UK in July and need to have an address and the kids signed up with a school by September. We have found few good rental options in HGS that we are seriously considering but a bit worried about the primary school options. I think Garden Suburb Junior School is the only one catering for this location and its rated "good"...I know its not too bad but when you have so many other primary schools in North London with Outstanding rating this is rather disappointing. I spoke to Brookland that told me their catchment is actually a strict geographic boundary and anything south of the A1 is out! So HGS is not accepted. I am left only with one option than - Garden Suburb Junior School, but than, what if they will not have a spot for both my kids??..
The house is pretty close but I know every year its different and its always down to luck.
where are we likely to end up as a second option?
I am very confused about this and need to make a decision within few days..
Any thoughts you can share will be much appriciated.
Many thanks.

[mumoftwo100]

Why don't you phone the school to see if they have spaces before committing to a rental? Garden Suburb is actually very popular, results are v. good, and has a v. high value added score of 102.0, which is higher than Brookland's 101.6, so there are actually unlikely to be spaces for both children. If you don't get Garden Suburb, your nearest primary with spaces would be Bell Lane, which is okay, but obviously not in the same league as Garden Suburb.

[MissWimpyDimple]

Does a junior school take yr1? Or is it just a name and it's actually a primary?!

[phr1]

Hi again,
mumoftwo100 - Thank you, that was a good advice which I followed and phone both schools. Brookland currently has nothing. GS only 1 spot for yr 4 - that means starting this summer when we move.
It's a bit funny but I don't mind as long as it give us a spot for September. The challenge however is having two kids in two different schools.. How does this works??

If my DD is going to end up somewhere else that would be devastating for her. She is only 5 and already a bit confused about the move. She is used to being at the same school with her brother.
I may have to reconsider the HGS location after all??
Where does all the kids who live there go to school? Two tiny schools for this huge area seems a bit disproportionate.
Are most kids in the private system you think?

And thank you MIssWimpyDimple - please excuse my newbie status.
My kids never went to a school in the UK and I am fairly confused about schools terminology all together..
I think Garden Suburb is split between Infant school ages 4-7 and Junior school 7-11.

Primary is when there is one school for all ages 4-11, I think??...correct?

Does any of you have a personal experience with either of these schools?
In particular I am very interested to know if both have a strong jewish population and how religious they are?

I have absolutely no problem with the Jewish community as I am a Jew, however very secular one and prefer a school with mixed backgrounds rather than one dominant religion, even if the school is not religious by definition.

I wish I had the opportunity to visit prior to making a decision and see for myself. I hope someone can talk a bit about the culture, the community and the quality of teaching, quality of the facilities and playground or play fields? Pictures are so minimal on the internet, I think its probably a policy not to publish schools photos of kids and their premises??

Please, anyone... can you tell me more about these schools? Keep it coming with anything you may know about them - good or bad! Really need some help. thanks

[SamG76]

phr1 - quite a few Jews and Israelis, but generally not especially orthodox. Decent chess team, and quite a few extra-curricular activities...

[dietcokefan]

Fairly heavy use of private schools in the area. Real lack of state secondaries from HGS.

[mzdemeanour]

Only have direct experience of Brookland but in my opinion it is a fantastic school. Not a tiny school ... 3 form entry so 90-odd kids per year and is split into infants and junior. Has quite a few Jewish kids but mostly secular/reform/liberal as more Orthodox children go to the many religious schools in the area ... And is a community school so caters for all/no religions. There is a Jewish primary nearby if you are schul members - Akiva.
Brookland has good playgrounds and brilliant teaching staff. Can't offhand think of any really negative things as I've been very happy with it ...
If you've got any specific questions I'm happy to try and help.

[phr1]

Thank you. That sounds good and promising. I think I am getting more comfortable with my decision to relocate to the area.
Now need to find the right house and keep my fingers crossed for the catchment shuffle.
My biggest fear is having the kids in two different schools, this is likely event in the case as when I called Brookland few days ago they had no spots for them.
My understanding it is changing by the week, as people get allocated schools, win appeals and progress on the waiting list.

I am very interested to know how well organized the waiting lists are and trustable? Would you say you can count on the school(Barnet?) being accurate with managing the list?

Thanks again, I greatly appreciate any feedback which helps to build the picture.

[stilllovingmysleep]

I don't know if I'm too late and you've already made your decisions / moved / chosen schools...but I just wanted to say that my son is at Garden Suburb Infants and it's a fantastic school. Same for the juniors. I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to recommend both these schools.

Ofsted is 'good' BUT these schools have a large number of children with english as a second language, so the results the school gets actually is fantastic under the circumstances. Also (and this is something that is very important to me and to most of the parents at the school who I know) this school has a particular and very distinct ethos, which is that even though academics are important, it is also considered equally if not more important to have settled, happy, polite children in the school. So the values the school teaches and actively encouragessharing / listening well / regulating emotions / being respectful etcmeans that the children at this school are, in my experience, very happy indeed. This means that their learning is also facilitated and encouraged. And in my opinion, having happy, settled children particularly at infants is much more important than an over-emphasis on academics.

Brooklands is also very good from what I hear but there are rumours in the area that it's less friendly, and also more strict in terms of academics. But I imagine Brooklands parents might have a different view and they will definitely know more than I do about their school!

hope this helps!

[phr1]

thank you so much for replying to my question but we have decided to take a place in Muswell Hill so either of these schools will be an option.
I am happy for you your kid is in a good school and agree with your view about what is important.
I just have to hope we will get into a good school there and that both of them gets in together.
We are registering them in Haringey on Tuesday.
Thanks again.

[stilllovingmysleep]

Good luck phr1! From what I understand from various friends in Muswell Hill, all the schools there are excellent so you'll be fine I'm sure. Even the ones that are not outstanding (e.g. Martin's in East Finchley which is often an option for parents who don't get into the Muswell Hill schools) are excellent & local parents like them. So, once again, good luck!

[LilaB26]

My 3 children are starting at Brooklands Infant & junior school next week. Are there any parents here that can abuse what I need to be prepared for in their first week? Uniforms, snacks, what they can take to school? One of my children has special needs and I’m keen to ensure we hit the ground running...! TIA

[LilaB26]

Advise not “abuse”!!!