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Carlton and rhyl schools in Camden

10 replies

akennyg · 15/01/2015 17:03

Hello, just wondering about opinions on these. Property seems reasonable near them, and carlton especially looks nice but they both seem to have a pretty lukewarm reputation despite having good ofsteds.

Great to know what you think, know or have heard!

Cheers

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FobDodd · 19/01/2015 14:21

I know a couple of people with children at Carlton. They are very happy with it. Their only problem is that it isn't a local school to them, and is a pain to get to, so they would move their child if a nearer place came up. Although another family chose to keep their child at Carlton in the same circumstances as they loved it so much. I visited and thought the staff were amazing but the reception classroom was a bit tired. Although I think it's had some building work done to it recently?

So you might find you are local, but that not all of the intake are. Might make it a bit more difficult for playing after school?

I also visited Rhyll and didn't dislike it, although it seemed a bit odd not to be shown round by the head. I think a member of office staff showed me round. I know a family who removed their child from there when a place came up elsewhere. Although it's not supposed to be popular, we were never offered a place( stayed on waiting list of all schools for various reasons) and it's reasonably close to us.

They aren't popular mc schools, and some people will go the church route to avoid. From what I have seen off all local schools the type of education is very similar wherever you are. Check their results, on par, and often better than more sought after schools.

Carlton has a burger van parked outside it, well it did. That really annoyed DP and put him off it.

Have you visited them both? That was something else that put me off- I tried for 2 years to visit Carlton and it seemed impossible! We finally did get to visit, but I was fed up by then.

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akennyg · 21/01/2015 11:05

Hello! Thanks for your response- veg interesting.
Nope we haven't visited as our dd is so young and I figure things may have changed for the better by 2017 when we will be applying. But then again, how else can one decide where to move given it's rare to have a good choice of schoolsin each location! I think we willbe looking more in dartmouth park as the green spaces are so lovely, and I do like the idea of truly local intake. Seeing a place near Eleanor palmer too, but that seems a little TOO local with kids surely all next door to each other? And no parks really close by.

What school did you go for in the end?

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FobDodd · 21/01/2015 12:25

Ha ha re Eleanor Palmer. Most of the kids get into reception via the sibling link, so there are not many local children. The elder siblings have already been positioned for secondary, so the families might have moved out of the area completely, or just next to CSG. You could move next door to EP and find you don't get a place, but you have paid the extra for the property. You could possibly end up with the treck to Carlton anyway. Maybe this will all have changed for 2017, who knows.

There are lots of little play parks near to EP though, Montpelier, then the ones near Yerbury.

Would that be Brookfield and Hargrave Park then, if you are up near Dartmouth Park? I don't know much about Brookfield, although I understand it's the sort after one, and HP hasn't had a good reputation. I would have been very happy with a place at HP, loved it, know people who go. Too far from us.

I will out myself if I said where my DC go [smiles]

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akennyg · 22/01/2015 11:26

Hello, we would only buy a property literally (ok not literally) in the playground if Eleanor palmer were the route we were going for. Yes, brookfield or hargrave park would actually be my first choice but there are to affordable dartmouth park properties coming on which is a bit disheartening. Affordable being a loose term. Are your kids happy where they are? In your opinion does it matter as much as everyone says it does? Surely the standards are pretty similar wherever you are in Camden? I want our kid/s to be at a fun, lively, inclusive and very community minded primary but if we visit now everything could have changed in 3 years!

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akennyg · 22/01/2015 11:28

Hello, we would only buy a property literally (ok not literally) in the playground if Eleanor palmer were the route we were going for. Yes, brookfield or hargrave park would actually be my first choice but there are no affordable dartmouth park properties coming on which is a bit disheartening. Affordable being a loose term. Are your kids happy where they are? In your opinion does it matter as much as everyone says it does? Surely the standards are pretty similar wherever you are in Camden? I want our kid/s to be at a fun, lively, inclusive and very community minded primary but if we visit now everything could have changed in 3 years!

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