Pinner - West Lodge, Cannon Lane, etc.

[kiramum]

Hello all,

I am just wondering if anyone has had a recent experiences of the schools / areas in Pinner and could share with us – in particular West Lodge Primary and Cannon Lane Primary. We are moving there next year but are renting so have the flexibility to live near any of the schools; whilst there are many good choices I want to make sure we make the right choice.

I went to see both schools for the open days, and WL had a good presentation and showed off the school very nicely. However, Cannon Lane was equally good and but had the advantages of being a larger schools – facilities, etc and also a breakfast and after schools club (they hope to start this next year, whereas the WL clubs have a waiting list of several years!)

We don’t know many people in the area and whilst my gut feeling says West Lodge would be best for our daughter, my concern is that it seems to be in a very affluent area and I worry that we will not fit in in a community where the parents might be a bit ‘clicky’. With West Lodge, there is also an issue of affordability (home buy) but I have seen 2-bed new-build flats in the area that we will be able to afford when we hopefully come to buying in a couple of years – again, it’s important to us that we have a nice area and community, and would be fine living in a flat as opposed to a house in some of the cheaper areas.

I would really appreciate any feedback / experiences on the area and the schools – thank you very much in advance!

[FiveHoursSleep]

All 4 of my children went to/go to CL and have done/ are doing well. Although it's changed a lot from when my eldest started, and last year was quite difficult ( new head, new building), this year the school has a lovely vibe to it and I believe it is going to do great things.
We are a diverse but inclusive community and are very excited about the new secondary school opening right next door to it.
Having said that, I think you can't really go wrong with any of the nearby primary schools in this area of Harrow/Hillingdon- just keep an eye on the secondary schools as well.
WL is a very good school too, and you should go with your gut feeling about which would be best for your daughter.

[kiramum]

Thank you for your response - that's excellent to hear about Cannon Lane and the community. And you are right about Pinner High -- this looks like it's going to be great school.

I actually asked one of the teachers at the CL whether they will be sharing any facilities with the secondary school. She said she would have loved for them to have used the swimming pool instead of having to ferrying children elsewhere, though Pinner High will be dismantling the pool facility - that seems like a real shame but I suppose the running / maintenance costs are too high.

[FiveHoursSleep]

The reason they need to get rid of the pool is that they need the room to provide classrooms. The IT suite will go in there, I believe. They can't build more buildings on the site, which means Pinner High will always have decent sized grounds.
It is a pity about the pool though as all my children learnt to swim there and it was a fantastic community facility.