Honeywell vs. Belleville primary school SW11 - opinions please

[audrey01]

I would appreciate a bit of advice on these two schools: Honeywell or Belleville. Both are outstanding, so which one would you go for and why?
As far as I know, Honeywell always had the better reputation of the two, but is it down to high teaching standards or more to do with children being tutored intensively on the side.
Also, why they decided on "no uniform" policy?
Any current or past experiences gretly appreciated. Thanks!

[QueenEdith]

I've left the area, so you will probably want to take more heed of any pots with more up to date info.

Honeywell has the longer-standing outstanding reputation, which is why people think of it first. Belleville had a new head about a decade ago, and turned the school around (before that I was distinctly second best, with huge admissions footprint). But I has been consistently outstanding for some years now. I'd say it is the one with the buzz, Honeywell sometimes seems a bit smug and resting on its laurels.

Children are tutored at either/both if their parents are aiming for private school transfer, which (before the opening of Bolingbroke) was a popular option as it was a bit of a black hole for secondaries.

You need to live very, very close to these schools to get a place. Our old address used to be a shoe-in for Belleville, and a good chance of a late start via waiting list to Honeywell. I think people would laugh if you said you were trying for either from there now.

[audrey01]

Thank you for your post, QueenEdith.

Anyone else with children at these two schools care to comment?

[NightingaleZoo]

I just visited both schools this week at their open days. Honeywell had a very hip and cool vibe with some very enthusiastic and relaxed teachers. Belleville on the other hand was very business like and I feel it may provide more up-to-date opportunities to its students. The school clubs were very impressive there...

Both schools are great of course, and even more so now with the prospect of feeding into the Bollingbroke Academy, but I do think they have slightly different approaches. The staff at Honeywell seemed very happy to be there, and the Heads were very approachable. Many worry about the numbers at Belleville now that they are a 7-form entry (versus 3-form at Honeywell), but I think with the type of management they have there, it isn't a problem. Just my opinion..

[NorthbyNorthcote]

Just to correct the last post - Belleville is 4 form entry, not 7!! And the site is split now so 3 form entry at Webbs and 1 form at Meteor. So the worry in overcrowding that was happening with past bulge years is hopefully contained. Don't forget Belleville is now an Academy too, so should be able to withstand any future pressure from the LA to increase numbers or expand in-site.

[NightingaleZoo]

Thanks NorthbyNorthcote - yes, 7 form entry would be crazy! Does anyone know how the split works i.e when you are offered a place do you know which site you will be attending?

[NorthbyNorthcote]

This is from the Wandsworth brochure on admissions:

"Admission arrangements for Belleville Primary School (Academy)
Belleville school operates on two sites. 90 reception children will be educated at the Webbs Road site and 30 reception children will be educated at the Meteor Street site.
If there are more applications than places for a place at Belleville school, children will be admitted in the order set out on this page. [ie sen / looked after, then siblings, then distance] Where priority is determined by straight line distance from home to school, all measurements will be made to the Webb?s Road site.
After places have been offered and accepted, the school will ask parents to state at which site they would prefer their child to be educated. Where there are more preferences for a site than there are places available at that site, the Governing Body will give priority for each site using the order in which applicants were offered places at the school under the published admission criteria [ie sen / looked after, then siblings, then distance.] The Governing Body will ensure, as far as is possible, that siblings are educated at the same site. Applicants offered a place at the school after 1 July 2013, when class lists must be finalised, will be educated at whichever site has a place available at the time the offer is made."

[NightingaleZoo]

Thanks NorthbyNorthcote !

[SusanSW11]

Sorry I'm new to the UK as well as the community, and wonder if someone wouldn't mind explaining to me what "7 form entry", etc. means. I toured Honeywell today & am very eager to see Belleville as well, but it seems their next Open Day is TBD. Does anyone know if Belleville's 2 sites are equally equipped? Also, what are the benefits of being an academy vs. a foundation school?

[CKer]

This is bumping an old thread (sorry!) but for anyone wondering why Honeywell adopted a no uniform policy... there was no uniform there in the 1970s and 1980s, when I went. It's never had a uniform, as far as I know.

[Jessiekingsley]

Bumping the post to just add input as a parent of two children currently at Belleville. I would definitely NOT reccomend the school.
We are moving both children next term. We have had an incredibly bad experience at Belleville (we are at the Meteor site) the staff have repeatedly been unprofessional and unhelpful, the parents in one of our sons class are a nightmare (typical nappy valley mummies with nothing better to do with their time than gossip and behave like children themselves).
The meteor site definitely seems to be worse than the Webb’s site, it seems that as it is so small it operates like a little microcosm, full of parents who think it’s a private school, disillusioned teachers and badly behaved, spoilt children.
We’ve had problems with bullying and the school have been hugely unsupportive. We’ve also seen first hand the effect of bad leadership and inexperienced teachers. GO WITH HONEYWELL.

[user1499421397]

I had the same experience at Meteor, my daughter was being bullied and the head said “We don’t like to use that word” whilst discussing that fact that it was deliberate and she was being targeted, ie that she was being bullied. A catalogue of errors followed, some as shocking as the teacher telling my daughter that the girl ‘hits people she likes’ after my daughter was punched and safeguarding/anti bullying procedures were not followed.

The school chose to protect itself (denying bullying) over the safeguarding and protection of students which is an outrageous gamble to take considering the long term impact of bullying.

I took my daughter out, no school was worth the damage it was doing to her.

Lots of parents and children were unhappy in Meteor, there was class and racial divide and one mum moved her kids to a private school because ‘there were too many Muslims there now’.

The first few years were fantastic and I couldn’t fault it but things changed horribly when the overall structure of Belleville changed and Meteor became a separate entity.

Webb’s is still Belleville, Meteor has lost the Belleville ethos.

[user1499421397]

I should have added, I did approach the parent of one of children upsetting my daughter initially suggesting that the girls avoid each for a while to diffuse the situation but was told, in an email by the mother, that her daughter ‘can sit where she likes and if my daughter doesn’t like it she has to move away’.

The school were aware of this but weren’t interested, they said that it was said long time ago and disregarded the fact that by this time the children had been following my daughter around and upsetting her for 7 months. Very disappointing indeed.

[AhhhhThatsBass]

Interesting perspective. I have a place at Thomas’s Clapham but have the DC down for HW and BV and was planning on relinquishing the Thomas’s place for one of the above state options as have heard nothing but good things about them. Do you think your experience on the Meteor site reflects the school (BV) as a whole?

[user1499421397]

No I wouldn’t. On the whole Belleville is a fabulous school, I couldn’t fault it before things went wrong for us and I still think we were unfortunate because the problems stemmed from the teacher that year, that teacher no longer works there!

I think things are different at Webb’s, it’s still the original Belleville. Most of the staff at Meteor are fantastic too, as are most parents, but I’d go for Webb’s if I had the chance.

[user1499421397]

Should have said no I don’t think my experience of Meteor reflects the school as a whole. Meteor has its own head who took over just 2 or 3 years ago, the rest of the top team are still in Webb’s, if that helps.

[AhhhhThatsBass]

Thanks for the info. I’ve not even seen BV, either site so I’ll go and have a look around if DC get offered a place, before I make up my mind.
Appreciate the insight.