Krishna avanti School

[Anunehaa]

I need your help and advice on Krishna avanti School in Harrow. As we plan to relocate ( which a big move ) I want to collect all possible information about the education and overall structure of Krishna Avanti in Harrow. Thank you.

[riceuten]

Not sure you will get much more information here than on the school website. It’s a voluntary aided school with a Hindu foundation.

[EachandEveryone]

My friend has been very happy with it. Her children go to mainstream at 11.

[Anunehaa]

That's nice . Can your friend guide me more on it please ?

[Anunehaa]

Thank you

[RavingRoo]

Depends why you want to enrol your child into it. Have to remember that Harrow is predominately an Indian / Hindu area in most parts and so a vegetarian diet is accomodated in all schools. Many schools even offer Indian or Gujarati food.

[RavingRoo]

The schoolguide compares the school with others in the area. Unsurprisingly it’s not as good. The Leicester one isn’t great either. Need to remember that in an Indian / Hindu area normal schools will always be better because most Hindu parents who truly value education are moderate.

www.schoolguide.co.uk/primary-schools/?search=HA8%206ES&urn=138688

[Anunehaa]

We wanted to locate to the place and wanted our daughter's to stick to vegetarian diet...some suggested for Krishna Avanti school. We had suggestion for Swami narayan school as well but being an independent school we are not sure whether it's worth that money or not.

[RavingRoo]

It really isn’t. Harrow is an Indian area. All primaries stock vegetarian food and most have Indian / Guji food. Suggest you visit some of the better primaries in the link. In some parts of Harrow the normal non-independant primary will be 70-80 per cent Indian students anyway!

Hindu students in Hindu schools don’t get anywhere near the results that Hindu students in mainstream primaries do. Ultimately it’s your choice but I personally would tell you to save your money and spend it on Gujarati / Hindu / Punjabi / etc language classes.

[RavingRoo]

I am Hindu by the way. And Krishna Avanti and other similar Hindu schools have an awful reputation in Leicester. They ‘radicalise’ kids and many then aren’t able to eat with families or accept anyone’s cooking except their own.

[Anunehaa]

Ohh dear ...thats really scary. We are a hindu family and inhale 2 daughters .....i thought keeping them in hindu school would be helpful in developing the roots of their culture.

[Anunehaa]

....correction....And I have 2 daughters

[RavingRoo]

Would you have chosen a Hindu school in India? I bet not right, as over there the rich and middle class kids all go to UK style secular private schools. There are temples in Harrow, you have a strong Hindu community, and I presumably you will be around to teach them as parents too. There is no need for your children to get their religious education from a stranger. And I personally don’t think religious education has anything to do with keeping a child in touch with their roots, sorry if that offends.

[EachandEveryone]

I know my friends reasoning was because of music as her children are both gifted musicians in their indian style and both teenagers slotted straight into mainstream school and their studies without feeling behind. Although i thing their primary was Kingsbury not Harrow town.

[Anunehaa]

Thank you all. I am here for all different opinions as that will help me in deciding .
RavingRoo- I am not at all offended. Just want my girls to stick to bit similar school scenario as we attended.

Any comments on SWAMI NARAYAN SCHOOL ?

[clubnirvana]

Interesting to read the Ofsted report of Krishna avanti "pupils are polite and kind to each other". Complete contrast to my rough and violent and abusive primary school in South central harlesden back in the 80s

Swaminaryan school is as academically good as merchant Taylor's and Northwood college for girls, but one third cheaper. Debatable on which one has the highest number of Indian origin children. Its just lacking that prestige. I've met some parents whose children go there. Most are on modest income trying to save as much as possible for their children's future. Some run newsagents or some other small business. Very down to earth and normal people. Unlike most of the parents at nlcs!!!! But if I had sole decision on where to send my children it would be this one on brentfield road. Every year they have a summer fair. Worth going

[Anunehaa]

Thank you for that info. I was interested in Swami narayan ...but sending 2 kids was hitting my budget a lot.

[Anunehaa]

I guess i have to be monetarily prepared before deciding on this school.

[Teen8]

Hi Mums. i know its a few months since last post. Just wanted to add my two pence worth of advice. My kid goes to Krishna Avanti. I had my fears when we first registered however its been 3 years and all is well. The learning is great. The food is great and the teaching is superb. I am not religious and my kid eats out too and I promise no radicalisation has happened. People come up to me to ask me where my kid goes to school because of the manners, smartness and confidence. I have no regrets. This school is going places.

[Anunehaa]

Hello

Thank you for your message . Just a quick query .

Are you from India ? And in which class is your child studying ?

Thank you

[futureparent]

I have heard good things about the school (albeit the one in Leicester) through the grapevine of concerned parents :) I have visited the school as well and like what I see.

@RavingRoo I would consider myself to be from an upper middle class background and I went to a school which promoted Hindu values in India and I would say it could not have been more secular! We would have to listen to teachings of Jesus, Buddha, Guru Nanak in addition to verses from Hindu religious scriptures...it was a very pluralistic upbringing.

@RavingRoo Where did you get the idea that they radicalise kids in these schools? They promote vegetarianism...if that offends you then you may consider the school to be radical (by the way I am not a vegetarian). Perhaps you should visit these schools...they may change your perceptions

@RavingRoo 'If a Hindu values education, he/she will send his/her kids to state schools.' Really? Very opinionated! That's like saying if a Hindu values education, he/she would send their kids to a private school and not a state school.

@RavingRoo 'All moderate Hindus would send their children to state schools'...so, anybody who has sent their kids to any these schools is a radical/fundamentalist. Once again very opinionated!

@RavingRoo It is up to parents to decide what kind of education they want for their kids - priorities vary from parent to parent. As long as the education helps to build a good overall character, it is fine - and parents should have the right to decide without being judged.

[sanatana]

Anunehaa, I know your post was a little while ago, but did you manage to get your children into Krishna Avanti?

My children attend its sister school, Avanti House, and it's brilliant. The education is very, very good and I have been told by friends who teach elsewhere and who have seen the homework my children get that Avanti House's standard is much higher than neighbouring schools.

In fact, their secondary school got one of the highest GCSE Maths pass rates in the country this summer.

As for brainwashing children that someone ignorantly stated on here, that's rubbish. The school teaches respect for all faiths and for chidren to be kind to everyone.

Yes, it is founded by the Hare Krishna movement, but not everyone who goes there follows Hare Krishna (our family included). The families are a mix of paeents who have been born and brought up here, and those who have moved from India.

And as for someone saying it has a bad reputation, that's also rubbish. The schools are very respected and they have huge waiting lists. When my daughter got her place, there were 260 applications for 60 places.

Our builder, who's white Romanian, wants to send his son there because of the good things he's heard about it.

If your children can get a place then you should take it. There are many parents near where I live moaning and phoning up the school constantly because their child didn't get a place as there were so many applications.

Hope it works out for you.

[tortuman]

Interesting posts. I don't know if you've heard but Avanti is going to take over 3 Steiner Academies in the South West. My kids go to one of them, and I am interested in hearing experiences of parents about Avanti schools.

I find the ethos, mindfulness, yoga etc very attractive. I am just curious to see if there are many students taking up places in Avanti who are from different backgrounds, or are they mainly Hindu?

The Steiner schools attract mainly alternative families, and the take up is mainly British/European/mixed European. It would be great to attract more people of different backgrounds! The vegetarianism is also the same as school dinners are vegetarian as well.

[Jot7812]

My son has just started at kindergarten at one of the Steiner schools in the south west.
Avanti are due to take over by the end of the year and apparently they are looking to take on more non-denominational schools so they won’t be running it as a Hindu school.
What I can say is that my son absolutely loves school and his teacher is very very good.
I’m am so happy that I made the decision to send him to the Steiner and I look forward to seeing how his schooling experience takes him

[GarimaSaxena]

Hey, i know the post is quite old but now I am looking to enroll my son to Krishna Avanti and would definitely like to connect to like minded people here