Kingsdale Foundation School

I rarely see a Kingsdale kid in the blazer/tie combo.
Mostly they seem to wear PE polos and the sweatshirts.
I personally think they look much better that way.
I hate blazer/tie uniforms.

I think they are trying to be stricter on uniform.

My DD managed to only wear PE kit for about 2 years 😂

Again they were generally sensible. My ADHD kid managed 5 years with no detentions and single figure demerit marks.

There was a 2 year amnesty as such from when the policy came in. It started with last year's Y7s, so at present applies to Y8 and Y7. All years above they as I understand can still have smartphones,though as before can't use them in school. There are definitely less kids in Y7 with smartphones than when our eldest started, but hard to know what the percentage is. I do know kids caught using phones in school have had them confiscated for 3 days, Inc over weekends.

Not sure what will happen next year to existing Y9s and Y10s who at that point should not have them, I expect they will check them less and it will become more normal from when the current Y8s get to Y11 with the same policy the whole way through.

Uniform policy is definitely lax in that kids often go in PE kit on days when no PE happening for them, but all things considered I can definitely love with that.

We have 2 children there now Y7 and Y10 and remain happy with it.

@OhCrumbsWhereNow personally I think "Switched off and at the bottom of your bag is fine".
To be honest what can the school do if some kid is on their phone while on the train heading home?
I also notice that Kingsdale don't seem that strict about the uniform. At least from what I observe. Personally for me that's a plus.

KFS's mobile policy is new, so it may depend on what year the kids are in. Those who already had smart phones were allowed to keep them until existing contracts finished and last year's Y11 were the last year who were allowed to operate under previous rules (phones in bags and not seen).

There will also be some kids with exemptions.

That said, I have no doubt that lots will have a smart phone and just keep it switched off at the bottom of their bag... which is basically the purpose of the rules anyway. We found the school to be generally sensible and pragmatic and more likely to turn a blind eye rather than seeking out rule breakers for the sake if it.

I was just wondering what all these DC perfectly content with their long commutes because they can use the good WiFi on the train and get their honework done were actually using to connect to it.

Hah! Yes I get the train with kingsdale kids every morning, they all have smartphones.

@Needmorelego 🤣

@Parent8 I live near where Kingsdale kids commute.....they most definitely do have smart phones with them 😂

I’m quite impressed with Kingsdale so far. My youngest daughter had a guaranteed place at Charter East, as our other children go there, but chose Kingsdale instead. I was doubtful at first, but more enthusiastic now.

Comparing the two, Kingsdale appears much more organised. For instance, they hold frequent online meetings to communicate with parents. They offer a wider range of instruments for music and free tuition for music scholars (Charter offers paid tuition). They also have a better sports provision, including swimming, and a big range of after-school activities. If an after-school activity isn’t currently offered, Kingsdale will consider adding it if more than 5 children express interest. There are a lot of organised outings and some trips abroad. The only con for me is that they set too much homework.
In contrast, Charter seems more limited in terms of trips and artistic, music, or sports provision.
I would say both schools attract a lot of middle class families.
Some students attending Kingsdale travel from places quite far from school. As many take the train to and back, and smartphones are not allowed, they’ve installed a screen with live train departures info in the hall.
Both schools are very strict in terms of behaviour, so neither would be a suitable fit for children with SEN-related behavioural issues in my opinion.

Thanks

Not at all.

She does extra curricular 2 days a week after-school at school, and also has music lessons on two other evenings a week outside school.

Lots of different train options to get home, and she uses the train time to do all her homework (guaranteed seat and good wifi).

I wouldn't say that it's ideal, and wouldn't suit every child... DD has a lot of energy! But our local options were dire and the closest was still an hour away so it made sense to have the big commute for a better school that catered to her interests. Her music lessons were already all in London so either way she'd have had to go in twice a week for those, so made more sense to already be there, and they are very close to school.

School are understanding about the issues with train cancellations, delays and strikes. From what I can see if we cannot get there because there are literally no trains (snow, strikes etc) they don't count it against her attendance.

Kids who can sit on a train and get work done and get wifi - is a different matter than sitting on a bus for ages and waiting for a bus for ages. It is not so much the time period, but ease of commute that matters. There is nothing more frustrating than 2 or 3 buses required for a short distance journey and buses being so full you cannot get on. That issue crops up less with trains. However, of course the train strikes were an issue.

@OhCrumbsWhereNow does your dd struggle fitting in the extracurriculars and then a 90 min commute?

Total mix and all over London and well beyond.
I think at one point one kid was in Cambridge, and quite a few from bits of Surrey.

We're 90 minutes commute and DD's friends don't live near each other either. Works out fine as lots of extra curricular after school onsite, and if they want to meet up in holidays then tends to be central London and they all travel.

I see absolutely loads of Kingsdale kids getting the train from Gipsy Hill station which goes to Victoria and London Bridge (and Croydon) so they seem to be travelling from all over.
There's school coaches too.

Random question, are there just a small handful from as far as Bromley/Shortlands? Or are the families largely from the immediate Dulwich/HH/W Norwood area, with the next majority from Sydenham/Crystal Palace?

That is good to hear

I think it is a good idea to delay the use of smart phones as long as possible; they are so adictive; maybe year 9 or 10.

We need a different thread for this debate 😂

I have a child in year 8 at Kingsdale and I have to say it has more than lived up to it’s outstanding Ofsted rating for us. It’s a fantastic school. That’s not to say there aren’t other great schools in SE London, of course there are, but Kingsdale does excel in certain areas, particularly sport and the arts.

The music department is phenomenal with a recording studio, production suite, multiple practice rooms and a dedicated performance hall just for music, as well as a huge range of ensembles, bands and orchestras (which are open to everyone, not just scholars). Next year their big band will be competing in a jazz competition in Philadelphia and one of their choirs will be touring Europe. The passion and ambition of the music teachers is clear to see, and the instruments and facilities are open for students to use whenever they want.

The journey via Sydenham Hill has never been a problem (my child travels with friends who go on to Bromley) and coming home after clubs there are generally groups of kids walking to the station together. One of the great things we’ve found about the school is that the size and the broad range of extra-curricula stuff means your child has lots of opportunities to find like minds and different friendship groups.

We’ve never been that fussed about school performance stats, we just loved the open day and my child fell in love with the school as soon as they saw the music department. But if stats are important to you then the latest posting on compare schools is pretty impressive.

Y8 and above are allowed smartphones, Y7 are not and this will continue as they go up the school.

This was after a big protest over smartphones in loads of Southwark schools. KFS have the least draconian rules of the ones I've seen but broadly in line.

There are a lot of apps. Satchel, Go4Schools, Teams and School Workspace. Then all the other homework ones depending on subject.

Personally I am massively in favour of smartphones but there is a big cohort of parents that want them banned.

I think all schools in Southwark adopted a no smartphones rule from this year. For Kingsdale certainly Y7s are not meant to have them in school at all, though of course if at the bottom of a bag switched off unlikely to be checked. Children in higher years have a 2 year grace period as they recognise most already have phones etc.

There is a lovely debate in our primary about whether to get children smart phones or not. We are leaning towards not for our child who will join in Y7.

Kingsdale has a clear policy against smartphones, and our friends adhere to this rule. While some others may choose to not follow it, our friends follow the guidelines set in place and see it as a positive step for the school in most ways. This policy has been in effect since the beginning of this academic year.

I have travelled on a train with Kingsdale year 7s. They all had smartphones, which they were using to check train times and routes (I was only on that train as the other routes weren't working).

I see loads of Kingsdale kids on their way to and from the school and many of them appear to have smart phones.
I have no idea if they are officially banned in the school but clearly when they aren't on the premises most pupils seem to have phones.