Secondary schools west Dulwich

Yes sorry there aren't any proper ones, you're right- we've done approximation with the school assessed grades for this year but they're not proper progress 8.

Which means everything is a bit out of date anyway.

BTW I think the Harris ED has a falling roll as they wrote to our kids' Harris primary, which is quite a way away, suggesting parents come and have a look because they'd have places. Function of location, not indicative of anything quality wise though.

My kids are at Elmgreen. I live near you. I went for local, as did many friends but its a marmite school as it is not as academic focused (has no banding test etc) vs others. Kids have friends at most local schools- dont see big differences. I wouldn't myself do the bus for Harris but I know one boy in yr9 very near you now who is so some do.

Kids at Elmgreen seem the normal mix of kids. As someone said was on US vs GB school swap series but you dont see much of the school really.

Both my children are at Dunraven, both are doing well and enjoying their time there.

next not not!

@Dinnerplease there aren't any progress 8 scores for this year or not due to Covid.

The ones on the government pages refer to 23/24, they won't have been updated yet for the last academic year.

Kingsdale doesn't have a 'catchment' as such because they operate a lottery system. It's a very big school.

The current progress 8 scores are a bit tricky to decipher because children didn't do SATs in the normal.way (covid) so I wouldn't set much store by this year and last year's assessments, and it might be those schools have students who were even more impacted by covid, e.g. overcrowded accommodation, parents out the house working and not being able to help with schoolwork.

I don't think any of these schools are terrible- dont forget London has the best schools in the country. I live not far away and there are a lot of Harris schools near us and they all have a slightly different flavor re. strictness. Quite a lot of the kids in the area do cycle, I see lots biking through W Dulwich in the mornings but I think it's the cool thing to get the bus. A 4 min walk is pretty amazing though. Elmgreen was on that School Swap documentary on channel 4 this year and the kids all seemed nice types.

That is one thing I would never do in that area. Seen far too many horrible accidents.

Nice, safe buses

It's better to use public transport.
Traffic is chaos in that area and there's plenty of public transport.
If he uses a bus it's free (but @Rasnos you need to get him an Oyster Zip Card to get the free bus transport)

What about getting him a bike?

It's always good to get current feedback

Charter North v popular but being in catchment is tricky so puts it out of reach for most.

I can't really comment on the others as no experience, but thought it might be helpful for OP to have view from very recent KFS parent in case any questions.

Thinking about it Kingsdale due to its size probably scoops up a lot of dc who traditionally would have gone to other schools. I think they tried to increase their PAN a few years ago and other headteachers in Lambeth fought against it.

@OhCrumbsWhereNow Have you looked at the governments site to compare schools?

I think Charter North is the best school that way but the "catchment" is tiny. Or Kingsdale which does very well despite being so big.

Results wise Harris is definitely better than Elmgreen & Dunraven, they both have negative progress 8 scores which is pretty poor. Dunraven used to be very good years ago, had friends who attended, not sure what happened.

If anyone has children currently at Elmgreen (or other nearby secondaries under Lambeth),

I would be mindful with Lambeth, it's one if the worst impacted areas for falling rolls and as funding is based on head count not good for the schools.

Harris are a bit Marmite, they can be quite strict. I know parents who love them & parents who hate them, don't know any at that site though.

The bus may seem scary now, but kids in London travel a lot and it's a good way to learn independence. My DD did 90 minutes each way for KFS and the same time, different route for her college.

I would look for the school with the best fit, and if you are working as a doctor, one with really good extra curriculars. Not sure on Harris, but DD stayed late after-school 3 days a week for sports, art and in later years revision sessions. Lots of her friends did too.

It's really normal for them to have working parents and just have a house key and get on with homework, or go out with friends after school. Secondary I have found is very hands off for parents - think I went there perhaps 2 or 3 times a year at most.

I have heard Harris is very strict. KFS leans towards liberal - no stupid rules. ADHD DD managed 5 years with no detentions at all.

Buses and trains and tubes very normal in London from age 11.

My DD has just left Kingsdale after a very happy 5 years... she said this morning she wished she was starting Y11 again now 😱(Once was enough for me with GCSE year). She's only not staying on because she's going to music college rather than A levels.

She used trains, and buses if train wasn't running and we never had any issues in the entire 5 years - there are always loads of them travelling. KFS is HUGE (450 in each year) so the year groups are kept separate and they have different start and finish times, so there are always lots of people around.

Know happy people at Charter, but not the others.

If you are on Facebook, join the West Norwood Local group. Loads of local parents there and all seem happy - thb, I'm not sure if it would be worth the commute to go to East Dulwich Harris unless you were sold on their ethos (I think of elmgreen as being a bit more holistic and Harris academies as a bit more strict/results focused) but that's a generalisation and not a judgement and definitely take with a pinch of salt as it's been ages since I was actively looking.

Busses should be fine - my boys would be mortified at having a nanny pick them up in secondary school!

Get in touch with Elmgreen directly if you are interested as they will manage their waitlist and I imagine would have a bit more wiggle room than harris.

You could have a look at Forest Hill Boys as well? Bit further away but they have an arts focus if that would suit.

The Kingsdale issue is that there was discussion about how exam results were obtained after an issue over 10 years ago.

I have friends with D.C. at Kingsdale and they are very happy indeed with the school.

It is entirely normal for children to travel independently to school from Yr7 , whether walking, bus, tube, train, or a mixture.

Thurlow Park road is a very busy road, your son will need to have good road sense. Elm Green is a well drilled school, I've friends who have children there and they flourished. Have a look at Norwood as well, plus the others mentioned above.

Previous posts on Kingsdale tend to get taken down on MN so you'll need to do research elsewhere. The East Dulwich Forum might prove helpful.

Children use the buses and trains from West Dulwich and Gipsy Hill, although some parents do the school run. Agree about being street smart and not getting phones out or carrying more money than you need. If you look on Kingsdale’s website they have a sheet of advice on travelling / staying safe. Hope you get offered a place soon.