Frith Manor school - calling ChicagoMum and any others who go to the school/live in the area

[fairyglo]

Still thinking we would like to move into the catchment area for this school (currently living in a very poor catchment area some way away so have to move house anyway). Time is running out so have to sort this out very soon.

Would you recommend the school and can you give any advice on where to move to ie is the catchment area tight? If so, which areas do we have to make sure we move to? We need to be reasonably near a tube station if that is compatible with the catchment.

Thanks very much

if it's the frith manor near me then woodside park tube is quite nearby. My friend's son starts there this sept!
where are you at the moment fairyglo?

Donnie,

I'm in East Finchley but according to barnet and Haringey, we seem to be right on the edge of catchment areas so difficult to get into local schools (which aren't great anyway) and so may just have to travel to whereever has a vacancy in barnet. We don't want to do this (got another young one so transporting both would be tricky) so have decided to try and move for some certainty over schools.

Woodside park tube would be fine but is it near enough to be in the catchment area? I've heard Frith Manor is getting quite popular. We're looking for a place September next year so need to be in catchment this Autumn for putting in application. If you don't mind my asking, wWhat does your friend say about the school and how near does she live??

my friend is quite near the school, a few streets away but I know other people who live in north finchley and have got their child/ren into frith manor. It has a good reputation plus has just been rebuilt and refurbished so has very good equipment as far as \I know. It is a 2 or 3 form entry school so quite large.
Most Barnet primary schools are good IMO.If you were to move into the woodside oark area you'd stand a good chance. or else could apply to moss hall which is also in the area and also good.
HTH.

also, given a choice between haringey and barnet schools....barnet wins every time IMo!

I am very close to the sainsburys in the high street (n. finchley) and we have secured a place for our daughter in sept. We currently have our house on the market btw (Interested in a 3 bed terraced?)

BTW I am Chicagomum with a new name.

ComeOVeneer,

thanks for responding. I've just seen your thread about your nephew and felt really guilty about asking you about this at such a time. I hope he is doing well.

Really surprised (and uplifted!) to hear that you've got in from near Sainsburys. I thought you had to be basically in either Cissbury Ring North or South to get in. Maybe it is not as oversubscribed as I thought. Since I don't drive (yet), I would like to be close to Tally Ho high street rather than living very close to the school but miles from all facilities.

If you hadn't got a place, what would have been your alternative school?

And, alas, we are moving from 3 bed and looking for 4 (2 kids plus in-laws visit regularly!). If you know anyone selling a 4 bed.....

Donnie - where do your friends in north finchley live (not asking for name and number btw just rough idea of location in relation to eg the north finchley high street!). What are the alternative schools round there if we get a house but don't get into frith manor? I think we would be too far from Moss Hall there?

I agree some of the schools in Haringey look really bad (and the good ones have too small a catchment area - house in catchment for £800,000 anyone? er, don't think so!)

PS sorry for such a long, scatter-gun post. Just getting worried - time running out and we may not be in any catchment at all!

PPS do you think Frith Manor is a good enough school to warrant moving to get into? We looked round it and the Head certainly knows how to talk the talk but not sure whether this translates into actual deeds...?

my friend lives off the high street at the tally ho end,she is very near northside primary which was not her 1st choice but it's an ok school as far as I know.Other north finchley-ers I know go to st johns primary in swan lane and queenswell in freirn barnet lane - but they are nearer whetstone, all good schools.I also know soem north finchleyites who go to st mary's in finchley, probably near you - down dollis hill? but that's a bit of a commute and it's because of a church connection.
If you are serious about moving then i do recomment barnet primary schools, they are all pretty good as far as I now. My dd goes to one and I'm happy with it. Maybe you also need to look even further ahead to secondary schools - the haringey ones are not good IMO and Barnet does have a mix, but definitely some good ones.
Schools - a veritable minefield!

My friend's children used to go there. She really like the school. A few of the boys got into the selective schools from their.

Northside is not particularly good atm. \link{http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-7598467.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy\4 bed house} about 20 seconds walk from me (closer to Frith Manor).

Frith Manor is fab - as the earlier poster said, newly built, great facilities, good atmosphere - and very sought after. The catchment area varies enormously year on year. When we looked for ds starting Sept 06 we were told we were probably outside the catchment area and we should probably apply elsewhere (so we did, and he isn't going to Frith Manor :o).

However ... I know several people who live further away from the school than we do - and we're a good mile and a half away - who have got in.

Thanks - good to hear other people's experience (and yes, I'lll be checking out that house!). However, I rang the school and they said that a nursery is being started from September and that nursery children will have a priority over others for Reception entry. They won't allocate me a place until I get a local address and they break up on 14 July so all looking a bit tight.

Also, I know the school has to be cautious but they made it sound much more difficult than your carefree friends who seem to have got in without living particularly close! Maybe, the school's reputation is spreading. Anyway, school suggested (obliquely since obviously every year is different) that no chance of getting into Reception unless at nursery and even then no guarantees since nursery comes after siblings and maybe more nursery wanabees than places.

According to Ofsted report (6 years out of date) northside school didn't sound that hot and that seems to be the most likely school to get into if I try and live close to Woodside park tube (don't want to get much closer to Frith manor as tube is key for our jobs and even there will still be quite a walk to shops (with young ones in tow).

Oh dear, no certainties about anything. I'm really getting stressed about this - going round in circles with each school/possible address leading to more questions. Got to get a school place sorted. Time running out :(. Well, as Frith Manor lady pointed out to me, better try and get a local address (but, but...).

Thanks for comments anyway :(.

I went to St Johns Many moons ago though! Its a small school which, to my mind, has many benefits.

Hi Everyone,
It sounds as though Frith Manor Primary School in Woodside Park, N12, used to be a good school at one time...but I don't feel that it is now. I have children there, and I have heard other parents agree that the level of education is poor. Much of the school's emphasis and energy is on raising money for the school, and not on the children's education and welfair.
Pastral care is extremely low, if non-existant! Many of the teachers are very strained, worn out, and often very non responsive to our children's needs.
The head master is very weak, and allows his teachers and staff members to be rude to both children and parents. When complaints are made, they are ignored, so parents are often left complaining between themselves. There is no working partnership between the school and the parents, (at least not for those struggling kids), and the school is quite often non responsive to the children's and parent's needs. Many of the classes are extremely non excillerating, and so children are not enticed to learn. Many children are in the lower set groups, and most of the school's energy is put into those in the higher sets.
Communication regarding improving children's education standards is extremely low, and not much is done in improving the standards of those children who need the help.
I really would NOT recommend Frith Manor as a caring school. Neither is it a school of high standards. Parents are left to do the work themselves! Compared to Moss Hall, Frith Manor has no firm morals on how people should be treated. It may look nice on the outside, and appear good on parer...but it is without a soul, and gives a false impression. I'd be pleased to hear from more parents with similar experiences, as it's helpful for parents to see that we are not alone.

Hi Everyone,
It sounds as though Frith Manor Primary School in Woodside Park, N12, used to be a good school at one time...but I don't feel that it is now. I have children there, and I have heard other parents agree that the level of education is poor. Much of the school's emphasis and energy is on raising money for the school, and not on the children's education and welfair.
Pastral care is extremely low, if non-existant! Many of the teachers are very strained, worn out, and often very non responsive to our children's needs.
The head master is very weak, and allows his teachers and staff members to be rude to both children and parents. When complaints are made, they are ignored, so parents are often left complaining between themselves. There is no working partnership between the school and the parents, (at least not for those struggling kids), and the school is quite often non responsive to the children's and parent's needs. Many of the classes are extremely non excillerating, and so children are not enticed to learn. Many children are in the lower set groups, and most of the school's energy is put into those in the higher sets.
Communication regarding improving children's education standards is extremely low, and not much is done in improving the standards of those children who need the help.
I really would NOT recommend Frith Manor as a caring school. Neither is it a school of high standards. Parents are left to do the work themselves! Compared to Moss Hall, Frith Manor has no firm morals on how people should be treated. It may look nice on the outside, and appear good on parer...but it is without a soul, and gives a false impression. I'd be pleased to hear from more parents with similar experiences, as it's helpful for parents to see that we are not alone.

I am gobsmacked by the comments from menononsense and would love to hear other opinions. My children are in a nursery where most of the children subsequently go to Frith Manor or Moss Hall. The parents with other school-aged kids are generally very pleased with Manor Frith.

From the outside, it looks fantastic - open and covered playgrounds that beat any the council provide. By contrast, you'd be lucky to get a skipping rope in other schools in the area!

It is also classed outstanding by Ofsted if I remember correctly?

We are outside the catchment area and we were actually disappointed that we couldn't apply here. I would love to hear other experiences.

Northside is slated in 2006 but last year got 'outstanding' in it's ofsted report.
Both of my children go to the school and I have been absolutely overwhelmed by the care, attention, affection and devotion all of the adults at the school put into making it a fun, happy and progressive school to learn and have fun in...
Don't get caught up in how shiny everything looks from the outside or how smooth the head is or how much they bang on about facilities - it's really all about the way the head leads and how much the teachers feel appreciated and motivated.

people please please please trust your own eyes and instincts and not what everyone else says about a particular school. i am a teacher and will be sending my kids to northside. i visited moss hall and st johns and found the first to be too big (and that was before they added further streams to the school!) and st johns to be lovely but very cramped. despite the negative views about northside i found it to be the school with lots of space and an excellent attitude from the head who showed me around to the teaching staff to the pupils. the most recent ofsted was excellent and there seemed to be a real sense of community about the place. i guess that while everyone was buying up houses on the doorsteps of the more popular moss hall and frith manor, northside was obviously going through some major changes. it may go down in five years time or it may become the new school to get into which is why you should always judge a school on what is going on within it at the time you make the application and not its past reputation. MENONONSENSE - well done for raising your concerns and helping other parents to get a more realistic and up to date picture.

Hi, I came across this old thread and I wonder if any parents who's kids go to Frith Manor Primary School now, would be able to advise me what is the school like nowadays? We were shown around the school and we really like it. It seems such a happy place with smiling and polite children and staff alike. We are considering to move to the catchment area of this school. Would anybody be able to advise me if this is a good enough school to actually move your house for????

I'd also love to hear from any parents of children currently attending Frith Manor (or Moss Hall). We already live nearby and curious to hear parents' experiences of these schools if they're willing to share.

Any info / reviews on Frith Manor Primary School ,please ;)
Cheers

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I don't recommend a school for key stage one.
The academic level is very low. If you have a intelligent child with lots of potential don't choose this school. I'm not happy with the school at all.