schools in sanderstead

[sri213104]

Hi there,
My husband and I are looking to buy a house in and around Croydon area. He is a little more inclined towards Sanderstead because of the schools over there. Heard Ridgeway, Atwood and Gresham are really good schools. Our LO is going to be 2 this June, so I was just wondering if anyone could help me about the schools and nurseries in Sanderstead. i know its a little too early to plan, but we are hoping to make a long term move. Also how is the area to live in and whether one can survive without a car and are there any amenities near by.
Most importantly we are looking for a school that will stretch him academically and offer lots of fun extracurricular things too

I want him to go to a grammer school (hoping he gets in) in Sutton or Wallington.
I was hoping to get some advice from parents whose children already go there and what they think of the schools?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

Sanderstead is lovely and a good place to bring up kids in the Croydon area. All three primaries you mention are good, though all quite different so it would be advisable to look around them before the time comes. Gresham is the archetypal village school, for example - one form entry, small, friendly -and we had a great experience there. Atwood and ridgeway I have no personal experience of but someone will! I would've been happy for ds to have attended any of them.

Area-wise, it's one of the most expensive parts of Croydon with lots of large houses and gardens. You obviously know your own budget, but the areas around the pond and rectory park/glebe hyrst can be very pricey, slightly cheaper properties are up Limpsfield rd towards Hamsey green/Warlingham. The village itself is nice with plenty of green space and a waitrose . As regards managing without a car, basic shops are all walkable and there are two regular bus routes into Croydon. Hope this helps!

Wow, that's planning ahead! I don't have personal experience of these primary schools, but their reputation locally is very good and they are often oversubscribed. If you haven't already then it is probably worth trying to find out where the 'last distance offered' for all of the schools has been in recent years, so that you make sure you do move into an area where you stand a chance of getting in.

When my DCs were toddlers I too had aspirations of the Wallington grammars - but now they are older I realise that my bright, wonderful kids are not in the top 5% academically (and wouldn't be even if tutored in every spare minute of the day) and that they would flourish at a school that met their needs better. The grammars might be perfect for your LO, but you really wont know for many years yet. (My PFB is severely dyslexic but this only became obvious once he was in Year 3, as he had been able to guess everything up to that point - we had assumed that as he was finding everything easy that he would easily get into Wilsons/Wallington County - we were a tad deluded!)

Everyone i know who has got their DC into a grammar has had their child tutored from at least Year 5. It may be possible to get in without this, but bear in mind that this seems to be the norm no matter which primary (or private prep) you send your LO to.

If you do move to Sanderstead, the nearest secondary is likely to be Riddlesdown, which again is a very good (and very large) school.

Sorry am on phone, meant to say that Atwood has traditionally had the reputation for being the more 'academic' school but all three see pupils into elective secondaries each year. Agree with merlot however that the Sutton grammars are horrendously competitive so don't pin your hopes on them (especially at so early a stage!)

As well as Riddlesdown you would also probably have Warlingham school to consider (Surrey cc but plenty of kids from Atwood/Gresham go there)

As others have said all three schools are good, and consequently have a lot of pressure on places. Ridgeway is less traditional in the approach to learning than say Attwood, but gets good results eg project homework once a week rather than more regular worksheets, no formal marking of any work, no set reading scheme etc. Pupils do get into selective schools and private secondaries from the school. Most are tutored for this as no assistance is given by the school (although this is fairly normal for state primaries as far as I know).
You would definitely need to visit all three to see which style suited best.
Both Ridgeway and Atwood have nurseries for the year before reception, although a place at these is no guarantee of a place at the school.

Sanderstead in general has a good selection of toddler groups and activities, often based at the local churches. Also lots of pre-schools.
Local shops in the village offer essentials, and a small Waitrose supermarket. Larger Sainsburys (2) and a Tescos are on bus routes, which will also take you into Croydon itself. Nearest trains are Sanderstead, which is a fair slog down the hill from the village, and Purley Oaks, further down the hill. Both have regular services to East Croydon and London Victoria. London Bridge tends to be rush hour only.

Thanks everyone!! Ur advice have been of great help. As a parent all of us want the best for our kids. Will definitely look into all the options and hope for the best

Have you considered Selsdon? There are loads of amenities and a Sainsburys, plus regular buses into Croydon.

My niece and nephew went to Warlingham, although they looked at Riddlesdown as well. My nephew is not at all academic, but still manages to get 5 GCSEs. My niece did very well and is at a Russell Group university. I would also think that housing in Selsdon is not as expensive as Sanderstead.

Atwood, Ridgeway and gresham are all really good schools and I believe that they are feeder school she to riddlesdown. However the catchment area are quite small and you need to be within 0.8 to get in. The distance his up and down every year bearing in mind this has been the furthest in previous years the catchment has been 0.4 miles and under do it would be best to live within this distance to be guaranteed a place in any of these schools

Ridgeway is not a feeder school for Riddlesdown - I think the other two are. Several of the Selsdon schools are also feeders for Riddlesdown despite being further away......

Gresham and Atwood are feeders, although I have heard rumours that this may change in the near future.

Selsdon will probably take you out of the catchment for the Sanderstead schools and the choice of primaries is more limited, with wider variations in quality (imo).