Woking primaries

[Worc1361]

Planning to move to Woking area and considering the following schools:

1. holy trinity, west end
2. goldsworth primary
3. st hugh of Lincoln, knaphill
4. st dunstan

Assuming we meet all criteria on catchment and church going, which school is the best and how will I tell the difference? I have a active boy aged 2.5, and really struggling to know which school is best for him.

Also English is not his first language. We speak Chinese at home but he speaks English with the childminder.

Thank you

Are you looking to move closest to the one you like best? There aren't really catchments, it's about who lives nearest.

Can you go and visit? Will he be going in sept 2015 or 2016?

Are you Catholic? St Dunstan's and St Hugh's are both Catholic primaries but Holy Trinity is CofE so you are unlikely to meet the the religious criteria for all of them. I think CofE is likely to be easier to get into, not sure about over-subscription at St Hugh's but St Dunstan's is definitely over-subscribed although moving to 3-form entry (or possibly already done so).

We are catholic and I know holy trinity is CofE but there is no requirement for that in the admission policy. I believe it's base on distance.

Yes, we are in a fortunate position so that we can move close to the school we like.

We may be moving around summer and most open days are in Oct earliest.

Anyone know what these schools are like?

You may well be able to go to the schools separate to an open day if you explain your circs.

If you are Catholic I would be looking at the Catholic primaries so you have most chance of getting into St John the Baptist for secondary.

Yes, thought about SJB, but is st dunstan and st hugh is rated good by ofsted, but goldsworth is rated outstanding and holy trinity has very good results. Hence I just don't know which one to choose!

1. holy trinity, west end - have a friend with a Dc here who is happy with it
2. goldsworth primary - recently gone to 3 form but still tight catchment and unless you live close to the school you will not get in.
3. st hugh of Lincoln, knaphill - heard nothing bad - except there is a 30 admission figure, guess 15 siblings and unless you are in category 3 you will not get in.
4. st dunstan - same as St Hughs. This year, people living outside the parish boundaries but still going to mass 3-4 times a month did not get in. Unless the house you buy is in the parish, you cannot guarantee a place.

Somewhere on the Surrey CC website it gives distances from the schools for the distances from school offered places this year - you'll need to look at this. And also find a parish map.

Also secondary - obviously St H and St D go to SJB but for GPS you're looking at Woking High in Horsell (again depends on distance) and for Holy Trinity it's Collingwood in Camberley unless you live 500m from Gordons There is talk as always of a south Woking free school but who knows where and when that will happen.

I'd say school places are so tight, it really depends on where the house you find is. If you have a choice of house - totally depends on your feel of the school. St H is a very small school, St D and GPS are now 3 form and currently building sites. The catholic schools are very diverse culturally (just go to mass and see!) so might suit you better - but unless you have seen them... It's comparing apples and pears. There are toddler groups at St H and St D which might be a good place for some more up to date gossip

Be honest, our place is just on market so if it doesn't sell, then it will be holy trinity or st hugh (where most neighbours go). If we get a house offer, then we can go and live close to a school.

We go to st dunstan church and so know the general vibes for the st dunstan children, but will need to wait until Oct for open day.

I do know GPS has small catchement. Was told I have to live 500m to be quite sure I get a place!

Generally what is the pro and con of big school (3 form like st dunstan or GPS) vs small village school like st hugh? So difficult to know which one my son will like! He is still a baby!!! I just know he is an active boy who loves running around!

So you already live in Woking? If you attend St Dunstan's parish, you probably know more about the school already than people on here are going to be able to advise you?