Primary schools in Edgbaston and Harborne, Birmingham

[Confusedaboutt]

Anyone live in the area with primary school age kids?

We are hoping to move to Harborne with our one year old and newborn. I haven’t thought much about schools yet but I realise it should probably be a factor in the house hunt.

Does anyone have any experience with the local primaries? Are the state options good? Private might be possible - does anyone know if Blue Coat or any of the other prep schools are good and would they be worth paying for in comparison to the state options?

Help!

All the Primary Schools in Harborne are considered good.
St Peter's
Station Rd
Chad Vale
St Mary's
that I can think of, off the top of my head.

Blue Coat is also very lovely, but obviously would cost you. I have not used private but have read on here that you do need to be on waiting lists long before you would normally sign your child up for a Primary admission for state school.

The issue with Harborne is lack of Good secondary schools.

Harborne Primary is considered to be pretty good, I think. For independent you have West House (boys only, smaller, intimate family-like atmosphere); EHS (girls); St George's & Priory (don't know much about); Hallfield (mixed, okay, medium-size); and Blue Coat (biggest, ~650 students, most popular, best facilities, apparently in-year waiting lists of 50+. To get in you need to either register at birth or earlier, pass their 7+ entrance exam for YR3 entry, or get lucky with someone leaving. Apparently their waiting lists are full of children from the other prep schools, so that'll tell you something about the popularity of the place)

Are they worth paying for? That's an impossible question to answer without knowing how easily you could afford it and what you value... Likely every parent at every one of these schools is looking at the 11+ for entry into competitive secondary schools (grammar or independent). You could start with those and work backwards to see where your best primary option might be? Consider that if you move to Harborne you'll be in the catchment for King Edwards Five Ways (mixed grammar). If another selective state school is your preference you might want to look at their respective catchment areas. The best ones (by results) are Camp Hill Boys and Girls, whose catchment starts at Selly Park and extends east (i.e. not Harborne).

Thanks both for your useful advice!

@gidd - it’s really interesting to hear that kids from other preps are wait listed for Blue Coat? Why do you think that is? I can’t imagine how one prep can be so different to all the others! How are they setting it apart?

Mine are registered for Blue Coat, though I haven’t personally seen it (husband has!). I suppose I’m wondering how it could be worth the fees if the local state options are really good? But it’s seems that it’s very popular so lots of people must think it is good value!

I probably need to go and look around them all and see for myself - though it seems so hard to know what I’m looking for when my kids are still small. I’ve no real idea what would indicate something was the right environment for them.

Similarly, whilst it’s such a great point to think about secondary schools and work backwards, I just don’t know how I can tell what might suit them in a decade. I’ve heard great things about the grammars and selective private schools around Brum, but who knows if they’ll be academic?! Perhaps it’s best to make sure there’s an OK comprehensive option nearby - but if this isn’t the case in Harborne, it might involve (potentially pointlessly, if they do turn out to be bright) moving to an area we are less keen on and having a rubbish commute to work for many years.

I agree with the advice previously given.

I don't live there but I have several friends living in Harborne/Edgbaston with secondary-aged children. All of them sent their children to state primary schools (St Peter's, St Mary's, Chad Vale or Harborne Primary) and they were all happy with their primary schools (other than one whose autistic DS didn't settle at the very traditional St Mary's and moved to Priory.)

I know secondary feels a long way away, but @gldd makes a good point about considering it. If you have strong views against grammar schools and will definitely be able to afford private secondary school, it doesn't matter precisely where you live. However, if you even think it's possible that you might consider a state grammar for one or more of your children, it's worth making sure you're happy with your catchment grammar(s).

For example, if you really want a mixed secondary school, you need to live in the catchment area for Five Ways as that's the only mixed state grammar in the area. If you end up living just outside Harborne in Edgbaston, that's in catchment for the Handsworth grammar schools which many in Harborne consider to be less attractive (somewhat unfairly, in my view.)

The comprehensive secondary schools in/near Harborne are ok, but are not known to be particularly great (there might be an element of middle-class snobbery at play - I am reflecting the views of my friends.) Only two of these friends ended up sending their children to Lordswood Girls, and they are happy with the school. Most threw a lot of money and effort into tutoring for the 11 plus, and their children are either at state grammars (if they got in) or private secondaries (if they didn't.)

Of course, if you are happy to move in a few years, it doesn't matter so much.