Blackheath or Dulwich?

[tex111]

We've just sold our house and want to move somewhere in SE London. DH works in the City and we'd like to keep his commute relatively short.

We've been planning on Blackheath but I visited a couple of schools today that were highly recommended and I was quite disappointed. They seemed a bit dark and looked a bit dirty. I was surprised that at one of them the children didn't wear uniforms.

Can anyone reassure me about Blackheath schools? Can anyone recommend Dulwich instead? Dulwich Village is where I'll look next but I would appreciate any general impressions, personal experiences, etc with education, crime and general experiences with either place.

Private or state? Primary or secondary? Dulwich Village Primary is very successful and highly sought after (and thus quite difficlut to get into. Also CofE.
Dulwich Village is lovely. I like East Dulwich too (moving there v soon I hope!)
Secondaries v problematic unless you go private.
Funnily enough I was talking to a friend and we are both DELIGHTED that the primaries we are sending our kids to dont' have uniforms. I like the way I dress my children and don' t want them to wear nasty maroon polyester sweatshirts, thank you very much!

Aloha, nursery and primary. Preferrably state but would consider private if necessary. From what I hear it sounds like secondaries are problematic everywhere so we're planning on private when the time comes. With Dulwich Primary do you know if DS would need to be christened? We're not religious and this is something I keep coming up against.

As far as uniforms, my only concern was the whole having the right jeans, trainers, etc. which are usually the most expensive ones and changes every other week. Went through that at school in the US and was looking forward to avoiding it with DS.

I don't see that thing with clothes in the primaries round here, actually. kids come out in all sorts! Plenty of hand-me-downs. I suppose that might be more of an issue at secondary but not at nursery/primary IME.
Not sure if you have to be Christened but church attendance does help to get into the village primary, but living close by is also v important. you could look up their selection criteria on the net. It is a famously good primary, but there are a number of good primaries in Dulwich/E Dulwich and tons of nurseries. Dulwich is famous for its private schools at secondary level - Alleyns, Dulwich College and Jags plus lots of smaller schools. It's a pretty place to live. Lots going on, very family-oriented with a Pizza Express and, in E Dulwich, the world's most fabulous sweet shop!

Hello Aloha
Can I butt in on this conversation please! I am moving to E Dulwich this summer with DD aged 6 and am in a real bother about which primary to send her to! I don't want her to go to a Church one and have been to see both Heber and Goodrich which seem fine (but then they kind of all do when you look around...) and have heard mixed/conflicting reports about both of them. Is it just the case that they're both good enough? Have heard that at Goodrich the head is retiring and that Heber, though not as well thought of in the past, is up and coming. DD is very anxious about the move (from Brighton) and so I am very keen to get it as right as possible.
Any tips much appreciated. Am posting another thread along these lines too in desperation!!!
Thanks
Anna

Tex - which school did you visit?

Catholic or not??

If Catholic - St Winifreds in Lee is very good if not Brindishe, Brooklands and John Bull are supposed to be very good.

If private, my children are at Colfes because I wanted a mixed school that goes all the way through to 18. Blackheath Prep school has a very good reputation but only goes to 11. Eltham College is hard to beat if you have boys. Then there is Blackheath High School for the girls.

I'm only really aware of the private school in Dulwich! People travel a long way (including from Blackheath) to go to James Allens Prep School and James Allens Prep school. Dulwich College has a good reputation but I hated it when I visited there - cold and austere IMHO!

Anyway, let me know if I can help at all

BTW - if your children are not overly sporty - a lovely school well worth a visit to look around is St Olaves Prep School in Eltham. Run by people who are truely inspirational!!

Anna- I think both Heber and Goodrich are very good. As you say, Goodrich has been well thought of for years and Heber is definitely on the up. Have worked with both peripherally in my previous job and was impressed. Also have a good friend with kids at Goodrich and they are very happy there. Hope the move goes well for you and dd.

Dulwich village is a beautiful place to live, personally I think East Dulwich has a little more of life to it (and is certainly more affordable). Its packed with families and all the restaurants (of which there are many) are family friendly.

Dulwich park is fabulous as is Bel Air and Peckham Rye is currently being refurbished.

Dulwich Village Infants school is quite strange as you have to go through admissions at Infants and again at Junior level .. being at infants does not automatically get you a place at junior school .. it is also CofE and you would need to live extremely close to get a community place. But that said the school is highly rated and gets very good results.

Heber has a uniform policy, Goodrich doesn't.. both are good schools in East Dulwich as is Dog Kennel Hill. If you're Catholic its hard to beat St Anthony's though the priest is a little strict I hear and St John's & St Clements is another good religious school.

HTH

My ds will go to Goodrich when the time comes (unless something pretty drastic happens to change my mind) as we will be living about two minutes away from the school gates.
I have heard good things about Heber and have friends who send their children to St John & St Clements and are pleased with it.

brooklands in blackheath has an extremely good reputation and does well in league tables. For nursery there's a v good montessori in the village centre.

Aloha hi there, sorry to ask but what's "nasty" about polyester? My DD is privately schooled and wears polyester and cotton uniforms and I dare to say she scrubs up really well in them as do the other girls. There are nearby state schools and we've seen their pupils rather smart too in polyester-look outfits. Do you think we should lobby the schools for pure new wool or all-organic cotton? It's a thought isn't? Just probably not a very good one...just wanted to know why you find polyester so off-putting?

Well given thread is 7yr old the debacle about colour of uniform is neither here nor there

Why respond/resurrect 7th old thread?

7 yr old thread!!