primary catchment areas sanderstead? (croydon)

[ArtyJennie]

We've just bought a house in Riddlesdown and so i'm thinking about primary schools for my dd. At the moment Atwood, Gresham and Ridgeway are appealing. Roke is closer to us but i'm not so sure about that. Does anyone know anything about these schools? obviously i've read the Ofsted etc bit I feel these can be misleading and wanted the 'word on the street'. Plus does anyone have any idea about the rough catchment area of these schools- or what it has been in the past?

A, G and R are all good schools but they do things differently and have quite a different feel. It is worth visiting all of them and seeing how you feel. I don't think that Ofsted really captures the differences tbh. If you are v close to the Sanderstead roundabout then you'll probably in the catchment of all 3. If you are closer to Riddlesdown station though do be aware that you will probably fall out of catchment for these schools, and usually your only chance of a school is Roke.

You can go to Taberner House in Croydon and they will show you the maps for these schools which will let you see each year which addresses applied and which got in. It does vary by year. We are close to Riddlesdown and I think we would have got into R once every 3 years or so (but not in the first round of applications).

If you are closer to the Godstone Road then you fall into a black hole schoolwise, unless you want to go for Roke. You may get a place at one of the Sanderstead schools simply by waiting on the waitlist.

The other thing to consider is that, with the exception of Ridgeway, all of these schools, including Roke, are feeder schools for Riddlesdown at secondary level.

Hi, just wanted to know if you know the catchment area for Atwood & Gresham ? I have recently moved to the Riddlesdown area and have been looking around for primary schools for my little one. Any help would be appreciated - thanks !

If you are the Riddlesdown station side of Mitchley Avenue, then you won't typically get a place at Atwood.

Places at Gresham depend a lot on the sibling criteria for a particular year. The school office and head are usually very helpful on this. If you live south of Brancaster Lane/Coombe Wood then you probably won't get in on the first round.

Thanks for the info, it is much appreciated !

Sorry about the late reply- thanks for that info- looks like we could be touch and go then- we are near the station.

We've started looking at private schools to keep our options open. We went to Oakwood (Catholic) on monday- great staff, small site facilities were ok. I went to Old palace of John whitgift today- amazing facilities (the best I have ever seen) though its a bit more expensive. Royal Russel had lovely grounds but apparently not as academic. I'm still undecided though!

I'm not that keen on Riddlesdown for when she is older tbh so I may go down the private route at least until dd is 11- then maybe one of the sutton grammars or Coloma.

If you're in the position of looking at private schools, then Roke is probably not your first preference. No harm in applying to the Sanderstead schools:- whist you may not get a place on the first round of offers the waiting lists for these particular schools moves quite a lot between March and September. If you're looking at private then Croydon High is one of the obvious choices for girls that you haven't named - academic but seems to be rounded, and an easy enough journey from where you are. There is also St David's School in Woodcote Valley Road - means crossing Purley Cross, but there are a number of parents from Riddlesdown there.

If you are looking at the Sutton schools for secondary then I would steer away from the larger private schools and look at Oakwood/St Davids etc. Most of the children who start at RR/CHS/OP will stay on at private school for secondary, and it is hard to go against the flow. Even at the private schools, unless your child is truly exceptional most parents will have their child tutored for the grammar school exams - they're so much earlier than the private schools it is necessary. And of course if your child is that bright they're usually in with a chance of a good scholarship at one of the private schools anyway.

thanks again for the reply- do you live locally then? Is/are your lo's at any of the mentioned schools? We are visiting Croydon High on Wed- there is an open afternoon.

I think we are going to go for Oakwood. dd is only 2.5 so still a while until reception year. I am also interested in Margaret Roper- I thought we'd be too far away for this school but there is are some children on our new road that go there.

Yes, I live between Riddlesdown and Purley stations, so in the no-mans land for schools. The majority of children on our road are in private schools.

St David's has an open day on Friday afternoon. It is possibly a slightly odd open day as it is as much for the existing parents as for new parents, but you'll certainly get a feel for the place I think. Both Oakwood and St David's tends to start children prior to reception (and I think that CHS is similar). Plus 2.5 is about the right age to put your name down for these schools. Not every year fills up, but some years seem to be bumper for some reason.