Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Local

Find conversations happening in your area in our local chat rooms.

Original poster

Moving to Stoke Bishop

26 replies

stmatt · 21/03/2011 14:02

Hi

we're a family of 4 currently in the process of buying a house in Stoke Bishop. I have a ds who is in y1 and dd who will go to reception in Sept. Obviously we can't apply for school places until we exchange contracts but does anyone know what the LEA are likely to do with us given the situation with schools in the area being over-subscribed. Our closest school will be Elmlea.

Karen

OP posts:
exexpat · 21/03/2011 16:01

Get on the waiting list as soon as you have exchanged contracts, and hope for the best/start praying (if you are that way inclined). Elmlea is full every year. Stoke Bishop CofE slightly less popular, but also usually full, as far as I am aware, as are all the other good primaries around there.

The LEA are likely to give you something like Sea Mills.

Original poster
stmatt · 21/03/2011 16:14

Thanks exexpat, this is what I was thinking but then I met up with someone who lives there who suggested that Sea Mills is actually oversubscribed too. Looking on the council web-site it seems that every school is over-subscribed.

I hate not knowing what is going to happen and knowing that I can't do anything about it.

OP posts:
exexpat · 21/03/2011 16:31

I think you're going to be spending a lot of time on the phone to schools and the LEA.

I moved back to Bristol mid-year, and was househunting at the same time as trying to find a year 4 place for my older one, in the week or two before the deadline to get an application in for my younger one to start reception. So I can understand what you are going through - it is very stressful, and the schools situation has got even worse since then.

Could you possibly afford private school fees for a few terms or a year or two? There is some spare capacity for those age groups at Bristol Grammar or Clifton High School, for example. Once you get a state primary place for one of them, the other should automatically go to the top of the waiting list for the next place in the appropriate year group - but unfortunately your DCs are at the peak ages of a Bristol baby boom, so you could be waiting quite a while....

It's also worth keeping an eye on what's happening in the St Ursula's/Oasis/North Bristol free school situation (see other threads on the local board), and put your name down on any lists for potential primary places there as that would also be close to you - but who knows how that is going to pan out.

Runoutofideas · 21/03/2011 19:47

I agree with what exepat says. Keep on contacting the schools and the LA.

My dd1 is in Yr1 at your nearest school and it may help you to know that there is quite a lot of movement. 4 children have left her class of 30 in the past 18 months and been replaced with new ones. The other 2 classes are similar I think, so places may come up quite quickly. Often though the places go to children with siblings in the juniors, as they often have more gaps, so without an older one you may have to be pretty close to the school to stand a chance. However if you can get the little one into reception then the older one would have sibling priority.

I second that it is worth keeping an eye on the St U's situation. Maybe register with the Bristol Free School to be kept in the loop of information. It's all up in the air at the moment so who knows.....?! Good luck with it all.

Runoutofideas · 21/03/2011 19:50

You may well be offered Badocks Wood - which although I have never seen it, does not have a good reputation locally.

Original poster
stmatt · 21/03/2011 20:17

Thanks for those comments. We're not completely stuck because we're renting in Bradley Stoke at the moment. Ds goes to school here so will keep him there until a place comes up - I can't cope with the idea of moving him temporarily - he's already been to 3 schools due to us re-locating around the world. I just have visions of being able to get 1 child into school near home and having to commute with the other.

OP posts:
Runoutofideas · 21/03/2011 21:21

I would definitely keep him at his Bradley Stoke school then until a place appears and deal with the 2 drop offs if you have to. If your younger child gets a place at Elmlea, there is a walking bus which leaves Stoke Lane shops at 8.30am, which may give you time to get your other child to school......

Original poster
stmatt · 22/03/2011 08:30

Runoutofideas - do you live n Stoke Bishop. If so what do you think of the area? What are the facilities like? We'll need to sort out swimming lessons, and ds does karate lessons which ideally we'd move to that side of town. What is it like for these kind of things?

OP posts:
Runoutofideas · 22/03/2011 13:37

We're actually W-O-T rather than Stoke Bishop, but pretty close. I think it is a great area for small children. Invariably if we go to Canford park we bump into people we know. Stoke Lane shops are handy for bits and pieces, Westbury village and Henleaze rd are walkable. The mall isn't far, nor are Clifton or the City centre.

Regarding swimming lessons, I would recommend Splash Happy who run lessons at Badminton school. In my opinion they are much better than the lessons at Henbury or Horfield leisure centre and not much more expensive. The pool is deeper so the children progress faster - literally sink or swim Grin!

Don't know anything about karate I'm afraid although I know there is a Tae Kwon Doe club at school if that's any good? There are lots of pre-school classes around too. DD2 has done Jack in a box (gym) at Henleaze and Wiggles and Giggles in Westbury, although your youngest might be a bit close to starting school by the time you move to start that kind of thing?

stringerbell · 22/03/2011 13:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
stmatt · 22/03/2011 19:28

Good to hear there's lots going on. We've had a play at Canford Park -its great isn't it.

I've just been reading the comments on the Bristol Primary Admission Crisis page - now I'm getting worried again. Just wish we could do something about it before we buy a house. I wish it was possible to get a provisional place. It costs so much to move house and then we might not even get a school place near our house. Its a shame we can't get a place provisionally.

OP posts:
mutley1 · 01/04/2011 13:23

Hi Karen
Elmlea is a really good school and worth huge amounts of hassle and pushing to get your kids in. My advice is to keep phoning the school and the LA. people move quite alot and there is definately some movement in year 2 when a few children go off to the independant schools.
On a positive note Stoke Bishop is a good community and you will quickly get tomeet other parents and children
Good luck with it all!!

Original poster
stmatt · 01/04/2011 14:30

Thanks mutley, I have now spoken to school admissions about this. We have applied through S. Glos for ds to be transferred to Elmlea to get him on the waiting list then as soon as we exchange we can phone them again to bump him up the list. For dd, our best chance is to wait until we move, so she gets a place at ds's school, then we put in a late application when we move next month. In theory, this should limit the amount of commuting I have to do between different schools.

Admissions officer did suggest that I could keep dd at home until Easter (she's not 5 until Feb) but I think she needs school. She's desperately trying to learn to read and I just get so frustrated trying to show blending when she quite obviously doesn't get it. I can't find her a pre-school place for next term either which is a shame so I will have to make an effort not to let her sit in front of the TV all day:)

Getting excited about moving now.

OP posts:
nettiee · 26/04/2011 01:13

We are moving to Reedley Rd in Stoke Bishop, in May, with 2 DSs aged 6 and 4 and I would love to join in with a local Royal Wedding Street Party. I believe there is a party in Parry's Close, which is really close to our house. Is it OK to go to this or is it just for that street? Does anyone know who to contact to make sure we can contribute/bring food, drinks etc

We are really looking forward to moving to such a lovely area.

Original poster
stmatt · 26/04/2011 12:25

oooh! Which end of Reedley Road. Thats where we're moving - do you have school places sorted. If not we're probably going to be competing for spaces:( Are you in the area already? If you're looking for some playmates for your 2, it looks like they're the same age as mine.

OP posts:
nettiee · 27/04/2011 16:50

My DSs are in Yr1 and Reception, so I think my youngest at least is in a different year to yours. Is your oldest in Yr1? Our house is near to Parry's Lane, on the Kewstoke Rd end, where are you? We are within 500m of Elmlea School, but there are no places available at the moment, so we are on the waiting list. Not sure what we are going to do, as we move in next Month, I am considering educating from home until a place becomes available, but I will have to find a tutor to do this.

Original poster
stmatt · 27/04/2011 19:16

Hi,

Ds is in yr1, dd needs a reception place so yes, we're only competing for 1 place. School places are just so stressful. We're buying on the same bit of the street. Its the one with the black and white gable. Which one are you going for?

The admissions team did tell me that I could keep dd home until April because she isn't 5 until Feb but she's ready for school now. I just don't have the ability to teach her to read and she needs some friends. Its bad enough that we haven't got a pre-school place for her:( Whereabouts are you at the moment?

OP posts:
Runoutofideas · 28/04/2011 09:53

Stmatt and nettiee - when you move in, if you fancy meeting up for a coffee, I'd be more than happy to try to help you both settle in. We live on Stoke Lane and my dds are 6 (yr1 currently) and 3 (due to start Reception in Sept) at Elmlea.

Coincidentally I was just investigating setting up as a private tutor - I am a qualified teaching assistant, but not a teacher, have been volunteering at Elmlea for the past year and a half, so have a good understanding of how they cover the curriculum in foundation stage and KS1. It may be that we could work out something informally while you are waiting for your places?

Original poster
stmatt · 28/04/2011 10:04

Runoutofideas, I'd love to meet up for coffee. I'm still new to the whole Bristol thing and need some friends (moved back from Oz in Nov and currently waiting it out in Bradley Stoke). Also aware that dd needs to meet some friends before we drive each other mad. Quietly hoping that the whole school thing will sort itself out and that a few families will leave during the summer holidays. If not, I might just have to take myself to the council offices for a nervous breakdown:)

OP posts:
Runoutofideas · 28/04/2011 10:23

Great! Your dd and mine are similar age although mine will be one of the youngest in the year as she's not 4 until August - (cue separate panic about sending her to school so young!)

I feel your pain over the school thing - it's been a nightmare round here for years and the areas for each school seem to be getting smaller each year. Do you know where you are on the waiting list for Yr1? A new boy has started in dds class recently but he lives extremely close to the school. If I hear of anyone leaving I'll give you the heads up!

Have you got your childrens names down for places at Stoke Bishop too? They accepted reception children from further away this year and there may well be movement on the waiting lists as other spaces come available. It's a well regarded school too and I've never heard anything bad said about it.

Original poster
stmatt · 28/04/2011 13:15

We've only put Ds's name on the waiting list for Elmlea at the moment and haven't applied for dd's place yet. As soon as we exchange we'll put in a late application for dd and start hassling the council about school places (obviously ds will go up the list a bit). There's a limit to what we can do until we move into the area. We'd be quite happy with Stoke Bishop school but not sure if it'll just be a little bit too far to walk when its cold, dark and rainy.

This will be ds's 4th primary school so I really want to make sure that we get him in the one where he stays permanently. He keeps getting to the stage where he makes some good friends and then we move again.

OP posts:
Runoutofideas · 28/04/2011 14:22

Ah yes of course - ds will go up the list once you move closer, and even higher if you manage to get a reception place for dd as he'd then be a sibling.

Once you've moved in give me a shout - not sure how you do a PM but feel free to do so - and we'll meet up.

nettiee · 28/04/2011 16:43

stmatt and Runoutofideas,
Thank you for your kind offer to meet up, there is always a bit of apprehension when moving to a new place when you do not know anyone, so please let me know when and where, although I will only be able to make Sat afternoons and Sundays until later in May when we have moved in, as my work has moved to Bristol (long commute) and the children are still in Glastonbury. Unless you are around tomorrow afternoon (Fri) as we are going to head to Stoke Bishop for about 2pm, armed with buns and drinks, to see what is happening for the Royal Wedding. No doubt we will finish the afternoon off in Canford Park, which the boys have also rather taken too. If you are not too busy, let me know and we can arrange a time and place.
Stmatt, I think we are going to be neighbours (If your house was sold by L&N), which is great. We have bought the white house with shutters just across the road from you. It will be lovely for the children to know another new child, especially as the oldest DSs are the same age. We have not moved as often or as far as you (Australia is pretty heard to beat in the distance stakes), but this is DS1's second move and so, like you I am hoping to get them settled in as quickly as possible and stay here for a very long time. We also were looking for swimming lessons, so Splash Happy sounds great. I have also found that there is weekend junior football and tennis at Coombe Dingle Sports Centre which the boys have loved down here in Somerset.
Runoutofideas, I am vey interested about the tutoring, and hopefully we could discuss it more offline once we all meet up, hopefully in the next few weeks.
Trying to sort out moving, the schools, and work is proving a little daunting at the moment and so I look forward to meeting you both for some respite and a good female natter.

Runoutofideas · 28/04/2011 18:53

Hi nettiee,
Would be great to meet up soon - I'm not really sure what are plans are tomorrow though. We were planning on wandering the streets and gatecrashing a party too! (We live on a main rd junction so can't have our own!) Sometime over the next few weeks would be fine - maybe wait until you move in.
The tutoring thing is a new idea for me - I am more than happy to meet and discuss it with you - I still need to investigate the legalities of doing it a bit more closely, although I am very keen on the idea and think there may well be a need for it locally. If you find yourself in the area again in the meantime please feel free to give me a shout. Thanks.

Original poster
stmatt · 28/04/2011 20:35

Nettiee,
My kids loved the house that you are buying - they ran ran it like little idiots. In fact, the estate agent told us how to find Canford Park because they looked like they needed to let off some energy... Yes, ours is the house sold by L&N - did you look around? My next job is to find some reputable builders/roofers/tradespeople. We should get our keys by the middle of next week but not planning on moving in until a week or 2 after. I'm hoping that 2 weeks with a can of magnolia paint will make it look a lot nicer until we decide what work we want to do with it. You'll have to pop over for coffee when you arrive - at least we can support each other a bit when the kids are running round wild and unschooled!

OP posts: