Any experience of South Harringay school?

[crazyhead]

Does anyone have any experience of South Harringay school? Any sense of how it measures up to other schools in the area, including the Crouch End side of the railway tracks?

We're looking at buying in the area, and want to weigh up whether we look to buy a flat in CE or other pricey areas around it, or go for a house on the ladder.

DS is still very little so the schools might all change - but any experience very much appreciated....

No personal experience but have heard great things about South Harringay - it had a glowing Ofsted but heavily over-subscribed so you'd have to live minimum 0.1 mile from it. North Harringay is on the up now and know parents with kids there who love it. That's also on the ladder.

Is Hornsey okay for you? As St Mary's Infants is terrific.

Hornsey is potentially fine and that's very helpful about the catchment area of SH school. Basically we have a lot of friends and family in the area, so we're looking at everything possible round there.

We really like Stroud Green on the ladder side, but we're genuinely concerned that there is a lack of schools over there. Our son is still a baby, so it is hard to get the balance between neurotic/not landing ourselves with a massive issue in a couple of years.

Alot can and does change regarding quality of schools but even if your DC is still a baby, it really pays to pay close attention to catchment areas of good schools. Haringey has some very good schools at the moment - off the top of my head: tiny catchment - SH, John Vianney, Chestnuts; wider catchment - St Mary's (Hornsey), St Mary's (Hermitage Rd), St Ann's, North Harringey. Study the council's current and historical catchment areas. We did and moved to our preferred area with right combination of lovely house/nice street/good school in catchment (0.1 mile for us!) while I was pregnant with DD. It worked for us!

And it means we don't have to think about moving now until secondary school applications!

My daughter goes to south harringay. We really like it. Nice teachers and friendly parents. Mix of kids but then that's the real London.

It's a great area on the ladder. Bit of a hidden gem I think.

We used to live in stroud green and I have friends with kids at Stroud green school. It's a bit mediocre from what they tell me. Also we were burgled twice living in SG and dh mugged twice and car broken into 3 times. All in 4 years.

Since moving to the supposed wrong side of tracks we've had no probs at all with crime.

Thank you all for the thoughts - that's really helpful!

I too know people living in Stroud Green who have had problems with school. Much better to live on ladder, gardens or in the residential streets between St Ann's Road/West Green Road as you'll be in catchment for a wider range of good primaries. Actual day-to-day crime is not at all bad. None of my friends in these areas have had any problems and neither did I when I lived there.

I think South Harringay had a wider catchment this year as it had to introduce an extra bulge class (I heard; so please get this confirmed).

I live on the ladder and have heard ok things about South haringay. Weston Park on the other side is much better. However, unlike one of the other people, I have heard very bad reports from North Haringay from parents with children there. It seems that I will have no choice but to send my child there as I am too far from anything else..but I am terribly unhappy about it.

cheapandchic If I'm not too late... have you had a look at this website?

www.harringayonline.com/

if you post there about North and South Harringay schools you will get a lot of information from people who live on the Ladder. Many, many people I know LOVE North Harringay PS.