Moving to Dulwich

[Muckymum72]

Hiya! I am a mum of two kids aged 4 and 6 from Cardiff. Family and I are moving to London as DH has got a job at Kings College Hospital. Looking to live in Dulwich Village/Dulwich/Nunhead/Forest Hill/Herne Hill areas. Main thing would be to find a good primary school for the kids (need a reception place and a year 2 place to start ASAP) and then renting a place would follow on from whichever school gives us two spaces!
I already called up a few schools which were high on my list eg Dulwich Village Infants. Main problem seems to be a reception place for my DD. since this is mid term most places are already taken so whilst the schools can accommodate DS in yr 2 immediately there arent spaces for DD in Reception.
We can't stay too far of a commute from Kings Hosp as DH is a medic and needs to run off at all odd hours! But essentially looking for a good safe family locality with a good school, access to parks, shops, restaurants and train station. I drive as well.
In case I have no luck in good schools within the Southwark, Lewisham and Lambeth triangle I will have to consider Bromley and Beckenham which are bit further but on the direct train line to Kings.
Do mid year admissions have to go via the councils too or do the schools do them directly? I called up two schools in the Lewisham council- one asked me to go via the council (presumably slightly lazy admin staff??) and the other was very helpful and gave me info immediately on their vacancies.
Any advice in relation to good primary schools and living areas would be much appreciated!!!
Thanks Muchly

The good primaries in Southwark are very over-subscribed, so if I were you I'd consider accepting a place for your child in Year 2 in the school you like best (Dulwich Hamlet is massively popular and v well thought of) and finding the nearest available reception place for your DD, say in Herne Hill. You could then get your DD on the waiting list for your preferred school and move them in a year or so. It'll be a pain in the neck at drop off but might be the most straightforward way through. I don't know about the schools in Forest Hill, Honor Oak, Sydenham, etc,but you get more house for your money. Herne Hill is fantastic and where we'd move to if we could afford it - great transport connections, nice houses and you have the Lido in Brockwell Park.

We actually live in Wandsworth borough but my DDs go to school in Dulwich (private). The state primaries in Wandsworth seem a lot better (we switched two years before secondary), and there seems to be a bigger social mix of parents whose children go to private primary schools in Southwark, e.g. where the girls go, there are masses of children of senior public sector workers, medics, etc, not just banker, top lawyer types. I'm not trying remotely to say it has a great social mix, but that more people have thought they've needed to stretch to send their kids to private where if the state schools were better, they'd have gone for that. It might be worth broadening your search to cover Wandsworth as well - look at bus routes as well as the train line. They're good in South London. I don't mean as far west as Putney or Wandsworth itself, but Tooting, Streatham, Furzedown and Balham/Clapham/Brixton borders might be doable with the right buses.

Good luck!

hi

have you tried getting in contact with these people? Southwark Parent Partnership

My daughter is at Goodrich Community Primary, it's a big school but it's great. The new head has really pulled it up over the last few years. DD is in Y2 and started there in reception.

Because of the location you get a lot of movement especially in reception and Y1 - lots of people suddenly decide to move out of London - so don't be disheartened, you may not be on the list for too long! I do know that Dulwich Village is very small compared to Goodrich so obviously you're chances at some schools are better than others just because it's a numbers game.

Good luck, it's a fab area!