Harpenden primaries and pre-schools

[Whirlwind79]

Hi

We're looking to move to Harpenden from London and I have a load of questions! We'd be looking to move near Roundwood, on the more central side so that we could be within walking distance of the station.

• I understand that 2 out of the last 6 yrs, the max distance of place offered for Roundwood Primary has been below 500m. We've seen a couple of houses we like, but both are more like 600m away. I know the coming year has a load of siblings taking up most of the places at Roundwood, so perhaps it's just a one off, but does anyone know if there is a problem now in Harpenden getting into the good state primaries and having to live on top of them like you do in London? From what I've read, Manland, Crabtree and a few others suffer from the same problem.

• where do the children who don't get their 1st choice typically end up? We'd be way too far from Wood End and any of the other central and Outstanding-rated schools.

• I've read lots of mixed reviews about The Lea and Sauncey Wood, but the threads were 3-4yrs old so does anyone have any up to date views? Am I right in thinking that's where you tend to get offered a space if you don't get your 1st choice?

• as back up options, I guess we'd have to go with St Hilda's (we have 2 girls) and/or St Nicholas. I'd be interested in any view on those, as I haven't found much on MN and the schools aren't very easy to visit. How religious is St Nicholas? I know church attendance is required to get in, but how much religion is worked into the syllabus? What is St Hilda's like?

• for the time being I'd be looking at pre-schools. My eldest will be 3 in September so can't go to any of the nurseries attached to schools till Sept 2015. Can anyone recommend any good pre-schools in the area? So far I've found a lot of day care options but no pre-schools in the immediate area (eg Batford Nursery would be a drive away).

Answers to any (or all!) of these questions would be really helpful.
Thanks

I have no idea re, harpenden schools / preschools but I'm sure someone on mn can help. I have read that there are no 'bad' schools in harpenden.

I just wanted to offer some advice to you regarding schools / preschools. I have been looking at schools recently. ( not in harpenden )! Please do not base your decision on where to buy a house on an ofsted report alone. They can be helpful as a starting point but my experience is that sometimes they do not completely reflect a school.

I looked round an ofsted 'outstanding' preschool recently. I really hated it and couldn't wait to leave. Most importantly I knew it would not suit my child.

I'm sure you have done lots of research...it sounds like you have, but above all I would recommend visiting a pre school / school to really get a feel for it before you make a big decision about where to live.

I hope someone can be of help to you ..good luck! X

Just to add... I would be a little wary of ofsted ' outstanding ' schools and double check when they were last inspected. They are not inspected as frequently as ofsted rated 'good' schools or schools which 'require improvement'. So the info contained in the report could be very out of date.

Thanks Rainbow44. I have actually been around Roundwood as I agree with you - I lived near an Outstanding-rated school in London and didn't even need to go round it to work out it would not be the sort of place I would ever want my child to go to! Equally I looked round a load of Outstanding preschools and actually ended up picking one that was rated "good" for my child, as just felt so much nicer than the outstanding ones.

Roundwood only had spaces for 11 non siblings this year. Most of the smaller schools had very small catchments, you can check the Herts website for actual figures. This year 54 children have been allocated Sauncey Wood but imagine their will be a lot of movement over the next few months

Any one been given Harpenden Free school for this year? I have heard nothing but great things about this school, also much easier to get into has no catchment area.

I agree with other regarding Outstanding and Ofsted I am a childminder and some Outstanding childminders I know, I would not leave m dog with!