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harris south norwood

8 replies

jimmyjoejamtoe · 16/01/2016 14:15

Why is this school often sneered at, shunned, derided by "naice" parents in the area, when the results are like this:

dashboard.ofsted.gov.uk/dash.php?urn=135249

Am I missing something? Genuine question. It looks good by that dashboard, Imo. Anyone any thoughts on the school?

OP posts:
Minifingers · 18/01/2016 06:30

Harris is my nearest school. I know some children who are bright and hard working who are doing very well there. I took my own daughter out in year 8 however - just felt it was a too socially challenging environment: harsh and joyless, not just the children but the teaching staff, who I thought were massively pressured and didn't seem very happy. I suspected staff turnover was very high. At one point my daughter had 8 maths teachers in a term. Her behaviour deteriorated and I quickly made the decision to switch her to a girls school (Sydenham - can't recommend it highly enough, they took really good care of my daughter and communication with us was great). I don't think any of the Harris Academies are very nurturing or happy schools. They are very target driven, which is good if you have a bright, hard working and ambitious child. It's awful if your child is a struggler or has behaviour issues though. My two younger children have gone to Kingsdale in Dulwich.

jimmyjoejamtoe · 18/01/2016 09:56

Thanks minifingers. We are Thornton Heath, so I doubt we would get the sydenham one and that'll be quite a treck. Can you recommend any other good secondaries in SE25/CR7 areas? Thanks again.

OP posts:
Minifingers · 18/01/2016 10:27

No, it has a fairly tight catchment for year 7 intake. However, we got dd in from a waiting list in year 9 (she was out of school for a term) and I'd always encourage people to look at this option later on if things don't work out at the school you've chosen.

When we were looking for ds2 we really liked the Norwood school (just near the top end of Streatham common). It's smaller than quite a few others, has great buildings and a really nice atmosphere. They also have a catchment you'd fall outside of but they select 10% for ability in dance, art and music.

Kingsdale where my 12 year old goes (and where my 10 year old will hopefully be in September) is doing really well (bar the double stabbing in November Sad It's in the top 20 oversubscribed schools in the UK. They select by lottery and also 15% by aptitude for music and sport so have no catchment. It only takes my ds 35 minutes to get there door to door and he's coping ok with the travelling.

If I was doing it all again for dd I'd have picked Norbury Manor over Harris for year 7. Know quite a few people with daughters there who feel it's a nice school. I really have issues with the highly sexualised and aggressively sexist culture in some of our mixed schools in South London. My daughter was exposed to some vile language and behaviour at Harris - kids watching porn on their phones in the playground, a boy in year 8 sexually propositioning her in a really explicit way when she was just 12. She's a tough kid and not in any way shy, but it reduced her to tears.

Sorry - not meaning to scare monger because I know bad stuff goes on in all schools. It's not a specific Harris issue. I do worry about gang culture. My children are mixed race and it's a real thing to them. There some really sexually exploitative, violent and nasty behaviour going on in some groups - it's more of a problem in South London than many people realise. Much as I like the area I would always choose to educate my daughter in a single sex school, and my boys in schools which are more reflective of the London wider demographic than of the area immediately surrounding my home. Kingsdale seems to have lots of nerds, very bright m/c children and eccentric kids, as well as lots of kids from tough estates from Peckam and areas like that. It's a proper comprehensive that really does cater for all social groups and all abilities. It also seems to have a reputation for turning out happy kids, and for me that's more of an issue than the GCSE results.

Filthycop · 25/01/2016 13:07

Ou daughter is in Y11 at Harris South Norwood and we have generally been happy with it. She is a 'naice' girl from a middle class family and has managed fine - she doesnt really mix with any kids that cause trouble. There is more fear about gang culture than actually exists there. She had an incident with bullying which was swiftly and effectively dealt with.

She is currently being crammed through her GCSE s and they are piling the pressure on - which is hard! but hopefully effective. As parents in a Harris you have to be a little pushy to get what you want - but I expect that ios the same in any school. We had initlaly hoped for Harris Crystal Palace at the time but then decided that the local school would be better for her. We have never wished that we chose a different school for her.

That all said - we will look for alternatives for our son who is applying soon - I think that the split site with 400 Y7 children all starting at once is a bad idea and quiet children will be lost and overlooked.

jimmyjoejamtoe · 25/01/2016 14:20

thanks, that's an interesting post filthy.

cheers for your input.

OP posts:
Minifingers · 16/06/2016 13:29

"There is more fear about gang culture than actually exists there"

If your daughter is sensible and mature and hard working she's probably not mixing with children who are in, or on the fringes of, gang culture. My dd was, and it's very real to us and to me. It really isn't middle-class pearl clutching.

TipsyOP · 21/05/2024 03:17

My daughter is in year 7 and she is being bullied at Harris South Norwood it's been going on for weeks I have told the school on multiple times and yet keeps stills happing they are in her 6 lessons 5 days aweek as well as putting up with it after school phone calls' I can not even begin to tell you exactly how heart wrenching this is sending my daughter to to this school knowing what's happening in lessons and break times lunchtimes. My son gets a call from he's little sister saying that she can't take this anymore so he put it on loud speaker and passed it to me ( HEARING ) my daughter crying and telling me that she can not take this nomore and in the background I can hear exactly what they are saying and at a one point it sounds like she is getting pushed about, SO I immediately phone the school to tell them what's happening to her right now. They said that they would look for her on cctv and talk to her and they will get a teacher to call me back the reception staff did to say I'm sorry but all teachers were unable to call me back after launch time which this happened at beginning of break time. NOT GOOD ENOUGH so with that info I then started my journey to connect her. The bullies have heard that I'm on my way, and say to my daughter why your mum coming "cheek" she said cos she sick of you them, 1 of the bullies gos running to the teacher that im on my way to punch 1 of the bullies and im going to do one of the mums outside of the gates the others bullies stayed with a teacher WHAT A JOKE teacher tells my daughter that this behaviour isn't acceptable and she is just about sick of hearing about this, BY THE WAY SHE HAD ONLY NEW ANY OF THiS THAT MORING NOT WEEKS OF THS CRAP. I get to the school not no in any of this has taken place not even one phone call from the school!! Yet again my daughter does the weekend doing overtime thinking now what's going to happen when she goes back, Monday I go straight to the office to say I want to talk to a teacher they say what is it about and i say the crap my daughter been going through SO to all the parents thinking of sending there kids to this school this September this school has a policy that you might not beware of which is they CANNOT do anything on hear say EVENTHOUGH THEY HAD BEEN INDATE BY PUPILS AND TEACHERS OF All DIFFERENT INCIDENTS only on evidence meaning if your child has been hurt" what a f###ing joke " so really consider Harris South Norwood school

Filthycop · 22/05/2024 08:14

hi - I think you should maybe start a new thread - this one is old and the leadership at the school has changed since I wrote.

I am sorry your daughter is having such. hard time and you're not being supported by the school. I hope things improve for her.

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