Views / Experience on Bromley Road Primary & Harris Primary Academy

[shclee]

Hi All

I'm new to Beckenham area and am preparing the primary school application for my daughter. Will really appreciate any views / experience on Bromley Road Primary School and Harris Primary Academy coz I can't find much info online. Struggling to arrange the school priorities. Many thanks.

The Harris Primary Academy is the one at Beckenham close to Kelsey Park.

Bromley Road is in the process of converting from infants only to full primary (reception to year 6). Historically I don't think Bromley Road has been 'sought after' but I guess being infants only would do that, even if it was a really good infant school.

The Harris is very new, I think they are in the process of building new facilities which are on the same site as the secondary.

Watching with interest as unless we move house these will be the only two schools we're likely to be in catchment for ourselves.

Many thx for the info.

We are currently within the catchment area of Bromley Road Primary School but can't find any info of the school performance online. Really struggle whether I should include it in the list. If not, it will be too risky if I can't a place from the first choice.

I'm not sure the catchment area of Harris Primary Academy Beckenham. Any idea where I can find it? Many thx.

Ds started Bromley road in September. So far so good. It's small one form entry but that means head knows us and our child. It's a really friendly school... I know mums of kids in most years now as everyone says hello. Ds seems to be getting on well with reading and writing. The harvest festival and nativity happen in the big church next door although it's not a religious school which feels special. We've even met the mum Of our reception teacher as she was a teacher there years ago and pops in to help out. There seems to be a nice balance of opportunities for parents to go into the school for assemblies etc we were there at Friday for Christmas decoration making at 2.30 in class which was fun. Cons small pta trying to do their best and perhaps less trips or a variety of musical instrument tuition in the future although they are looking into all these things. Miss minnis the head is nicely quirky, fun and firm - often to be found standing at the school gate at home time. She also seems determined to make it outstanding now it goes all the way through.
Go to the open days - we have children in the class whose parents chose Bromley road over balgowen and clare house as it felt warmer and less strict. The Christmas fair is in the afternoon of the 10th I think - pop along to get a feel. As it is only just going all the way through results aren't there yet. I would have been ok with Harris tbh and have friends with kids there who are happy. Bromley road feels like a real community school I know I haven't focused on the academic side but ds seems engaged but he really has only just started.

Please do ask anything - we put it 2nd on our list and Harris 4th. Dp wanted it 1st. By less strict I mean more art on the walls and creative learning styles. People fought for their dc to stay rather than move with the year 3 change to make it an all the way through school. I would have been horrified to get worsley bridge but even that is apparently improving now.

Peasantsrevolt, thank you so much for your supportive experience on Bromley Road Primary. Really appreciated.

This is our first time to apply for primary school. Any suggestions on how to arrange the school priorities? I'm quite struggle indeed. I assume catchment area is the key criteria. Am I correct?

Yes catchment area ...I used the rightmove website to help guide. Search near where you live find a property as close as you can and look at the areas. Not totally accurate but a good guide.
I think sibling is the key thing that trumps catchment otter than Sen. So for example I believe Clare house had only 3 non sibling reception children this year so really hard to get in.
Harris as it is so new has v few siblings and has no track record so very easy to get in it seems.
This is why we put it low down as it was our banker.

We did a mix of one we would like but highly unlikely to get into and real options. I understand the process is that they send out all the applications to the schools without the school knowing the priority. The schools allocate and feed it into a computer program where you get offered the school highest up your list to offer you a place. So if your 2nd, 4th and 5th all offered you a place you would be offered your 2nd choice. Does that make sense? It helped us prioritise them.

We hadn't done it before just a lot of researching. Bromley as a borough has good schools in general. I think you get a feel for a place at the end of the day you know your child. How do they enjoy nursery do the staff their have any insight or other parents. Talk to people when you are out and about in play parks.Chatting to parents who already had kids at a few schools really helped me. I remember even purposely striking up a conversation with a mum whose child was in a Bromley road uniform. I even asked the child if she enjoyed school and got a resounding yes.

The main thing you need to understand is admissions policies and catchment areas. Catchment areas round here are very tight for the most popular schools: I live less than 10mins walk from Balgowan and Clare House but our chances of getting into either are very slim.

This website is good for checking the catchments for different schools and has data going back a number of years so you can check how things change. In Bromley I think most schools (unless faith) give priority to children with special needs and looked after children and then children with siblings already in the school (this can be a big group!), then it is simple proximity (someone who lives 10m from school offered a place ahead of someone who lives 11m from school etc).

So it's mostly a case of how many other children who want a place at the school live between you and the school!

The main thing is that you need at least one school on your list that you feel confident you will get a place at and that you would be happy enough for your DC to attend - so you need to understand the admissions/catchments issues to know which school(s) you have a good chance at.

Beyond that the system is designed so you don't need to be clever about it, you just list them in order of preference.

For me the only schools close enough to consider are Bromley Rd, Harris, Worsley Bridge, Clare House and Balgowan.

Bromley Rd we live v close to and is probably a dead cert for us getting a place. Worsley and Harris have been undersubscribed last year - I wouldn't rely on this continuing, but their catchments are probably still going to be quite broad even if they are not undersubscribed next year. Clare House and Balgowan I'm not even sure whether to waste my time with as it would take a real fluke for us to get into either.

Sorry I forgot the link:

www.schoolcatchment.co.uk/

schlee welcome to the neighbourhood. Beckenham is a great place to live!

My DD has just started at another school close by so I don't have direct experience of Harris or Bromley Road but have friends with children at both and all are happy with their choices. There are some local concerns about Harris's ability (generally) to meet any special educational needs but again, it's too early for any of us to have direct experience of that.

What I would say is this, one of the school principals said at their Open Day last year that while the choices were important, actually, all the local schools are really very good, and all had challenges too. Therefore, don't worry too much if you don't get your first choice as you're not going to end up somewhere dreadful.

I have to say that I would have been delighted with any of our first three choices. I know people with children at Unicorn, Oak Lodge, Bromley Road, Harris, Balgowan, Marian Vian, Churchfields, Alexandra, Clare House and few schools in Penge and I don't know anyone who isn't happy.

we won't talk about secondary schools until we know more about planning applications

Best of luck - all of the above said, it's a stressful time! This time next year, you'll be worrying about lines for the school nativity instead

I have a friend with a DC at Bromley Road. He started in Reception and is now Y3 and it had been a transition as people say from being an infant school to all the way through. They recently got a well earned 'good'. I think the knowledge that children who get the school don't have to move on after has really created a positive influence on the school as often the move on school for Junior was Worsley Bridge which (apologies) wasn't top of most people's lists. I think it has a loyal parent following with volunteer readers and helpers and this shows in the way the school has moved on clearly and decisively from its past doldrums. I don't have personal experience only from mums whose DCs are happy and thriving at the school. Bear in mind though that a school that feels small and fitting for a reception child may not suit a Y6 and all the news seems to be gloomy about how smaller schools can work with budgets and may be challenged in offering the same opportunities as larger intake schools.

It's so interesting how people's own experiences colour views - part of the reason why we chose Bromley road was its size - dp had a great experience in a small school whereas I had a bad at a big school (- crofton which at the time was the biggest in the uk- so probably in representative of most to be fair)
Size was one thing we agonised over but as Bromley road is taking kids through now it seems to have introduced lots of clubs for y3 plus with external partners- so hopefully more to come 😊

Harris Beckenham doesn't have a catchment as yet because it's a new school it's under subscribed. Bromley Road is a very small school 1 form entry I think, so I will have that community family feel where everyone knows each other. Beckenham very new with only 2 year groups. I've heard from parents who have children that attend there are happy.

Worsely Bridge I have heard nothing good and clare house well you need to be practically living next to the school gates to get in. Even though their admission numbers have increased.

I woukd say where ever you live your guaranteed to get into Harris Beckenham so I would put Bromley first then Harris.

From where I think you live I doubt your in catchment for anything else except Harris shortlands who have moved into their brand new building

That's the order we did seeing Harris as a banker ...so we put it fourth and the dreaded worsley bridge 5th.

What's the issue with Worsley Bridge? Just from the fact it's under subscribed I know it's not on people's desirable list, but then I know someone with a reception age child who selected Worsley Bridge over Bromley Road.

Worsley bridge does have some benefits big grounds etc and I believe have invested in new tech. They are trying to make changes and investing. It's a hard one for me to explain why it was low it felt a bit like a bad comp Grange Hill style. I know a few kids who started there and have moved already when places elsewhere came up. TBH I think in a few years it will have changed and be a good school.

I'm still a year ahead of having to make a decision but my rough plan is decide whether Clare House or Balgowan are worth a punt as 1st choice (despite being unlikely to get in either), Bromley Rd as our realistic preference, then decide which order to place Harris or Worsley behind them.

Though I might just ignore Balgowan and Clare House and pick Bromley Road as 1st choice rather than set any hope on schools that it would take a real fluke to get into catchment.

You have six spaces, put the schools in your true preference order and make sure at least one of the schools is one you will get. You never know you might get a year of a bulge class at Balgowan and you get the place as no one else put the school down as they wanted it but thought they'd be too far away.

What circumstances do bulge classes happen? Is it only if there's a shortage of local provision across the area (rather than particularly high demand for a certain school). I was assuming with Harris only just opening and likely undersubscribed that it reduce the chances of a bulge class in any of the other local schools for the next few years. Or is that not how it works?

For me there's an advantage in relative certainty about where my DS will be at primary school because I need to arrange a nursery place for younger DC before I'll know the outcome of the primary school admissions and it'd be much easier if our pick-ups were in the same vicinity (hence why I am thinking about it over a year before I'll be applying, as a nursery place will need to be booked much sooner!)

We knew Bromley road was our most likely preference but put The over subscribed ones we liked ahead just I case. The schools don't know your preference so it doesn't change anything if you don't get in there

There won't be any more bulge classes at Balgowan until at least the current bulge (Y2) are gone. No space!!

There is no plans for any bulge classes in the area. Harris shortlands and beckenham opened up to cater for the extra demand for reception places.

Bulge classes only happen when there is a significant shortage of spaces in a particular area. Unicorn and balgowan had a bulge class 3 years ago due to Harris Beckenham not opening when it meant to which lead to nearly 60 children due to start Harris without a school space.

That's helpful thanks - and explains why Balgowan's catchment was much bigger in 2014!