National primary school allocation day!

[OccyT]

Hello!

I wondered if anyone else is excited/nervous about the April 18th!

:)

Good luck OccyT! I hope you get the school you want. We were in the same position this time last year - I was so nervous!

Good luck OccyT, What school/s are you hoping for?

Thank you both!

I think I'd be happy with any of our 6 choices; we've put down Clapham Manor, Heathbrook, Reay, Ashmole, Sudbourne and Allen Edwards. They are all quite different but all came across as nurturing and creative environments. We are on the Clapham North/Stockwell border, so the nearest schools are Clapham Manor (where I was a pupil!) and Allen Edwards. Clapham Manor was put down as our first choice, however since Mr Hazell is retiring I hope the school will continue to be led in a similar way (although I doubt we will).

What have others put down?

Sorry, I meant I doubt we will get our first choice.

Our top three are Sudbourne (of course, won't get it), Stockwell (may get it) and Jubliee (would defo get it). We'd be happy with any of those really. They all have their upsides and downsides with regards to getting to work on time and general family life.

I feel much more relaxed about it now. I disliked the visiting and selection process. The preconceptions, people moving away to rent near 'better' schools, the rumours and hearsay as people talked themselves into their decision. Glad it's all over.

I feel excited about this new stage. We're planning to get involved and make the most of it wherever we end up :-)

missl1, I totally agree, although I did enjoy experiencing the schools for myself to get a 'feel' for them, and boy, I visited a few! I see that each school has its strengths and weaknesses. Likewise, no matter where we go, I can't wait to get stuck in and hopefully be part of the school community :)

Missl1, how did you do?

It's Stockwell Primary for us. It's a mile walk every morning but it's next to our daughter's (and younger sibling's) current nursery so it's convenient and we're used to the walk. Also had to be near the tube for work so we're happy :-)

Did it work out OK for you?

We've got Stockwell too! I haven't actually visited it though, put it as a last minute safety on basis of SATs and having visited Jessop and liking it but thinking that was a bit far to go! Will have to arrange quick tour. Interested to know what you thought missl1?

BrixTrix :-0

We visited both and liked both. My husband was very keen on Jessop and was pushing in that direction but it would have been hugely inconvenient for the person doing the majority of pick up and drop off - aka me. It was hard to discount it though but practicalities meant we had to.

Stockwell was the last school we looked at and we loved it. The children seemed very alert. We visited a couple of other schools (exactly same time of day) where it felt like the kids had been Mogadoned. The environment was lovely, bright and good facilities. The music room and after school activities seemed very good. We liked the head teacher. He was energetic and switched on, unlike some other schools we visited. We also really liked the head of early years. She seemed genuine and approachable and we much preferred her to the head of early years at Jessop.

The only negative for us was the playground. The school's not yet at three-form entry across all years and I think it could become quite crowded. But not terribly so like Sudbourne, for example.

Ah, great thank you so much. That's so reassuring. I've started seeing the benefits to a bigger school, it was the three form entry that seemed worrying to me but now looking on the positive side. I thought Jessop seemed ideal size with two. Nice to hear it's a lovely building after the extension. I'm hoping I'll love it too and be excited and forget about first choice (sudbourne!).

I'm pleased you both got a school you're happy with- congratulations!!! We got Heathbrook, which I'm chuffed with but didn't think we'd get into, so great news!

Did you go yesterday missl1? I visited a few months ago before accepting place and really liked it. My daughter loved it! Really pleased.

Yes it seemed great. So far, so good. We got RC I think. With Miss B, which confused me for a while!

So did we!!!

That's funny. We probably saw each other, maybe even spoke to each other. My husband was painting at the children's easel despite our daughter not even being there!