Primary Schools BR1

[ellielou91]

Morning!
We are currently living in bromley North (right by station) and are going to be applying for schools this year for my daughter to start Sept 2018. When looking online, there is no clear information of catchment areas and I cannot seem to find much info on admissions.. Our daughter attends a nursery at Bromley South and most children from there go on to these schools....

Ideally we are looking at
1 - Valley Primary
2 - Highfield Primary
3- Harris Academy Shortlands
4 - St Marks Primary

We do rent, however at this moment in time we cannot afford to move, yet we are considering doing so closer to the admissions month (Sept i think) to the Shortlands area if possible!

Any info or opinions on these schools or recommendations of others in the area would be great!

Thanks in advance x

www.schoolcatchment.co.uk

This is useful for looking at past catchment areas.

BromleyMama - I have looked at this but it varies so much every year I was hoping someone who has applied this year could shed some light. Thank you

It might be worth you also looking into Parish Primary as you might be in catchment for that (when we went for the Open Day the head gave us a very helpful map showing how far offers had gone out the previous year). Also if you look on www.Bromley.gov.uk, they have a leaflet with all the schools listed and the last couple of years' offer distances.

Where you are, you might want to add Scotts Park as that usually offers out fairly far and has increased to 3 form on a permanent basis so may have more room than some on your list.

I think to get Valley, you have to virtually live in the playground - Bromley North station is almost certainly too far away. I don't know about nos. 2 and 4 on your list, but I have a friend with a daughter at the new Harris and they were very happy the last time I saw them.

If you are Catholic you might want to consider St Joseph's on Plaistow Lane. It is a small school but, because it is a faith school, Mass attendance is generally more of an issue than distance and people travel from further than where you live.

Good luck!

Oh really? I was told the Valley catchment isn't too bad for bromley north
Most things I've read on Scotts Park haven't been too glowing of a report which kind of put me off a bit.. but guess should go view schools before making judgements xx

You won't get Highfield from Bromley N, although my Dd went there and I wouldn't recommend it anyway. I have friends with children at Parish & they love it.

Scotts Park is up and down I think but friends with children there seem happy enough at the moment (KS1 at the moment admittedly). To be honest, you need a school on your list that has a large catchment area just to be sure you get somewhere. Then you can try for Valley, Parish etc as top choices but keep Scotts Park (or somewhere else - maybe the new Harris) as a safe bet just in case.

As to Valley distances, maybe you are right and it obviously depends on exactly where you live, but I have a friend who lived on one of the roads on the Valley side of London Road and her child didn't get in. Check out the guide on Bromley.gov.uk website. That will give you offer distances for the last couple of years (not the most recent admissions year admittedly).

Hi, we're also in Bromley North, not too far from the station, and our eldest in starting primary this September. She has a place at La Fontaine Academy, which is moving to Nightingale Lane. It's not our closest school, but we're delighted that she has a place as we have heard great things about the school and it was our first choice, and it's still a walkable distance. She would also have got a place at Scotts Park (I know someone near Bromley South who has got in), and we would have been happy with a place there too. I've only heard good things about Scotts Park, despite it's Ofstead report, and I think the new head is supposed to be excellent. As the previous RI rating was predominantly for leadership, the change of leadership pretty much meant we disregarded the rating in our decision. I know that the catchment for Bickley primary has also come out to the Bromley North area this year (possibly due to the La Fontaine move), so that could be worth a look.

As has been said, Parish is also a possibility, and St James if you meet the religious requirements. I think we're relatively lucky to have a reasonable choice of the schools in the area. Good luck!

La Fontaine Academy will be in Nightingale Lane in September 2017. You're probably in the catchment. It's a wonderful school! Check out the Open Days when they come up.

AVOID Parish at all costs!! Really bad school loads of parents transferring from Parish at the moment..
The school ranked fifty three out of sixty one schools last year, terrible!
I have a long list of reasons why.
Also the school does not cater for children with special needs at all.
Parish is about appearance but behind closed doors it is a mess!
Very very bad! I am currently waiting for my transfer by the day for my children. School dinners are a joke and Parish do absolutely nothing about bullying. I have an endless list of bad things going on at Parish right now and I'm shocked it hasn't been shut down already. It wasn't as bad as it is now when my children first started Parish. AVOID AVOID AVOID!!! There are atleast 10 other parents I know of right now also transferring from Parish. Cross Parish off your list! Fed up of watching how unhappy my children are every morning walking into Parish! P E Teacher is a bully .. we even had police parading in the school grounds today but the school won't tell anyone why?
Parish is a write off!!! Constantly want money from you.. they will charge you double for school trips even when the venue is free entry!!

Unfortunately I have to agree with PP about Parish. I have 4 friends with children at Parish and 2 would move immediately if it would be possible.

Very bad if your child needs extra support, virtually no help with bullying and physical harm. One of my friend's is at her wits end.

Results slumped in the last years and it has nothing to do with the new curriculum. When friend's had their children starting their 5-6 years ago it looked a lot better but since then it just moved down.

I wish there was more I could do to Elert parents about Parish and how bad it is at the moment.
I can only hope my transfer isn't going to take too long to get sorted.
No nothing to do with curriculum at all I agree.
They just spent thousands on a new playground area which the parents raised at the last summer fair.. this playground is often guarded by staff to stop children even using it! All for appearance.. yet my youngest child had no reading books in her class at the start of the year.
If your child is being bullied they will keep YOUR child in at playtime instead of the bully because they are unable to stop bullying..
one day they had no idea where my child was and rung me to ask me why my child was not in that day.. she was in class the whole time.. I had to drop everything and run to the school in a mad panic thinking she had been taken! When I got to the school office they simply laughed and said she was here the whole time .. I nearly had a heart attack with worry and anxiety!
I could go on and on about things that have happened at this school with me and many other parents.
And even members of staff have informed me of incidents that has been kept quiet.

A colleague's child attends La Fontaine and they are very happy with the school. It was inspected by Ofsted in July 2017 and judged outstanding for leadership and good in all other categories. In a recent survey of pupils' parents, 98% would recommend the school.

Bump

I have friends with kids at loads of Bromley schools and they all seem happy, I think we are very lucky. Mine are ( and were ) at Parish and I love it as do they. The results haven't been as good as they were but my eldest did incredibly well and is now in year 8 of a selective school. The younger one struggles a bit but is making good progress.
They love PE and are super fit because of all the running they do at parish. Kids should be fit and run so I have no problem with that. The eldest has asthma and the PE teacher helped her enormously and was always really kind.
I help at the schools cross country sometimes and they cheer every child in no matter where they come. The staff and kids want everyone to do well it's really amazing. I think fitness is essential for a child and with obesity levels what they are the more we do for kids fitness the better. There are naughty kids and the school seems up respond to that effectively.
The new play equipment is amazing and my youngest has been on it a lot.
The school has a strong Christian ethos and that is at the centre of what they do. The head is relatively new so needs to restructure a bit.
I'm sure your child will be happy wherever they go.

If you don't mind your child being told to their face that they are fat (when they love running and they are not even big) and you don't mind your child being bullied and nothing done about it ( a complaint I often hear) and don't mind your child being punished if they have a cold or a dentist appointment and you don't mind your child left in the class clueless because they aren't getting any extra help and you don't mind your child left to go toilet and wonder without the teacher even realising they have left the classroom plus many other things then send your child to parish!! The school is VERY two faced and I am just one of many parents that feels the same. One of the worst schools on record last year (proof says it all really 54 out of 62 they ranked) avoid the school!!!

It's such a shame that some of you have had such bad experiences of Parish. My son is in year 2 there, and we're really happy with it, and broadly speaking, all my friends with children there are happy too. Comms from the Head could definitely be improved, but in terms of reading, sports, bullying etc the poor experiences that others have had definitely haven't been mine. I don't have any qualms about sending my daughter there next year.

This is from me and people who work in classrooms that are what really goes on every day. The school should be shut down a s a p!! Any of you who need or want more info please get in touch. More and more people are realising how much trouble this school is in at the moment. Can not wait to get my kids out of Parish. School dinners aswell are appalling a lot of parents now send their children in with packed lunch instead now. A shame some parents are in denial about the state of this school. Let's see how bad they rank this year.. couldn't be much worse than it already is. Please do not send your child here, my sister was lucky and did not suffer much from the incident last year.. no medical help given apart from a piece of wet cotton wool slapped on her face.

Parish parents have hugely differing experiences obviously. Maybe if you feel your kids aren't safe you should home school until you can transfer them.

You cannot argue with facts and the facts are there.. please any parent thinking of sending children to Parish read or look into it first and look up where they ranked etc. Such a shame as the school was doing ok when my lot first started .. now I would not trust them at all. I also don't agree with their ways of shoving god in children's faces I feel children should be able to make up their own minds what and who they believe in and not have it forced in their faces every day. Brain washing young children as young as 5. I hope this helps some parents .. I believe every child should not dread going into school every morning.. I take my hat off to two or three teachers currently at this school who are genuine and wonderfully dedicated to teaching and respecting children just a shame their leader hasn't got a clue what they're doing what so ever.

It's a CHURCH SCHOOL. The clue is in the name.

AVOID the school.. full of two faced ignorance.. and bullying.. the school can not cope with children that need extra support.. there are no funds for this at all. Religion will be forced into your children's faces full on in every way, never ust to be this bad but unfortunately this has made my children anti religious as it has been forced onto them constantly well over the top.
Statistics are all there as proof how bad Parish is.. you can't argue with facts I'm afraid.. such a shame. School is a write off.. BULLYING.. LIES.. TWO FACED in every way.. and yes you will be judged and you will be spoken to in a patronising manner. You would think differently considering it's a religious school but nope one of the worst say no more.
They can't even sort out the entrance system coming in and out is one way both ends of the school.. nightmare.

Quite frankly I am totally stunned by the venomous nature of the comments here.
My children attend Parish and we have found it to be nothing but a caring and respectful School. The level of Pastoral care is excellent, and much of this stems from the church ethos - which you obviously can’t avoid if you send your child to a CofE school!!! They also study many other religions, but yes, they have ‘act of worship’ on a regular basis - or an ‘assembly’ to most of us!!
Never have I heard of an incident not being addressed by the School, and especially if the parent is prepared to be open minded and work with the school to resolve issues. The have a dedicated SENCO officer with a sensory room for break out space, and they provide support in lots of areas for struggling children. Yes they are short of funding - but is this not every school these days?!
The results dipped recently because they had a particularly difficult year group, and the School addressed this by splitting the classes down further to provide smaller groups to ensure that everyone got the support they needed - what more can they do?!
As for the police being on site - if the parents needed to know the reason we would be informed - it doesn’t mean there is an issue. It could be a speaker, or something could have happened to a parent and it concerns child safety - it’s not for the public domain.
I also love the fact that Parish encourages competitive sport - it’s part of the joy of all of the space we have, and children definitely learn that it’s the taking part that counts.
I urge any parent thinking about schools to go along to them all - meet the staff and speak to a few children. Please do not be swayed by one woman’s rants on this forum.

Please refer to the schools results and statistics and facts to back up what I’m saying.. these speak volumes.. I will not argue with stupid.
The bullying is unreal it’s all I’m told about by complaint from other parents. Once again please refer to where this school has ranked need I say more. If your child needs extra support it will not be provided at this school please do not waste your time.Mr Richardson the headmaster before this one often advised parents to not send their child to this school as there are no resources or enough funding.. this school is falling apart rapidly but kept quiet.. I only know certain things because of staff telling me that see what happens in classrooms when they help out daily one is a year rep and loved the school dearly but now sees how much trouble the school is in and has also put in for a transfer. Everyone is entitled to their opinion in this world but please refer to the proof please look into this school more before sending your child here. Please look up where this school has ranked and please read reports. New head teacher has no clue.. new rules that have been put in place this year are unbelievable.. my child nearly lost her eye in this school very scary stuff! Health and safety fail. A bad school with a very bad attitude. Never known anything like it I am appalled as are many others. On the surface all looks well.. behind closed doors it’s a mess. What a shame :-(