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When meeting up take sensible precautions. Meet in a public place and let others know where you are going.

Original poster

WEST LONDON MEET-UP THREAD - OCTOBER 2006 - EALING, ACTON, CHISWICK, KEW, RICHMOND, ISLEWORTH, KINGSTON ETC

720 replies

MrsBigD · 02/10/2006 11:03

Here's the general chit-chat thread for October

Synopsis please on what I've missed last week! Too pre-occupied for various reasons to wade through all threads. Thanks

OP posts:
pudding77 · 10/10/2006 21:34

Am I allowed to ask which school it is ff? By the way, I'm assuming that frightyfox & fatfox are the same person??

frightyfox · 10/10/2006 21:37

Puds - St Elizabeth's in Richmond. Which is your school?

pudding77 · 10/10/2006 21:50

Our Lady and St John's in Brentford. I have heard of yours - a while back we looked at a house in Richmond and that would have been our nearest catholic school, I think.

frightyfox · 10/10/2006 21:53

Puds - yeah its the only one in Richmond. Whats your school like, did you have to get a priests reference.

frightyfox · 10/10/2006 21:54

?

pudding77 · 10/10/2006 21:56

Oh, ds isn't in school yet being only 8months! We had a close look at it to see what we had to do to get a place. We will need the priest's reference but we also live within walking distance (about 5mins) which puts us high in the whatchmacallit list, you know the list of priorities? Am I making any sense at the minute ? I did ring up to see about getting him on the waiting list for the nursery but apparently it's still a little too early, I can do it next year!

pudding77 · 10/10/2006 22:03

Anyway, I'm off to bed. It's been a long day & I'm exhausted.

Goodnight everyone!

frightyfox · 10/10/2006 22:05

Puds - Don't know your school, but with all the others, church attendance is way more important than geographical distance.

We have people from Ham and Barnes who've been allocated places over and above people in the street next to the school, 'cos they attend mass more regularly.

I'm sure you know that anyway, so don't want to be teaching you to suck lemons

Also, I now it sounds cynical, buts that's the only way the school can measure the "faith" of the family

Apparenty the London Oratory judge it by when the child was bapised. e.g. a child baptised at 2 months old would get a place before a child baptised at 6 months because its so over subscribed!

suejoneziscalmernow · 10/10/2006 22:49

Thats her Foxie but hardly name dropping when I couldn't remember it! Must work on my social skills more.

I may be around for coffee Friday morning for an hour if anyone wants to meet. Need to arrange to see plumber at some point then need to go off and do currency/bank stuff in the afternoon.

lemonaid · 10/10/2006 22:49

We are planning to [whispers very quietly] go private. I'm a very lapsed Catholic (atheist) although my brother is a priest. There is a really really lovely private school in Putney that we've fallen in love with and sounds like the perfect fit for DS. Right at the moment we're actually in the catchment area for a good secular state primary school but quite likely by the time the relevant date comes around we'll have moved, and most of the other good primary schools are the religious ones.

The one advantage of the amount we have to pay for nursery fees is that school fees will be a snip in comparison .

suejoneziscalmernow · 10/10/2006 22:52

My nephew went to Putney Park for a little while (though not long). My sister is the schools expert as she has trawled all of them for various of her three children and run the gamut of private and state depending on the state of their finances at the time.

suejoneziscalmernow · 10/10/2006 22:53

I think there are quite a few good primary schools in the area but am already getting worried about where a poor atheist would send her children for secondary education...

pudding77 · 11/10/2006 06:50

We've decided that by the time ds is ready to go to secondary school we don't want to be in London so hopefully we'll move somewhere where the schools are excellent & are not oversubscribed - hmmm, do you think such a place exists

lemonaid - I would consider going private as well!

FF - thanks for the tip! I think I'd better up my attendance!

Nanou1 · 11/10/2006 10:07

good morning everybody! schools... we will try for dd to go in that french school in ealing (apparently it gives priority access to french lycee afterwards so it means she would be sorted til university . or CofE in ealing St Saviour is very good apparently and then twyford CofE is amongst the best school CofE schools in London if we are to believe the sunday times and we live just accross the road. it just seems such a long time away... and yet...
Quokka - you will be with Hounslow won't you? if you go on the net you can start to get an idea of where you ds might go?

Original poster
MrsBigD · 11/10/2006 10:10

pudding, we're also hoping to not be in London, or actually the UK when it's time for secondary school for dd and hope that schools in Australia aren't equally oversubscribed... ah well first we have to get there LOL that all depends how dh is behaving himself in the future

OP posts:
Nanou1 · 11/10/2006 10:15

Pudding... sounds good to me. so hard to think ahead... for me the ideal would be an average size village school tbh

quokka · 11/10/2006 11:43

Oh I've done that its just the process you go through I don't understand. I would like him to go to Belmont in Chiswick, but its highly over subscribed . There are some kids that go there that live on my street so fingers and legs crossed!

Nanou1 · 11/10/2006 11:47

is there something with church attendance? i am pretty i knew of someone whose dd go there... might have info for you in that one but not before xmas.... would start networking asap in your shoes... will ask at church on sunday cos lots of families there.

Nanou1 · 11/10/2006 11:48

quokka. meant to ask you cos i feel terrible... wasn't your little neighbour's birthday last month? completely forgot to send a card

Nanou1 · 11/10/2006 11:50

btw would love belmont too but maybe not that practical though and cos it's so hard to get in i thought we'd have no choice tbh. you are making me think now!!!!!

quokka · 11/10/2006 12:12

Happy Birthday nanou! Yes it was her birthday she had a party but ds1 was the only 2yrs there

Nanou1 · 11/10/2006 12:16

you mean no other kid quokka? bugger bugger bugger!!!

quokka · 11/10/2006 12:56

I have involved her in a playgroup every tues with some neighbourhood kids, so she's getting out there now

Nanou1 · 11/10/2006 14:15

hey! well done you!! will be nice to catch up properly next week!

foxinbubblesletsmaketrouble · 11/10/2006 15:42

Happy birthday Nanou

Secondary schools in Richmond are bad Sue - there are no Catholic ones and the others are Dire - apart from Waldegrave (girls only though ). Christs is MUCH improving though, so should be good in 5/6 years time. Its CofE and kids from Queens have trouble getting in at the moment as its so oversubscribed. (was a Wandsworth school, but given back to RUT about two years ago). We're hoping for DS: London Oratory or St Benedicts Ealing, with Christ's as a fall back. Not sure if he has to be musical for the Oratory, but deffo needs a varied "CV" (as in "interests are...."). We can do musical though, given enough notice !!

TBH my sister moved out of Richmond 6 years ago and the schools in west London are generally far better than the schools where she lives (middle class Bath surrounds) - think its now got to the point where even "rural" schools cannot be guarunteed to be decent

Watched a DVD this morning at work made by black kids in Harlesden (14 year old boys with guns) it was sooo poignant and depressing. Future Yardies them all