Any outstanding state primary schools in Islington-Finsbury Park?

[MamiLove]

Hi! We have the opportunity to move to a fantastic new flat in N7, between Finsbury Park and Holloway Rd., but I'm worried about the schools there... Any insights? DD will enter next year. State schools, please.

Thornhill.

It's between Angel and Highbury & Islington. You'd need to check you're ok for the catchment area but I think you ought to be.

The recent Ofsted inspection rated them good with outstanding features. DD started there in year 4 last September, & absolutely loves it - so do we! She comes out every day bubbling over with everything she's done. This term they've been working with an artist & poet, they're growing potatoes for school lunch, she & two friends are starting a lunchtime art club for the younger kids...

The head, Mr Chappel, is just as enthusiastic about the place as DD if not more - visible & approachable in the playground every morning, comes to all the events, hosts twice-termly drop-in coffee mornings. They also have weekly tours of the school that anyone can go on.

Honestly... can't praise the place enough!

That sounds great! I'm just worries about secundary schools also, there seem to be no good ones in the area (only faith schools, we're not keen on those).

Dreading that... we're thinking about Elizabeth Garrett Anderson.

By the way, Islington schools provide free lunches . DD's only complaint about the place is the cook's liking for mushy peas. Our only complaint is that they lend all the junior kids musical instruments & we've been threatened that next term she might be learning trumpet. Or even worse, trombone.

I'd second Thornhill with enthusiasm but with caveat that you may not get in as I think the catchment has shrunk due to lots of people who would have applied to Canonbury (in special measures) now opting for or moving to Thornhill. Certainly in previous years you'd have had no problem as so many people in Barnsbury go private. Saying that, there is so much movement in an inner city area that if you don't get into your chosen school first time you may get in soon after.
The one near you that is considered the holy grail is Yerbury but that really does have a catchment of centimetres (plus I've heard that it's quite inflexible in its approach to education).
As for secondary, the advantage of Islington being so slagged off for years means they've received bonkers amount of investment. Mary Mags academy on Liverpool road being favoured, plus Highbury Grove has outstanding ofsted and groundswell of support from parents who might have otherwise moved to somewhere like muswell hill for secondary.

I've heard Highbury Grove's improved a lot & several of DD's friends are going to Mary Mags. Yes, Canonbury, the school Boris Johnson's kids go to... who'd have thought it???

Boris Johnson's kids went to. Now they're all private. Bloody politicians...

By the way Rafi, how come your daughter only started in Y4? Were you coming from a different area or did you move from a different school in Islington?

We moved from a different school in Islington - won't name names but we weren't very happy with it. We wish now that we'd sent her to Thornhill years ago.

Won't ask you any more questions for fear of outing you! Or me for that matter. Really pleased to hear how much you like the school as it chimes with what I feel though I don't have anything to compare it to as you do. I could never understand why it wasn't "better" on paper and oversubscribed as it just seems to have a perfect mix of everything - pupils, approaches, attitudes.

Yes - I won't ask which year your DCs are in! Attitudes especially I think. They encourage the kids to think for themselves, from everything we've heard they go to a lot of trouble to make the work really interesting & unlike DD's last school, you don't get rewarded merely for not hitting the teachers

Any views on St John's Highbury Vale?

Meant to be good I think but no personal experience.

Very very oversubscribed. In my friend's child's reception year, the entry was all siblings so even those that ran the church playgroup etc didn't get in. Sure it's great, but probably doesn't have to try very hard given the intake.