Primary schools in Houghton Le Spring

[dollywashers]

Any opinions on primary schools in the Houghton Le Spring area? Applying now for September 2012.

Thank you.

I take it you're applying for reception, rather than nursery.

I haven't heard anything bad about any of them but I don't live round there, although I am in the same LEA. The only ones I know of are Bernard Gilpin, Gillas Lane and Eppleton on one side, and Barnwell on the other. Are you close to any of those?

Personally I would just go for the closest, and for back up work your way out in ease of getting to. Unless you have a requirement for breakfast club/after school club, which could restrict your options.

Sorry not to be able to be of any help.

Thanks. Yes, for Reception. Definitely wouldn't send my child to Bernard Gilpin or Gillas Lane. Thinking of St Michael's as first choice then looking further afield if necessary as not impressed with any others.

I'm just being nosy here, but what is the problem with Bernard Gilpin and Gillas Lane? They're pretty close together, aren't they, so I'm assuming they have a fairly similar intake. I've just checked their last Ofsteds - I said I was nosy! Interesting that BG has just had one and has been given a notice to improve, although it sounds like they now how have a team in place to make the necessary improvements. It says though that the EYFS and Year 1 are good, and you would hope that the improvements would be in place by the time your dc moved into Year 2.

My kids' school is one in our area that many parents close by look down on, and when my son started there in 2008 they had recently been given a notice to improve. In fact, there were (and probably still are) plenty of people whose attitude to our school was the same as yours towards BG and GL, hence my nosiness about what the problems with them are. However, our school is a lot better than those parents would probably be prepared to acknowledge. Not perfect obviously but really good. Ofsted were in the week before half term so I'm very much looking forward to finding out if they think it's as good as we parents do. :)

What I'm saying, in a roundabout way, is don't write off either BG or GL just because people whose kids go to other schools badmouth it, if that's the case. Of course, you may know people whose kids are there who advised you against it, which would be opinions actually worth taking into consideration. :)

Thank you. I have heard really bad reports about both. Not impressed with Gillas Lane when I looked round and really not that impressed with Ofsted from BG. Plus whenever I have passed BG at home time there are a load of parents smoking and swearing and whacking their kids. Not really the kind of people I want to be standing in the playground with everyday. Probably sounds a bit snobby but it's true.

LOL! Plenty of smoking and swearing amongst parents at our school too, but no whacking that I've ever noticed.

Seriously, the parents thing is possibly a bit of a red herring, I wouldn't let that put you off a school. However, not being impressed on a visit is fair enough. :)

Are you planning to visit any others?

Thanks for not calling me a snob!!! Yeah visiting St Michael's too. And Our Lady Queen of Peace in Penshaw. Heard good things so fingers crossed.

You're welcome. I find even the best of us sometimes have slight snobbish tendencies.

Won't Our Lady be a bit of a slog though?

Actually, daft but possibly useful tip. If you're planning on driving to a school check out the ones which have the vast majority of pupils walking to them. Will make the school run so much less stressful. LOL! I hear friends talk about the chaos that is the cars around their schools, even if they're walking themselves, yet I think it's terrible if I count more than a dozen cars at ours at pick up time.

Be interested to know what you think of St M and Our Lady after visits though. :)

Just a note: we are in Washington, and we applied on time, lived in walking distance of several schools (one parked it's school bus outside our house) and DD was still on eight waiting lists until just before the summer holidays started. Don't be surprised if that kind of thing happens again. I didn't think we had oversubscribed schools round here but apparently there was a baby boom.

Sixth: Blimey, that must have been stressful! How many schools are there closer to you than the one you got?

I know that dd's school had 8 on the waiting list at one point so I was very relieved that she got in on a sibling place! She started reception this year but thankfully ds was going into year 3 and it's a primary. :) It is our closest school so the only one we considered even for ds by the way, we weren't playing the system. :) I know that there are at least two people still on the waiting list who have kept their children in the nursery in the hope of a place becoming available.

My son has been to both Gillas Lane and Bernard Gilpin schools and I would say avoid Gillas Lane as it is a terrible school, my son has autism and the school refused to acknowledge this or offer any help, so my son's education slid. Also they kept telling him he was stupid and it was his fault he wasn't doing well, this was said in front of us.

We have moved him to Bernard Gilpin this september and he has already made huge amounts of progress. The pastoral care is brilliant, and my son comes home very happy each day. They have great comms with parents, and the new head is fantastic, he came from a simalar school that was also failing and brought them up to outstanding in only three years.

OMG yoshymum that's terrible! Liked St Michael's, not keen on the head at Our Lady Queen of Peace.

The head at Our Lady is a really lovely woman - you just have to get past her firm manner! I went to that school, my mother worked there under the head although years ago now. It really is a lovely school the teachers are great. A lot of my family went to St Michaels and thats also a nice school. Don't know if its too far away but I'm putting DD's name down at St Josephs in Murton (moved that way now) and also having contacts on the inside as old colleagues of my mam - have been assured it is a fantastic school the pastoral care is first rate and it is very small 17 kids in a year. St Josephs has a good rating from ofsted, and when I asked around about it I was told that schools in areas like ours where there are some good and some bad areas in the catchment the ofsted can be misleading.