Outstanding schools in Surrey and Hampshire

[onthemoveyetagain]

Hi there,

I am wishing to place an application for juniors for this September - know my chances are extremely slim as we are out of the country, but hey!!!

Can anyone tell me which primary schools in Hampshire and Surrey are known for being really lovely, really happy and successful schools - the kind we have no chance of getting into, another words : )

Nothing wrong with having a bash - especially where your lovely children are concerned.

Thanks everyone - you mumsnetters have been a godsend for me in the past : ))

Surely you are not only out of the country but now late with your application? What is the point of your application? Are you moving back to the UK and actually need a place or are your just applying for the hell of it? Can you fulfil the requirements for a church school or do you need recommendations for non-faith schools?

Don't you want to know what the schools around these gems are like, too, before you plan on moving there? I'd rather move to an area with lots of good schools than one with one outstanding school and a cluster of poorly performing ones which my children might end up at instead.

Agree with rabbitstew, choose an area where all the schools are consistently good rather than where there is one great school where if you arrive mid year you have no chance of getting in. I live Surrey / Hants borders and I would say the nearest places where this applies are Fleet and Wokingham.

annh - no, I am not that sad! Yes, we do need a place - much nicer things to do than apply for the hell of it. Bad timing but hubby finishes at the end of August! It would therefore be wonderful if we were able to get ds and dd into a school for September. I know they will definitely be offered a place somewhere but I am keen to do whatever I can to get a really nice school for them (as all us mums are). No, we wouldn't have any priority for a church school. I agree, you are right, it would be a good idea to home in on good areas rather than good schools. So I guess some good bets would be around Guildford way, around Winchester way, around Fleet as suggested by Vicky (thanks). Any particular schools suggestions around here and any other areas. I am wanting to apply as there is nothing to lose and only something to gain.

Most of Hampshire has good schools - lots of fab comps in the leafy areas and their feeders are good because of the clustering system

We're in Fleet. All the juniors have a good reputation, some have very limited catchments though (maybe no more than a mile radius) so be very careful where you would need to live.
Also the 2 secondary schools are good but the area is undergoing so much development it's hard to see how they are going to cope without building another school - which obv they have no plans to do .
They may actually be building a new school (primary?) on one of the new developments.

Thanks for all your help. I think we have narrowed it down to Waverley Abbey in Farnham, Pewley Down in Guildford and Eastwick Primary in Bookham - for Surrey.

For Hampshire we are looking at Sun Hill, Ropley and Four Marks. Does anyone know anything about these three junior schools - not sure which to choose - Ropley or Four Marks.

Any advice from anyone in the know would be more than appreciated.

Thanks so much.

where do they feed into?
junior school is only for 4 years after all ....

Closing date for applications is TODAY, OP, you need to get a wriggle on.

Surrey that is, not sure re Hants.

It's all very well narrowing it down to one particular school but you don't even live in the country yet and you have missed the closing date for applying (well in Surrey I think it's actually today but I don't know how you will fare online when they ask you for your council tax details for the form?).

If you manage to buy a house in catchment for one of those schools, you will be treated as a late applicant and may well end up not getting a place at the school. If you like the ethos of those schools, you can bet many other people do too and they are probably over-subscribed with on-time applicants. So you need to look a bit more broadly. If you do not get into your desired school, what are you going to do? Are any of these areas generally good for schools? Will there be other options that you are happy with where you have a chance of being offered a place or are you going to end up in an area with huge pressure on places, being offered a poor school miles away?

Same for Hants bruxeur but normal application procedures won't apply to OP as she's not resident in the county and has no Hants address to apply from.

The OP doesn't say what year group she'll be applying to, but she can do an out-of-rounds admission at any point in the academic year once she has an address in the county.

Have you looked at the furthest distance places were offered to last year ? Chances of getting into even a moderately popular, oversubscribed school wth no local address and no other priority are very slim. Surely it would be better to do a late application when you arrive, then appealing if needs be ?

Just had a look at a few of those schools, Pewley Down has a supplementary form which also needs to be submitted TODAY, Four Marks is a church school which requires evidence of practice in the parish - I really think you are doing this backwards! I've also had a look at some of your previous posts and realised you have several children - I think you are actually looking at 3 school places or am I wrong?!

waverley abbey in Farnham is v. nice, but you will struggle to get in as there are feeder areas and schools - you will need to be in the catchment area to stand any chance of getting in. Try also South Farnham if you are moving to this part of the word. Other schools in Farnham area are mostly good, but all are oversubscribed.

Firstly you need a UK address before you can apply for any school. The council will tell you that you can't apply until you have a firm address.

I would warn you in Guildford there is very little movement and its very hard to get a school place outside the normal entry. I've had friends wait 2/3 years for a place and then give up trying to move their child to their first choice.

Farnham schools also very oversubcribed try some of the outlying villages - Frensham and Tilford for schools though.

Live as close to a school as possible do not rely on catchment areas. There is a severe shortage of primary school places in Surrey and it is set to worsen.