Yerbury primary school

[jiii]

Hi,

We are looking at a flat in the catchment area of Yerbury primary school. Any thought on the school? Any comments very much appreciated!

Kill for a place!

It's a good school, but people get obsessed with it. Given that the catchment area consists mainly of houses in the £1M+ bracket, there would be something sorely wrong if they didn't get good results.

Tufnell Park primary and Grafton Primary also very good, with a much more mixed intake.

Thanks for your replies! Any ideas on the quality of teaching? Atmosphere?

Atmosphere: north london meeja boho liberal. No uniform, teachers called by their first names.

Teaching generally good, as far as I'm aware (but you'd expect it to be). But bear in mind that other schools are getting similar results with a much more mixed intake. Longstanding headteacher with strong opinions - things are done her way, and you either like it or you go elsewhere. I do know a few people who have voted with their feet midway through, though there are always other people waiting for places. You makes your choice, really.

If you look at the current league tables you will see that Yerbury is not always the highest-performing school, particularly when you look at percentage of pupils achieving the Level 5. Some of the schools that beat Y also have an advantaged intake (StJ Highbury Vale) but some really don't (St Joseph's, Grafton).

If you like the school and feel most comfortable surrounded by other N. London guardianistas, then go for it. But don't be duped by the hype into thinking that all other schools are holding pens for feral illiterates, cos that is certainly not the case. Whether it's worth paying several £100K extra for a house in the (very small) catchment, only you can decide.

The Head of Yerbury once remarked to me in conversation (notice the casual name dropping) that all Heads are control freaks otherwise they cannot survive. Experience subsequent to that over some years makes me think she is right.

So do go by what suits you.

Am married to one and would agree with this!

nlondondad, I think that's probably very true. Our outstanding school has such a headmistress. She terrifies me and I think she's amazing. It's opened my eyes to what it takes to run a successful school or a successful anything really. Steely determination and obsession!

If she didn't bring the force of personality that she does it wouldn't be the school that it is. Love it or hate it, it does the job.

It was on our list and we didn't get in - so I obviously don't have first-hand knowledge. But I heard that they are going to have a major change there so be aware that it may not all stay the same!

The Head Teacher is leaving next year, so it could all change.
In my opinion Grafton, Tufnell Park or Gillespie are much better & more diverse.
Grafton is my first choice & that of my friends who are filling out the forms for next year.

I had not heard that Mary Gibson is leaving next year, but if this is true, and its known now, well then she is leaving good time for the Governors to appoint a replacement.

And good, well regarded Heads do get replaced ...with good well regarded Heads! Been known to happen.

The results achieved by Yerbury are very skewed by the fact that a very large number of the children go to tutors from quite early on. Many children also go on to private or selective schools out of the area rather than to the local secondary schools. It is very white and very middle class and cliquey. If this is your cup of tea then you'll love it.

I disagree that 'a large number' are tutored from early on. I'd say about a quarter are from Year 5, but very few before, as far as I could tell, so that would only skew results in the Year 6 Sats. I do think the school is overhyped, but it's friendly and has been well (if rigidly) run. But change is afoot, so the jury remains out for now!

Actually Indiabelle, if as many as a quarter (strewth!) of children are tutored from year five, then that is a vastly higher proportion than usual, and would be bound to feed through into year 6 sats, which as they drive league tables, and it seems in the near future, determine how often OfSted inspects, are very important for a school particularly because parents in large number get the significance of the league table and SATs scores wrong.

The league table tells you something, but not much. The overall SATs score tells you something but you need to have the local context to interpret. (Like knowing there is a lot of tutoring) Detailed assessments inside the school for all years are a crucial management tool for the Head and Governing Body to use.

BUT

While this data is relevant to judging what the overall performance is like, it tells you very little indeed about how your own child will perform!

Also the two questions that surely we should all ask is:

Is our Child happy?

Are they learning?

(Are these questions in the right order? Discuss.)

So.

USE ALL THE DATA.

I had a terrible experience in Yerbury school. My children was often bullied, I was told by Headmistress to go back live where I come from. I tried to build good communications with school staff (I even did a few music workshops there voluntarily) and parents. I was bringing children on my own and had a difficult neighbor who played loud music often. At some point I had a break downs but recovered quickly. At one point I confronted head mistress about school dinner. Short afterwards she called my ex partner and contacted social services. They put report saying that I am mentally ill and unfit to look after my children. Since 2008 my kids live with my ex partner. I have a contact with my children on regular basis. But this story traumatized me and my children and ruined my reputations as a good music teacher in the area.