Is there a shortage of school places in Highgate, Archway, Crouch End area?

[nlondondad]

I was wondering if anyone was experiencing difficulty in getting a place for their child in this area of N. London? Postal codes N19, N8, N6 are relevant?

I have gone back and checked the email I got from Islington in response to my query regarding extra places NEXT year and the relevant bit is this

"We are planning to permanently restore places permanently at Ambler and Hargrave Park (this year's are bulge classes)"

So its true the final decision has not been made. As Islington have said they will only increase places with the agreement of the school, that will mean that a proposal to increase Hargrave Park for next year will need the consent of Hargrave's Governors. An example of why Governors matter. In practice Governors will be strongly persuaded by the opinion of the Head, and the Head will not recommend an increase without being certain that she can put the correct arrangements in place. Which will include negotiations regarding the amount of money Islington put in.

And also my understanding regarding a final decision is that it will not be made until after there is some ide as to what applications actually look like. As there are eight vacancies this year if there were six children fewer next year, then an increase would not be needed. (Camden have just revised down their forecast for next year in that bit of Camden nearest Hargrave Park.)

Further to my last post - the one just above PaperMover's last -I got back to Islington for some further clarification and I got it, there are really two parts to it.

I will do them as two seperate posts following.

This is what islington had to say about places increases:

"The strategy for September 2014 admissions is to make permanent the (previous bulge class) increases at Ambler and Hargrave Park. This has been confirmed in the primary admission brochure as 'subject to formal confirmation in February 2014'."

My Comment:

So this is actually as strong as it (legally) the decision has been made subject to a purely formal ratification -for example the next meeting of Schools Forum is not until early 2014

Islington say:

Christ the King has also increased its roll and this, too, is confirmed in the brochure.

My Comment

This matters because it is a Church School on the southern edge of the area, and some people will go there for religious reasons who would otherwise have gone to a community school, so it increases capacity.

Thefurther point from islington is on places supply throughout the Borough.

"The strategy for September 2014 admissions is to make permanent the (previous bulge class) increases at Ambler and Hargrave Park. This has been confirmed in the primary admission brochure as 'subject to formal confirmation in February 2014'.

We have over 90 vacancies at present in reception and at this point, we are not planning any bulge classes for next year but cannot rule it out."

Hargrave Park is a brilliant school. Fantastic head teacher and superb staff.

Interested to see that this thread has been revived. The answer to my original question, repeated in the title of this thread, seems so far as this year 2014 is concerned to be "no" there do not appear to be anycases of people living in this area without places within a reasonable distance. Or is there anyone out there who knows different?

Funny. I was just thinking about this thread tonight because a leaflet came through our door (we live in London N8 - so the Haringey side of Crouch End) referring to a public consultation about the proposed expansion of three Haringey schools in the Muswell Hill, Crouch End and Bounds Green areas. You can read all about it on the Haringey website. I know that this is slightly north of the area you are talking about, but only very slightly. The projected figures for the number of Haringey children without primary places in the coming years makes for sobering reading. Maybe Islington is still doing OK but a few streets over the border it looks quite worrying.

@nlondondad

I think things have moved on since you originally posted this thread. It may have escaped your notice but this year, in the area you describe, Hargrave Park ran another bulge class and a new 2 form entry school was built and all but a handful of these places have been taken.

As such I think a more correct answer than "no" is probably "yes" there was a shortage of about 65 places but thankfully these have been covered by the much needed new school.

@ ThenewBrown

I am afraid that how you can say that there is a current surplus of places in the area in 2014, (on what do you base this by the way? Do you have some figures?) and THEN it seems conclude from this that there is a current shortage of places defeats me. Or am I missing something?

@scriptbunny

Thank you for a most useful post: the Haringey detailed places report is really interesting, I confess I have not digested it yet.

Does anyone know if Islington have done anything similar yet?

@nlondondad

I think you may be getting a little confused.

You started this thread in April 2013 asking if there was a shortage of primary school places in the area. By Oct 2013 it turned out their had been a shortage of about 70 places for the September 2013 intake but that this shortfall had been mopped up by Islington providing 80 additional places in bulge classes.

Skip forward to 2014 and a similar sized shortage existed this year but this time the shortage had been mopped up by another bulge class at Hargrave Park and the building of a new 2 form entry school.

Now that Whitehall Park School has filled the black hole left by Ashmount moving to Crouch Hill there hopefully won't be a shortage (or the need to run universally disliked bulge classes) in the area for at least a few more years.

FACT: All schools which would be considered local to Whitehall Park are full /have waiting lists (even where bulge classes have been introduced) - ie Coleridge, Ashmount, Hargrave Park, Duncombe, St Michaels

So this would suggest that without Whitehall Park School there would be a significant shortfall.