Ealing Primary Schools

[CurlyBoo]

Hi there,

DD is fast approaching the age when we need to start thinking about schools (too fast in my opinion!) but DH and I are feeling totally drowned by the whole thing.

We are in the catchment for Little Ealing but I have heard it is near impossible to get in unless you have a sibling there already. Plus I'm not sure I like the idea of no uniform.

Have been told we'll probably end up at the Grange but only heard bad things about this school??

We do go to CofE church occasionally and can step this up to regularly if Christ the Saviour is really as good as ofsted says.

But also considering sending her private, for the smaller class sizes if nothing else - although this will completely rinse us financially.

Anyone got any opinions about Grange, Little Ealing, Christ the Saviour or the local privates?

Thanks!

Hi, I'm interested in this too as DD will start reception in Sept next year. She's at nursery at the Grange, which is fine - it's really not a bad school - but we're wibbling about whether to send her there or to Christ the Saviour when she starts reception. We qualify, no question - me on PCC, DH choirmaster, been at our church since long before DD was born - and it's clearly academically a great school.

But. We went round it earlier this term, and I felt quite uncomfortable, as a liberal Anglican type, with the particular kind of church ethos. I was dying to ask how they square their statutory duties of equality and inclusion with the very traditional Anglo-Catholic church tradition they're in. The church they're associated with is affiliated to Forward in Faith (i.e. they don't recognise women's ordination). And it's a classic example of using faith as a means of selection by the back door: their Ofsted report puts them below average for free school meals, pupil premium, children with special needs and children whose first language isn't English.

The Grange, on the other hand, is clearly a proper community school and more inclusive and welcoming - but not as well-resourced as Christ the Saviour and not as academically successful.

So I don't know whether to go for inclusion and community feeling, and reckon we can fill in the academic gaps, or academic excellence but having to work hard on developing critical thinking and sit heavily on signs of prejudice.

If it helps, if we were in catchment for Little Ealing, we'd definitely send her there! I've only heard good things about it.

Hi CurlyBoo and DoBatsEatCats,

I'll tell you what I know and hope this can help you a bit.

I lived in Ealing since 2005. When we were new to the area I was looking for a Catholic church, and one Sunday as we passed near Christ the Saviour church we entered midway through the mass as we couldn't figure out from outside if it was an Anglican church or Catholic.
We attended the mass, and I concluded it must be Catholic.
Four months later after having been attending regularly, I was surprised to hear the announcement that one of the priests was getting married. That's when I realised it was Anglican, but as the priest explained to us, it is a High Church, so very traditional and close to how it used to be before the split between Catholic and Anglican.
When I also found out the St. Saviour's school was the one attached to my church, it was a happy coincidence as I had always thought it looked like a nice school every time I passed it on the street.

I had my first soon in 2009, put his name on the list for nursery and he got a place in 2012. Unfortunately by then we had already decided to move out of London as house prices drove us out.
My son attended their nursery until early this year. My brief experience with the school was lovely. The teacher was fantastic. My son made long lasting friendships in the brief time he was there. He looked forwad to going to school every day. The atmosphere and classroom were good. I had a parents evening were his teacher discussed with me all his progress, with examples and photos that supported the observations. The mothers were super friendly. The last day I was given a book with photos of my son playing with each of the children, and drawings and comments from them for my son as a farewell memento. I cannot say enough good things about my time in the school.

By the way, the church was great as well. We kept attending even after I realised it wasn't Catholic. There were lots of mixed families in our church, and in the school. They had a great Sunday school at the church, were always organizing events and there was a very community feeling. Not sure about how many children whose first language was not English, although my son was one of them, and was always treated equally and supported, both at church and at the school.

Anyway, I have heard Little Ealing is also great, and therefore very difficult to get into. The mother of one of my son's best friends was in a position of having to choose between Little Ealing and St Saviour, and felt that her son had a better chance to get a place at St Saviour due to the faith preference than the catchment area criteria if it had been Little Ealing.

And in regards to the Grange school, like everyone else, I have only heard bad comments about it, but not concrete examples of why people actually think it is bad. All the same, those who can avoid it always try.
Three of my son's friends from his other nursery didn't get accepted in their first choice school and got a place at the Grange. I recently spoke with one of the mums and her daughter is very happy at the Grange school and thriving. Only other thing I can say is that it is a very large school (4-entry form), but then again, St. Saviour recently became a 3-entry form and I think Little Ealing as well.

That is very different to our current experience where my son is, only 1-entry form!

Good luck with your school applications.

Thanks, that's really helpful. I do find it odd that people are so negative about Grange - DD seems to be having a nice time at the nursery.

I have only heard bad things about grange from people whose children don't go there. I have only heard good things from parents whose children do.it comes down to mainly snobbishness as the catchment isnt as relentlessly middle class as some other schools.

You need to visit schools. Much gossip derives from people who have never been to schools that they happily disparage.

A friends son did v well academically there so I doubt there will be gaps to plug.

Hi there,

We are about to choose between Christ the Saviour and North Ealing schools, any recent reviews or thoughts for either school would really help me.
Many thanks
Ada

Hi there, just saw your post from 2020, I am in the same position as yourself. Which school did you go with in the end?

I don’t know which to choose between Selbourne, North Ealing, Christ the saviour and at Joseph’s. Can anybody help? I have viewed all schools and still can’t come to w decision