North London Schools - Duncombe or Highgate Primary

[shen84]

Hi all,

I'm starting this thread today for some advice and different perspectives regarding the following predicament.

My children have recently come to live with me full-time due to personal circumstances. As such, I applied to a number of different schools in the area with help from our local Labour MP through urgent priority referrals.

My eldest son is due to start reception this September. Initially we were only offered one school however now it seems I have the option of three. The first was Pooles Park which we have decided against due to the fact it is the lesser of the three.

The other two schools are Duncombe primary and Highgate Primary. The main benefit of Duncombe is that it is literally less than minutes away from where we live. The downside as I see it is that it used to have a terrible reputation, I know this is improving and I know that it does attain quite good results these days. However it also attracts the poorest sectors in the area.

The plus side regarding Highgate primary is that my brother attended the school and had a wonderful time there, it certainly is a decent school and has a nice and pleasant environment to it with high standards in education. The main problem is simply that it is harder to get to. I do drive however to get there every day would mean going through Archway, which can get incredibly busy especially heading further up towards Highgate.

I'm really unsure of what to do. Our first choice was Coleridge primary school, this is due to the fact that my mother and uncle attended the school, my brother and I attended and it would nice to be see a third-generation go to the same school. Nonetheless a place has not been offered there. So I'm torn between Duncombe and Highgate primary.

I suppose what it comes down to is this, would you prefer to send your child to middle-class or a working class school? We have both sides of the coin in our family.

Duncombe would certainly be easier, but Highgate primary does seem to produce better results. That being said, Duncombe isn't that far behind. The teachers seem to be dedicated, and give extra effort in attempts to give the children the best possible start.

But social groups do have a big impact on a child's development as well. For a lot of the children at Duncombe, their elder brothers and sisters will be wearing hoodies, speaking slang and smoking weed from their early teenage years if not younger. Whereas Highgate primary is likely to attract more of a middle-class interest, whereby the children's older siblings are more likely to be in good secondary schools, or studying for university or working respectable positions etc.

I don't mean to sound like a snob, but I'm really not sure what to do. In all honesty, I can't stand those who think they're better than others but at the same time I can't stand the Jeremy Kyle lot. I know there are shades of grey and it's not as simple as that, but studies have shown that those from middle class backgrounds tend to do better in life.

Don't get me wrong, we're not particularly well off at this moment in time. In fact, we represent one of the poorer elements in this borough. I know full well what it's like to grow up in this area, in both the nice and grubby parts, do you understand what I'm trying to articulate? (ya get me like?) it's not a question of snobbery, it's a question of serious contemplation regarding the best atmosphere and environment for my children.

There really is no right or wrong answer here, but I really am interested in other people's perspective on the matter.

Duncombe has good reviews online, but many of them contain spelling mistakes which isn't the best of signs when it comes to choosing a good school. highgate primary has a very good reputation, but is hard to get to and may have implications regarding my children's social life.

What would you do?

[TheNewBrown]

@Nlondondad

Personally, I am not trying to fill any places at the school. At the last count I think there are 50ish children out of a maximum of 56 (didn't you go on record saying they would struggle to reach double figures?) From a purely selfish view I would be quite happy for my child to be taught in a class of 25. I was just trying to be helpful to the OP by pointing out that she has a 3rd choice of school she should look into before she made her decision.

[nlondondad]

Cartoon in the Guardian here:

www.theguardian.com/education/cartoon/2014/jul/07/ros-asquith-lines-free-schools-supply-demand-surplus-places

[sallywinter]

I would hope that even if this poster is a governor at another nearby school (do not like the possibility of outing here) then their interest in this issue is community-wide, not just school based. It would be a mistake to pit two schools against each other when the staff and parents at both may be amenable to co-operation and collaboration, based on one view on an internet forum.

[nlondondad]

@Sallywinter

Not the least worst aspect of Whitehall Park School is that the proposal, in itself, "pits" that school against ALL the other schools in Islington.

This because the schools budget for the other schools is affected. The point is well explained in a post on the "Local Schools Network" blog from which I quote:


www.localschoolsnetwork.org.uk/2013/10/islington-free-school-a-solution-in-search-of-a-problem/

"This Free School will mean less money to invest in Islington’s schools. Across the Borough, we stand to lose £3M which the council was going to use for school repairs. That means windows, roofs and other basic improvements."

[sallywinter]

Thanks for drawing my attention to your response. This information shows that all Islington schools should be invested in this debate, not least because as Ashmount is a new build the "repairs" budget was presumably not going their way anyway. To this end, it would have been helpful for other Islington schools to have been involved in the debates that have gone on.

[nlondondad]

@sallwinter

You are quite right that so far as the 3 million pounds being taken out of Islington's schools repairs budget for the benefit of Whitehall Park School is concerned Ashmount School, as a new build, is actually the only Islington School not directly affected. Or at least it ought not to be, unless there is something wrong with the new build!

Given that it is not surprising that other Islington Schools have been involved. For example the hot link I put in my response to you is to a posting written by the Chair of Governors at Highbury Grove; the Head of Duncombe School spoke at a public meeting to oppose the Whitehall Park School, and the Islington Schools' Forum, a statutory body (All LA's are required by the Government to have a Forum) and consisting of representatives of all Islington schools, unanimously opposed the Whitehall Park School and wrote to the Minister to that effect. It was also opposed by the Council and by our local MP.

This is by no means the only case in the country in which well based local opinion has been ignored in this way, and it has led to a number of very expensive Free School failures.

[nlondondad]

Actually there has been an announcement today which throws the whole matter of what form the Whitehall Park School, and how it will make use of the old Ashmount site rather up in the air. The "Ashmount site action group" have posted on their web site today that they are going to take the Education Funding Agency to Judicial Review as they object to the new school sharing its site with council Housing as is currrently proposed.

ASAG think the school should have the full site, with no housing provision.

However this must surely throw doubt on the timetable for this project.
if I were a parent I would be really concerned about what happens in Autumn 2015 if there is no building to move to.

[Cbygrave]

Hi Parents,

Please could anyone share their recent experience of Dunscombe Primary School?

I would be really grateful to hear first hand from parents what they think of the school.

Thank you in advance

[KM87]

Me son went to Duncumbe school and iz doing ok. Hes bro iz there n doing nice. nice set of teachs