Balgowan Primary - Beckenham

[waxweasel]

This is a bit of a long shot, but wondering whether anyone might have some info. I've also posted in local - not sure which is best.

I'm about to move to Beckenham with DH and our nearly 2yo DD. Really love the area, and am so excited about moving smile We're aiming to move into the Balgowan catchment. We're also looking around Alexandra infants and Marian Vian, but Balgowan is our top choice as it also works well for us in terms of commuter transport links etc.

We've seen two houses we absolutely loved. Looking at the admissions stats for the last few years, one of the houses would have been reliably in the catchment each year, the other would have just missed out in 2013. I know you can never be 100% sure of what will happen and can't rely on past years as a firm indication, but we really don't want to relocate and risk not being in the catchment - especially as we're in the catchment of a really excellent school where we are now.

I can see that 2013 was a ridiculously tight year, and that they added an extra class in 2014 so the catchment area dramatically broadened that year, with 120 places. In 2015 it's 90 places. So my questions are...

1), is 90 places (3 classes) the normal number of classes for the reception year in Balgowan?
2) does anyone know what is being planned for future years? Are they planning to add another class like they did in 2014?
3) does anyone know where kids generally go who miss out on Balgowan? I honestly can't see where they'd go, as the next nearest schools (ie Marian Vian, Alexandra infants, Churchfields) also have tiny catchments which they wouldn't be close enough to get into.

Sorry for the lengthy post...anything you might be able to tell me would be brilliant. Thanks in advance!

We love Beckenham.

In terms of Balgowan, they had a bulge class last year, and they will NOT be having a bulge class this year, or next year. They don't have space (arguably they didn't have space for the one they did take). That means that the catchment area for the next couple of years is likely to shrink. The extra 30 children will result in extra siblings. As such, if you were aiming for Balgowan, if I was you I would make sure that you comfortably closer than their smallest catchment (0.18 miles). Most of the friends that I have have children with an age gap of 2 years. That means that the catchment two years after the bulge (2016-17) is potentially going to be the smallest. That being said, the Harris Beckenham primary school should be opening this year (2015), and that might help a little.

In the 2013 year, when the catchment was 0.18, the children who missed Balgowan went to Churchfields or Bromley Road (if they had put it down), or to an extra bulge class at Worsley Bridge (if they didn't have anything down).

Move onto the doorstep of the school. It is the safest way of being sure.

Hope that helps!

Although given that your DD is nearly two, you may miss the very likely bulge class catchment shrink effect!

Hi itshouldntmatter, thank you so much for such a helpful response! Really gave us a lot of things to consider. DD is 21 months so will be Sept 2017 entry, so could just miss the siblings of the bulge class, or still be just caught by them. And the Harris primary opening is a good point that I hadn't considered - it gives us another option if we don't get in. Harris are usually good, and it would be a couple of years in by then so will probably have an Ofsted under its belt.

Another thing I found out in my research is that Clare House is apparently expanding from one form entry to three from this/next year. Obv too far for us, but may influence some people's choices about which side of Beckenham to move to and help out with the overall pressure on places across the town as a whole.

Basically we decided it's too complex to try to accurately predict that far ahead as there are too many conflicting variables. And it only takes a big sibling year with a few twins to throw things out! So we chose the house we loved, which is slightly further but still in the catchment for the tightest year at 0.17 miles. We'd ummed and ahhed over a slightly closer but not as nice house, but figured that we could still be out of catchment when the time came and would massively resent it if we'd chosen a house we didnt like that much purely to get in! So decision made, and your information was so, so helpful. Thank you.

Sounds like a solid plan. A house you like is crucial. And who ever knows about catchments. Welcome to the area in advance :)

Thank you!

I have absolutely no idea of how it is now, but I did part of my teacher training at Balgawon! Such a lovely school and area, I have such fond memories of it and the children

We've lived close enough to Balgowan for eight years to be able to hear the children in the playground and to be driven demented by drop off and pick up traffic and guess what year DD1 is due to be going? Yup. 2016. We're less than 0.18 from the right side of the campus so hopeful, but none of the other local options appeal

The school has had some ups and downs over the last few years I think, particularly with staff/parent relations. Will be interesting to see what happens when the new Head starts. General local consensus seems to be that's no bad thing.

It is a great area OP - hope you'll be very happy here!

Hi proceeding, lovely to come across such a close neighbour! The catchments are so frustrating aren't they? It's absolutely insane that people have to spend years stressing over 10 or 20 metres...I'll have my fingers crossed for you in 2016. The new Harris primary might ease some of the pressure, and you can just never predict it...you might well get lucky. I really hope so.
Out of interest, when you say the right side of the campus, do you mean the Balgowan road side? I'd not really figured that out tbh.
Anyway, thanks for posting - maybe I'll come across you and your daughter in the playground at some point :) if you see a sleep deprived woman with a tantrumming toddler in full Frozen garb, do say hello!

Waxweasel I'll be the other harrassed looking mother trying to chase around after two of the blighters!! We may well see you around!

Yes, I do mean the Balgowan side - that's where they measure to.

Beckenham is horribly underserved - I'm hoping not only the Harris but also the new Langley school will help. I'm not wild about Harris schools.....their philosophy doesn't appeal somehow.