Primary schools in Camden Town/Primrose Hill area

[newlons4]

Hello Mumsnet!
We are a family of four moving to London from NYC next month. We've decided to live in the Camden/Primrose Hill area having previously spent time in London, but we don't know too much about the schools. Our DDs (ages 4 and 6) will be going into Reception and Year 3. Our top choices at this point are Primrose Primary (state) and Cavendish (Independent Catholic), as both seem like nice schools within walking distance. Can anyone share up-to-date insights on either school?

Our older daughter has attended an academically rigorous public (state) school in NYC, which is rich in diversity and full of great kids, but deprived in arts, sports, and other enrichment. We would like to strike more of an enrichment/academic balance going forward. We're also looking for warmth and nurture, and yet willing to set high academic standards early on (and by early I mean by year 2).

Any thoughts on these two schools (or any others!) would be so appreciated! We feel so far away and yet want to feel comfortable with our decisions (or, conversely, start planning our escape route to another area). Thank you!

Year 2. They are 7-8 in year 3. I used to know the former head of Primrose. You won't get in there on short notice I am afraid. If you can afford private best to do it for at least a year and go on waiting lists.

Thank you, poppy70! I appreciate the insight and think you're right.

If you move close enough, and a place becomes available, you're in as good a position as people who have lived in the area longer – waiting lists are organised by admissions criteria, not by length of time on waiting list. You can't apply for a place until you have an address, so I would identify the school you like and move as close as you can to it.

Oh, and I would add St Pauls primary school to your list – I know a lot of parents very happy with it.

Hi, thank you lostintoys.

We had learned of admissions criteria and secured a flat very close (.16 mi away), so we have already applied to Camden schools (with St Paul's second choice). But when we talked to the Camden schools about our older daughter's chances of getting in they said going into Year 3 was tough because there is very little movement at that stage and Hawley's Infant graduates have priority as they are also needing primary school spots. (Our daughter is turning 7 in August so will be going into year 3.)

This is what led us to independents (we are typically non-independent types and we are not religious and have no Catholic backgrounds), and we found Cavendish which seems sweet. We just don't have any "user reviews" on either school (a little more on mumsnet about Cavendish, but nothing on Primrose), so would love to have an insider's view on either school. Perhaps when parents are already involved in their schools they don't come back to mumsnet to review them, which is understandable.

At any rate, thanks so much again for the replies and good advice. This is a bit of a lonely process and we have no idea what to expect, so good to feel connected to people this way.

Hi Newlons4
Hope all went well with your move! Curious to hear what you decided. We're in a very similar position - currently in NYC, planning on moving back to London next year and thinking about Primrose Hill area. My daughter will be going into year 1 in Sept - and I'm just starting to research schools. I do know state seems unlikely given we've missed reception so we've accepted we may need to do private for at least a year until a spot might become available. Any insight would be much appreciated!! Thanks in advance.

Hi JJMCLU,
Thanks for asking! (I am newlons4- something went awry when changing my password).

All went well with the move and we love the neighborhood. Our younger daughter got into Reception at Primrose Hill Primary last week, but our older daughter still hasn't and we don't know the likelihood of getting a spot. But we've toured and were very impressed with the school, and we've spoken with admissions multiple times, as well as the headmaster who was really clear and knowledgable. (BTW our older daughter was at one of the citywide G&Ts in Mhtn and I can say that we're amazed at how many resources Primrose Hill has compared to where we've come from!)

In the interim, our daughters started at Cavendish and we are really happy there. We're delighted with the warmth of the administration and all the parents, and we feel the smaller class size (reception has 14 kids, year 3 18 kids) and perhaps higher academic standards (even if only slightly- hard to tell) are difficult to leave now that we've started. We also feel more "invested" given that we've signed up for after school clubs and gotten all the uniforms and our girls love their new teachers and friends. So, we've JUST decided that we will stay at Cavendish and give up our reception spot at Primrose Hill tomorrow morning.

We are uncertain whether we'll feel this was the right thing to do in the long run, but under the circumstances we feel it is the best thing to do right now. It seems strange to abandon our public school conviction so early in our girls' educations, but at the very least we are sure we'll not regret their academic experience at Cavendish. A very lovely school. Please feel free to message me with any further questions, and good luck! :)

Also, FYI, there are about 4-5 more weeks of holiday at Cavendish than the state schools. This was something we hadn't realized or even considered being an issue until we were already committed, so something big to consider. It's about 18 weeks of holiday at Cavendish per calendar year! Yikes.

In my experience people do "bond" with schools very quickly - provided the school OK. And what you have just written, OP reflects that. Best of luck.