Primary school Choice Caledonian Road...eeek

[ilovedeadroses]

TBH I haven't got a clue, I didn't school in the UK and dwelling solely on Ofsted reports seems a little short sighted. We aren't religious and the only thing I do know is I don't want my little one going to Copenhagen. That's as far as I've got. 6 choices, my little brain is going to pop. I'm really feeling under pressure as most mum's say " mine is sooooo brillliant" but really he is. I don't want him to be frustrated and bored. Mumsnet mummies any advice

Where on Cally Road?

Thornhill is the only school that would be considered sought-after in that area, I think, but quite a small catchment.

Other options would be Hungerford, Brecknock, Robert Blair, Winton, Laycock, Vittoria (depending which end of Cally Rd you are). None of those are considered particularly sought-after, though, though possibly Laycock and Brecknock the best options.

There's also a new Academy school opening at Kings Cross www.kingscross.co.uk/kings-cross-academy which is shing and new but obviously untested. I'm slightly staggered that they got the go-ahead for that given that all the three most local schools (copenhagen, Vittoria, Winton) routinely have surplus places.

I don't know much about Thornhill but is popular and has a good reputation.
I know people with kids at Laycock and they're happy with it.

Dont write off Copenhagen.

There is a LOT of resource being put in by Islington.

nlondondad, do you know what the point is of the Kings X free school/academy given the surplus places in the area?

I'm one min away from Copenhagen, I know they have a new head but I'm not willing to test it out because of resources being put in, sorry. I want a culture of excellence and that for sure takes time, I have a real fear of the standards in English state schools. I guess we brought our flat on the wrong end

I don't mind a little travel to school...

The thing about travelling to school is that your willingness to travel may not be matched by the school's ability to offer you a place if you live outside a certain radius. And the schools that will offer you a place will be the ones with a larger catchment, ie. the less desirable ones.

You really just need to go and look round the all and see which ones you like the feel of. It is that low-tech, ultimately.

You can see the cut-off distances for each school over the past 5 years here:

www.islington.gov.uk/services/schools-learning/5-16/admissions/cut-off-distance-maps/Pages/default.aspx

Actually the standards in inner London state schools are by and large very good. I'm sure Copenhagen would be fine but I do understand that it's not one of the sought after ones.

You may get into Thornhill as it's been downgraded by Ofsted and doesn't currently have a permanent head (previous one was taken very seriously ill). From what I know of it, it's still a great school with excellent teaching but was downgraded for some health and safety issues and the fact that it was inspected soon after the head was taken ill. But these problems mean that the last distance offered will be larger.

I suspect the Kings Cross school will be good too as the head is great. AgonyBeetle, you were asking as to why it's been set up since there's a surplus of places. It's a Camden school rather than an Islington one and it's been set up due to the huge amount of housing going up around King's Cross and the forecasted need for more school places. I don't think it's one of those dodgy free schools, but rather than council actually doing some long-term sensible planning.