Moving to Dulwich / Herne Hill with 5 year old son

[Montywaite]

Hi there

My husband is relocating to Kings Hospital for work and so we will be moving to Herne Hill, from Oxford, next summer.

Our son is very settled at our local state primary here in Oxford and so we worry about moving him at year 2 entry point. We have him registered for DPS and Ducks (my husband is a DPS and DC old boy) And looking at local states over next few months to maximize possibilities, givenn that there may be limited spaces at this entry point.

Does anyone have any advice for a concerned mum, worried about how her son will settle in the area? We know Herne Hill/Dulwich well (Grandparents in the area) but would love to hear ideas/advice about how to plug our son into the local kids scene so that he doesn't feel too traumatised by the move! sad

He enjoys tennis/swimming/rugby/music and loves his current school.

Any advice gratefully received!

Thanks in advance!!

Rugby Tots at DC at the weekends.
Camberwell Choir School on Sat mornings.
Tennis in Ruskin Park.
Swimming all over the place - Camberwell, Peckham Pulse, JAGS, Brockwell Park if you're brave.
If he likes sports, try him on a few days at Holiday Drop Off at DC next summer.
He'll be fine! It's a lovely area for kids.

Come and hang out in Sunday Gardens!

Oops. I mean Sunray Gardens. On a Sunday. Or a Saturday.

Thanks so much! I'll look into all those. Love the idea of Rugbytots at DC on the weekends :-)

Sunray gardens looks beautiful - we've not been there before.

Really hope he settles well - it does seem like such a lovely area for families.

I played cricket at Dulwich cc for years from age 6. (I went to DC too and was cricket mad from the first time I picked up a bat!). They’re doing pre season for adults now, the juniors won’t be far behind. Great club, spent some amazing summers there as a kid.

Great! Thanks so, so much!

I really wouldn't worry too much about your ds there are sooo many kids here / activities for every sort of child. Our outstanding state school on west dulwich / herne hill border had 2 spaces into year 1 due to families leaving the area and 1 space during the year. All filled immediately but don't think it is unusual as most schools are large - though no guarantees. You might need to get as close as possible to your target school/s and persist over the summer. Your private options are excellent too of course.

I live in DV and my youngest starts in ducks in September. The local primary school namely the infant school is excellent although not sure what movement they have during the years and you would have to be quite close. There are plenty of activities to do from local cricket, my DS is at Alleyns CC, Old Alleynians Rugby and also plays football. Plenty of swimming. There are a number of tennis clubs too,at least three I know of around Dulwich and Herne Hill.

This is so very helpful, thank you.

I'm already feeling a little less terrified at the prospect of moving next summer. I suppose it's relatively easy to meet parents through school? I have a nice support network of fiends here and will be sad to leave them. The family community in and around the Herne Hill/Dulwich area seems very friendly though! We hope to move to Ruskin Walk.

I think we would love our son to go to DPS if we're lucky enough to get a space - anywhere else (i.e Ducks and Infant...) and, unless I'm mistaken, he'd have to apply/move to a new school after a year (year 3/7+) which in my eyes isn't ideal for us, given that he would have just moved the year before from Oxford (Ducks does sound so lovely though!)

Thank you so much for all your advice!

Montywaite yes for Ducks you are their until year 2. They are very clear that their role is to prep for 7+. Ducks has a long waiting list and we put our DS down aged 3 mths and he has only now got a place in September and he will be turning 4. DPS is a good choice but quite competitive. You have also got Alleyns, Oakfield and Rosemead too. Good Luck with it all

Thank you!

Just a word about the rugby options.

My sons did a couple of terms at Rugbytots. It's ok, although generally staffed by a younger crowd who sometimes don't realise the limitations of children (focus, competitiveness etc). But the big problem for us - and this is not about the classes per se - is that DC rents out the other side of the hall pretty much every weekend to a go-karts party company. It's incredibly loud and is also accompanied by loud pop music. It would probably be better in the summer when they hold the classes outside.

OA rugby (according to parents in my street) is more 'serious' - lots of rugger-bugger dad types (and I mean that nicely, one of my friends is a coach there) and they are outdoors all year round.

ghislane your right about rugby. There are a number of kiddie clubs but they are a bit of fun. OAs is a Rugby Club and kids start in yr 1 and stay until after 18. My OH is a coach too and had our DS at one of those kiddie rugby things before he started and he didn't have a clue once he started 'proper' rugby.