Brookfield Primary School in Dartmouth Park??

[ktallantmeier]

Hi all,

We are moving into the catchment for Brookfield Primary School and have a 2 year old, and so starting to do research on which primary schools and nurseries would be best for her. I've seen mixed reviews of the school, but it's just a block away from our new house. Can anyone who knows the school share their thoughts and/or recommend other primary schools in the neighborhood you'd recommend?

Thank you!

We don't live in the area any more, and my dc are past primary age, but Brookfield has always been a popular option.

Look at Highgate Primary as well, that's a lovely school.

It was always just outside of our catchment area, so never considered, but has always had an excellent reputation locally and with parents I know who have sent their kids there, and that definitely exists to today! All parents I know that have had kids there have been very content.

If that's very close to you, i'm not sure of other excellent schools that would also be in your catchment area (i.e. Eleanor Palmer or Gospel Oak). Sounds like you've got time though to visit and make up your own mind.

Brookfield has a terrific new(ish) Head who was previously the Deputy so has been at the school for years and knows it well. As PPs have said, it has a great reputation and is very well-regarded.

You won't go far wrong with any of the Camden primaries in that area to be honest. Eleanor Palmer is a ludicrously oversubscribed middle-class honeypot school; very good, but not worth getting caught committing admissions fraud for. Gospel Oak is super, I know many happy families with DC there. Don't know Highgate but again it has a good rep.

BUT I cannot overstate the advantages of proximity when it comes to primary school. If Brookfield is to be your local school, you would have to have a pretty compelling reason to walk past a good school every day to get to a different one. Every time you went to a school assembly or parents' evening or play date or have to dash back because you forgot the PE kit you'll be glad you chose the school round the corner!

As Zinnia mentions, have only heard great things about the new head, that's often a starting place for looking at the direction the school is heading.

The key in Camden is often looking for schools on the rise, not necessarily at their peak, and the head can make all the difference. 10 years ago you wouldn't have considered Gospel Oak or Acland Burghley for secondary, but both firmly on the way up where you look at some "ludicrously oversubscribed middle-class honeypot schools" (am nicking that as so correct!) and wonder if they are just so oversubscribed due to reputation (i.e. Camden School for Girls no longer the top rated school that numerous families have moved house to make catchment for).

Apologies for hijacking your thread OP - SamBee1, when you say CSG is no longer top rated do you mean in results? Or is it not such a good school in other ways?

Sorry, simply mean it's no longer at the top of Camden secondary ratings - it's still an excellent, well above average school, but I know people that moved house to get their daughters there instead of Parliament Hill based on these results from previous years, just made me chuckle.

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/schools-by-type?step=default&table=schools&region=202&la-name=camden&geographic=la&for=secondary

Ah OK thanks SamBee1. Just doing some research into secondaries.

OP I have no personal knowledge of Brookfield but its website made it sound lovely (Forest School etc).