Primary schools SE London....help!

[Marbles321]

Hi all
DS is about to turn 2, and I'm starting to think about primary school for him. We currently live in a small flat in Nunhead/Peckham and want to move before he starts school.

We are keen to get a bigger place- 3 or 4 bed house - so are looking further afield. Currently we have a very wide search area, including Forest Hill, Hither Green, Catford, Lee, Charlton, Beckenham....even as far out as Carshalton and parts of South Croydon/Purley.

We are after a creative, diverse, welcoming environment for our son, and would definitely consider schools that are a little less academic and more focused on alternative/creative ways of teaching.

I know it's a massive search area, but if there are any SE Londoners out there who could point us in the direction of some great (state) primaries I would be very grateful!

adamsrill primary would fit what you are looking for, I think
www.adamsrill.lewisham.sch.uk/
It's in Sydenham, you can read more about living there here
sydenham.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6137
hopefully that helps a little!

Thanks!!! I'll definitely have a look at Adamsrill

What’s your budget? We moved from Nunhead to new cross (hatcham Park) where there is a brilliant primary that feeds haberdashers secondary. It is diverse, creative, musical and language focused though also academic. We are on the edge of getting in to Edmund Waller primary which is super chilled, creative, lots of outdoor space. It’s much pricier here than when we moved, though. But it is work thinking about secondary - friends moved to Catford and now moving out of london because they aren’t happy with the options.

Ps Sydenham is a good shout, lots of nice schools. Friends moved to chistlehurst but the secondaries there are grammar / not grammar system. In new cross/brockley there’s a lovely school called Myatt Garden which you might like and it’s near other nice schools eg Ashmead, Lucas Vale.

Having just moved for secondary schools I would also suggest looking in an area that has good secondary schools as well. Otherwise you will find yourselves moving again when you child is year 4/ year 5, after having settled in an area and made friends.
I can recommend Beckenham (Eden Park High and the Langley schools), Hayes (Hayes School). Plenty of highly rated primary schools around these areas.

Lee, Bkackheath and Kidbrooke would place you in catchment for either Brooklands or Wingfield Primary.

The latter has generated brilliant results with an extremely nurturing, play-based and creative element, looks a very happy ship. Well worth checking out!

Kilmorie Primary in forest Hill fits that bill. It’s a great school with a creative focus, no uniform, lovely staff.

These are all so helpful, thank you and keep them coming!

Yes the secondary element is also a concern of ours....do we do the big move now or later?

@Puffthemagicdragongoestobed do you recommend any Beckenham primaries in particular? I know about the good secondaries there but nothing about primaries.

@doubleshotespresso thanks for the primary recommendations. I've been looking in those areas and it seems that good secondaries may be hard to find unless you go private. Is that the case?

We have a budget of 750k.

I've seen some gorgeous 4 beds on the Corbett estate in Catford which puts us in the catchment for Sandhurst and Torridon - any views on these at all? I'm aware secondary in Catford is tough though, and I'm not sure we want to commit to paying private for St Dunstans.

Marbles from what I am hearing a lot of primaries in Beckenham are very good. You could try to find a house in the catchment for Unicorn school as this should put in the catchment for the Langley schools and potentially also for the new Eden Park High school.
Other primaries in Beckenham that people really rate are Balgowan, Clare House and Highfield (more on the Shortlands side), but I am not sure if you are in a good secondary catchment for the former two. Not sure about the Eden Park High catchment as it only recently moved to its current site, so this may still be an option.
If you look around Forest Hill your secondaries would be Sydenham Girls, which is very popular, and Forest Hill Boys, where results have not been so good. There are a lot of really good primaries in SE23 and surrounding areas - Kilmorie, Horniman, Fairlawn, Stillness, Eliot Bank etc

@Puffthemagicdragongoestobed thanks that's really helpful.
Weve seen a fab house very close to Alexandra infants and junior. Do you know of any personal feedback on them?

I know one family at the Juniors and they really like it

@Marbles321

These are all so helpful, thank you and keep them coming!

Yes the secondary element is also a concern of ours....do we do the big move now or later?

@Puffthemagicdragongoestobed do you recommend any Beckenham primaries in particular? I know about the good secondaries there but nothing about primaries.

@doubleshotespresso thanks for the primary recommendations. I've been looking in those areas and it seems that good secondaries may be hard to find unless you go private. Is that the case?

We have a budget of 750k.

I've seen some gorgeous 4 beds on the Corbett estate in Catford which puts us in the catchment for Sandhurst and Torridon - any views on these at all? I'm aware secondary in Catford is tough though, and I'm not sure we want to commit to paying private for St Dunstans.

Hi OP

There are a few options in terms of secondary and some very good private scholarships/bursaries available at secondaries such as Blackheath High, Colfe's and similar ....
Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar I believe accept children who may not be within the borough as long as their academic ability fits.
Non fee-paying secondaries vary hugely, though there have been some serious improvements in places such as Thomas Tallis, there's also Thomas Moore who attain great results. There's also St Ursula's at Blackheath who have a fab reputation academically

I know Torridon to be a great school though I think it's quite a tight entry system as it's over subscribed...
Not aware of any decent secondary schools in Catford, you might need to look towards Bromley at that stage perhaps?

Ahhh I also forgot Greenwich Ark academy which is a great spirited secondary who appear to have made a good name for themselves. Think Blackheath, Lee and Kidbrooke areas are within their catchment

Thank you! Lots of food for thought here, I will get hunting

sydenham also has a secondary school (It has an independent one but the one linked below is state)
www.sydenham.lewisham.sch.uk/

If you're looking at the South Croydon/Purley area, I would recommend Sanderstead, which is where we ended up. There's a triangle of excellent primary schools (Ridgeway, Atwood, Gresham) and if you're in catchment for those you'll also get Riddlesdown as a secondary, which is another very good state. You'd get a 4 bed with a decent garden for £750k around here - definitely a semi, possibly detached. 20 minutes to Victoria, 25 to central on the Thameslink which runs at peak times.

I also went to two of the schools named on this thread, incidentally. Many years ago 😁

Thanks @LBOCS2 I've heard great things about Riddlesdown for Secondary.
Of the three primaries you mention above, which do you feel is slightly more creative/informal/welcoming?
We can definitely get loads more for our money there, but I do worry that we will feel really far out of London and we will miss being able to walk everywhere. Is a car an absolute must in Purley/Sanderstead?

From what I've heard, I think probably Ridgeway. Gresham is small - one form entry, a real village type school, and Atwood is quite academic.

I do drive, because I can and it's convenient (and we have three children), but DH doesn't - lifelong Londoner, doesn't have a licence! It's only in lockdown that he has found it restrictive and that's because he's not comfortable getting onto public transport. We can walk to a selection of nice restaurants from where we are, both locally and in Warlingham and Selsdon, decent coffee shops, supermarkets (Waitrose, Sainsbury's and ALDI locally), etc etc. Depends what you're after - DH and I both grew up in z2/3 so it is a different lifestyle but then, so is your lifestyle when you have kids? We have barbecues with friends and can put them up overnight, we go out in town (babysitting allowing) then spend under a tenner getting back from East Croydon where the trains run all night.