Bromley school advice - St Marks or La Fontaine

[Sudha2014]

Hello!

Im look for some advice on South Bromley schools, mainly St Marks and La Fontaine.

My children are in Y2 and Reception and this will be a 'in term' transfer for the next academic year. They both are doing great academically so I'm looking for a school that is academically focused too. Any advice on these schools would be great.

Thank you!
Su Xx

Also keen to hear about Bickley Primary please. Thank you!

And St George! Totally forgot about this one! Any advice feedback is much appreciated!

Have been a St Mark's parent for ten years now and can certainly recommend it. I'd say the recent positive Ofsted report gives an accurate picture.

Staffing has always been pretty stable, with lots of long-standing teachers and support staff. The teachers my two DC had over the years were all very good and they're both doing well academically (older one now at secondary). The head is approachable and very dedicated.

There's a wide range of backgrounds represented in the school and the vast majority of parents are supportive of the school and their children's education in general. Behaviour has always seemed good - I've rarely heard of any serious classroom disruption or had any concerns about bullying.

It wasn't my first choice at the start because I wasn't sure about sending my DC to a church school, but we've been happy all the way through and will be sorry to say goodbye when my youngest leaves.

Wow, that is indeed a glowing review for St Mark's, thank you @UselessTrees Yes their recent Ofsted looks excellent!

Do you have any idea about the other schools?

Honestly I'm not familiar enough with them to give you any useful information either way - although I know the parking/traffic situation round there can be a bit of a nightmare with three schools in such close proximity!

I'm a bit of a cheerleader for St Mark's as it tended to be overlooked in favour of other nearby schools in the past, but Bromley is well provided for with great primaries so you can't go too wrong, really.

Hi
We are in the same situation for the 2024 reception intake.. torn between the choices.
How did you get on at the open days.

Hi ,

I’m currently in the process of choosing a primary school for my first born. Applications are due in January and I am torn between two options.

I have narrowed it down to Bickley primary school and La Fontaine Academy , but would love some further insight from parents whose children attend both schools.

For context, before having my daughter I worked as a teacher within the early years , so perhaps I look at things a little differently. I believe the key difference between the two schools is that Bickley has a warmer feel, and has a good sense of community, however there is something about La Fontaine that really excites and resonates with me as a professional. I guess what I’m really looking for is an insight on La Fontaine.

I want my daughter to have a well rounded education that doesn’t completely focus on her academic achievements. Does La Fontaine offer any fun events outside of school curriculum such as Disco’s, seasonal events etc.. Is there a sense of community and warmth? I would love some advice.

Thanks in advance.

Hi Bobsjay

I won't be much help on your questions as we are in the same situation.

I'll be intrested to know how you norrowed it down to the two and your initial views.

We are stuck.. La Fountain, Bickley and St George's.

These three are the closest to us and from all accounts they are all good schools.

Still are waiting to view Harris Academy in Shortlands on January.

We did find La Fountain to be the most sterile environment of the three.... It felt like a secondary school... If that makes sense.

We missed the open day for Bickley but went to the Christmas Fair yesterday. It did have a nice community warmth.. But I'd suspect and hope that would be the case for most. But as it's also our first child it's all best guess for us.
Just want him to thrive academically but still be a kid at heart.

I don't have a child at any of these schools I am afraid, but I have friends whose children went through and/or are still at Bickley, and speak very highly of it. It does seem to be a warm, welcoming school.

Hi Azaaya,

It’s such a hard decision isn’t it? I suppose we are in a great position to have the pick of 3 good schools and I think whatever choice we make will work out for our little ones.

So we visited St George’s too and I thought it was a lovely school. I can see exactly why they have been awarded an outstanding grade by Ofsted. I thought the headteacher was passionate and caring and I liked how the ethos of the school was centred around the child and their families. They also had some really great resources , including early excellence furniture in Reception ( This is a really expensive and open end learning resource company that is really good). I think the reasons I’m not putting St George as my first choice is that I felt the school was a little cramped and small. I also am not so keen on sending my child to a religious school as we are not religious; however I think it would be a great choice for anyone who is looking.

My thoughts on Bickley were that it is a very nice , warm and inviting school. It has a very traditional feel , much the same as when I went to school as a child. It has some good resources and I really like the outdoor space. They have a mix of green space as well as concrete with some really nice areas for the children. I think the reception playground is a real stand out, with some fantastic areas for imaginative , constructive and creative play, including a pirate ship complete with slide. It also has a low staff turnover which signals to me that the team works well and the staff are happy and supported , which is super important. My reservations with Bickley are that it’s a very well known and sort after school , so perhaps my little one would get overlooked . Also , I didn’t see anything that particularly wowed me, I’ve worked in schools just like this and yes they work well but it just felt like your standard school and didn’t stand out from the rest. I’m sure the headteacher is lovely, but I also felt that she didn’t really sell the school in anyway and didn’t seem to have much knowledge on the early years (could be completely wrong on this) but this is the impression I got through some questions I asked.

We then went to the La Fontaine open evening and tour the following week. At the open evening we had a talk from the headteacher and the EYFS reception lead. I was really impressed by the Headteacher and what he had to say. He really seemed to know his stuff and everything he said resonated with me as both a teacher and a parent. A stand out for me from La Fontaine was that it is a no homework school. This is a controversial topic , however I believe it is such a fantastic addition to any school. The children work so hard all day that it is almost an impossible and pointless task asking them to complete further work when they arrive home. I think this allows for more time with family and precious moments with our little ones. This and many other things he had to say made me think this is a passionate school with passionate teachers , ready to deliver an exciting and innovative education which really excites me. They Eyfs lead also seemed really warm and kind and knowledgeable , plus the school seemed fresh, new and well funded with some good resources. However , I completely agree that the school as a whole had a secondary school feel and lacks the warmth of the others. I really want to see or hear of some elements of fun as I think this would be the deciding factor for me.

Aside from these three schools, depending where you are located , Burnt Ash primary school is a fantastic school (In my opinion) Would definitely be my first choice if we were in the catchment area. If you get a chance, it is definitely worth having a look at it.

Would love to hear your opinions on all 3 schools too. Sorry for the super long message 🙈😂 x

Thank you for your feedback! It definitely has a warm and inviting feel about it x

It's the second hardest decision.. Football team was the biggest. The family all tried to influence but we held firm and Arsenal won eventually.

My main focus is on having my son flourish academically but not at the detriment of everything else.

He is very "advanced" for his age. He turns 4 in summer.
We live next door to the civic centre and so St.Gs, Bk and La F are are closest as well as Scotts park and St Joseph's and Parish

I agree with all the comments on La Fountaine.

We went to the open day last week and I definitely grilled the head teacher.
I was very impressed with the head teacher and the facilities. The available development budget for the massive gym indicated a school that has the ability to grow on quality even further.
I also loved they teach French instead of Spanish.

My biggest reservation is the sterile environment and also the stark difference in the reception environment and year one onwards. It does really feel cold. But it's obviously not impacted academic achievements. I agree on the home work point.

The second reservation is the lack of TA's after reception. The schools idea being they want kids not to be reliant on TAs
I disagree on this point with the head. I feel extra set of hands is always a beneficial.

On St.Gs I again agree with the points you've highlighted. This was our number one choice before the actual search started.
We like that each class had a dedicated TA.
We are a religious family but of a different faith. We are happy for values to be taught regardless of faith. But concerned at such a young age to focus our son on another religion when we still haven't fully introduced him to ours.

We missed the open day but had a small groups tour last week also. The school felt very warm and well rounded. The play are was definitely smaller and green area were non existent.

On Bk again I totally agree. It felt like my own primary school (80's child) warm and good around. But no one thing stood out as super barring the play area.

I liked that parents are allowed into the school at pickup and they also teach French.
The head teacher being at the school for 7 years for me was a positive although not gaining an improvement in that time on the ofsted report is something that also played my mind. St.Gs and La F have both improved in the past 5 years in Ofsted.

We are hoping they do another open day in January so we can hopefully go through and ask questions.
I'm not sure on full facilities as we were only allowed in the halls and open area.

Parrish Primary
This was the first one we visited last week.
The school has great space and history but seemed very hectic. Felt it was to big and 15 teachers calling in ill on that specific day didn't help. Buildings felt run down and 900 kids definitely would take a toll on everything.

St Joseph's
Not been yet but January have booked an open day.

Scott's Park.
Again not been and are trying to get an open day.

Harris Academy.
We are going tommorow. It's a little further out but have heard good things from a family member that's worked at the school as a TA.
The catchment area historically has been big enough that we possibly could get in if choose it.

On the whole all the schools are good and we are spoilt for choice. I've gone through all the data on the schools from. Ofsted to Level 1 - 2 results aswell as demographics of achievements and the higher tier results percentage.
The schools pupil size and historical breakdown of mix of boys to girls....I definitely have too much time.

Currently St.G and Bickley are probably top of the list.
La fountaine we just have a feeling that we'd loose/extinguish something with our child at the cost of academics.

But this top 3 all changes on any given day.

Another super long reply.

This sums it up so well! We are also torn between LaF and Bickley, and disregarding St George's for the same reasons. Such a difficult decision!!

This sums it up so well! We are also torn between LaF and Bickley, and disregarding St George's for the same reasons. Such a difficult decision!!

It's now even harder.
We visited Harris Primary in shortlands last week.
Head teacher is amazing.
Built only in 2015 hence the facilities were brilliant. The school environment felt warm.
Lack of green spaces was the only downside.
They teach Mandarin which was unique.
I liked how the Headteacher explained the teaching methods and age when it comes to RSHE. Glad to know we can opt out of certain subjects until age appropriate especially gender fluidity teaching.

This would be no 1 for us but due to distance it's in our top 3 for now.

you could always take a punt. the low birth rate for this year group has been mentioned at every tour!

Have you looked at Parent views of each school here:

Hi,

Late on this one. Our daughter was at La Fontaine from reception until 2023. She really excelled in the school. This was despite the school expanding rapidly, moving building and the head changing three times, it did not seem to affect her. Academically and socially she became very confident and the parents who joined at the time seemed to be looking for something slightly different so it was quite a diverse community.
In her year group the Y6 SATS results were amazing there were a number of children who went onto grammar schools, so clearly the no home work policy was a good one.
What also helped her was the continuity of teachers. Between Y1-Y6, her teacher only changed three times. So, in each two year period she was with the same teacher. She absolutely loved the school and we still miss it now!

Hi all,

Happy new Year.

I am in the exact same position and agree with all the comments above. My son is going to reception this year and I have a few more days to make the final decision but we are still torn between between La Fontaine and St Georges.

I was hoping if you could kindly provide me with an updated in terms of who you decided to go with and are you happy with your decision.

Thank you for help.

Kind Reagrds,
Dimitri

Hello, we are in similar situation for our kid and considering Bickley Primary vs La Fontaine. There’s something about La Fontaine which is attractive- maybe academic focus? Please share your experiences. Is French still mandatory at La Fontaine?

Hi there! I’d love to hear more about the in-year transfer if anyone has experience of this? My little one starts reception in Sept 2026, but we won’t be living in Bromley by the allocation deadline (currently trying to sell a property in a different borough). How hard is it
to get in the La Fontaine, St George’s etc in-year? My guess is that they fill up quite quickly?

Hi everyone! Would love to know from any and all of you what you chose between Bickley and LFA and whether you felt you made the right decision and why!!? Thanks!

St. George’s has been absolutely brilliant in every single aspect and we can only speak highly of the school. The teachers are very engaging and my son genuinely loves his classes and enjoys going to school every day. I also personally like that they do set homework, as that structure works well for us, whereas I know La Fontaine Academy does not.

We did look at Bickley Primary School liked the greenery and general environment in that area. My son also spent time visiting schools as part of helping us decide. However, in my opinion, St George’s really surpasses them overall. It feels like the right balance of being academically strong while still allowing children to be children, which is exactly what we wanted from a primary school. La Fontaine, by comparison, felt more like a secondary school environment to us.

Another very big positive is the strength of the Friends Association at St George’s. They have funded so much for the school, including recently investing around thirty thousand pounds into new turf and greenery, and they also support many school trips. Given the current climate and financial pressures, it is reassuring to see how well established and supportive they are.

One final point I wanted to mention, as I know it can put some people off, is that St George’s is a Church of England school. Our family is Muslim and this has genuinely not been an issue at all. While the school does have Christian core values, it has never felt dominating or imposed. Religion is discussed in an age appropriate and balanced way, but it is not something that is pushed, and our son has never felt uncomfortable or negatively impacted. The environment is inclusive, respectful, and focused on good values.

Overall, the children are happy and engaged, the teachers are excellent in every aspect, the new headmistress is amazing, and most importantly, my son absolutely loves going to school.

From my experience from last year, they are not hard to get into so wouldn’t worry too much about that. All the parents I spoke to got their first choice.

We were torn between St Georges and La F which are both excellent schools. It was not an easy choice but we ended up going with La F solely because academically they edged it and we also liked the headmaster.

And yes, they do French.

My son is at reception now and he is happy. The teachers are very nice and friendly.

With regards to Bickley, I echo what Azaaya has said above.

Please don’t hesitate to message if you have any further questions as I know how tough this decision is.