Peckham - Lyndhurst or the Belham?

[YoooHoooo]

Anyone have opinions of Lyndhurst School vs the Belham in Camberwell/ Peckham?

The Belham seems to get lots of love, but I wonder if the shine is coming off with a new ish head? And we like Lyndhurst’s music emphasis.

I know the Belham traditionally has a very small distance requirement, but I gather reception 2024 is a low birth year + families are leaving the area so we might have a shot.

My son has just started reception at The Belham. So far so good, the school has a lovely community feel and the teachers are friendly and caring. The Assistant Head recently took over as Head Teacher and seems to be very proactive which was our main concern with the previous head when we visited the school back in January. The only real negative - if you can call it that - is the (lack of) outdoor space, which Lyndhurst has ample of. I would visit both and then see which one you get the best feel for.

I would add that we were told similar during the application process RE: decline in birth rate and people moving out of the area, however when it came to it the furthest distance offered was actually lower than previous years (perhaps a high sibling intake year?) and so we only made it into the catchment area by 40m...we are just shy of 500m from the school gate so I wouldn't necessarily believe everything they say on that!

We've also been big fans of the Belham. 2 kids still there now, and loving it. As KJ133 says, the assistant head took over as head teacher, and seems very good to us