Fitzjohn’s / Robinsfield / Primrose Hill Primary School

[Buru]

Good evening moms. I’m trying to choose a school for the reception class next year. No school next door to us, but Fitzjohn’s, Robinsfield and Primrose Hill are within a similar walking distance (20-25 min). How would you rank them?

We’re Jewish, so a Christian school is not an option. Fitzjohn’s seems to have many Jewish children and many children go to JCoss. Wouldn’t mind a non-denominational school though, so if the other two schools have better academic results, may prefer them.

Any recent experience with the above schools or anything else in the area (Camden, Swiss Cottage, St John’s Wood, Hampstead) are highly welcome. Thank you!

Robinsfield wasn't oversubscribed last year but Primrose Hill had a cut off distance of 0.601 miles and Fitzjohn's was 0.513 miles so you'd be unlikely to get those unless you'd get in under other criteria.

Thank you very much, that’s very helpful. We seem to be 0.8 m from each of Primrose and Fitzjohn’s, and only 0.5 m from Robinsfield. This means though that I can put Robinsfield as the last choice and still get it. Would Fitzjohn’s and / Primrose be worth putting above? I realize that there are just fewer children now and 2020 had fewer births in the UK than 2019, so want to list the schools in the order of priority, not the easiest to get in

Hi parents. Decided to revive my own thread. We got a place at Primrose Hill, but as I have had a chance to visit it in the meantime, I’m no longer sure a reception class of 60 children is the right environment for my DD.

I am now considering whether to join a waitlist at Robinsfield in the hope that since the school is not oversubscribed, we may have a chance to get in. I have not been on a tour there yet but it seems nice from the outside and a few parents I met are very happy with it. Is it a better choice that Primrose Hill, at least for the first few years? We may want to try for 7+, but I would want to keep all options open.

Thank you for any insights!

Think it would be 2 reception classes, not 1. I’ve heard Primrose is a pretty decent primary and is much better in year 3 than the school Robinsfield feeds into (Barrow Hill / George Elliot).

The 60 children is a planned, well executed strategy (with appropriate staffing levels) and they have excellent outcomes. PH primary is a good school, despite having 3 HT in the last 3 years. The long-standing one left, they had a temporary replacement while they searched for the right HT
I appreciate you know your child best and naturally where they attend is your choice.

Thank you @Caps0218 and @Moonshine5, really appreciated. I visited on a day when there were clearly not enough staff and was a bit overwhelmed by 60 children in one open space. Another thing I did not like was TV on in most of the classes we visited. Maybe it’s a norm for other schools too, hard to say. The fact that in Y3 they show better results than others (I assume Barrow as the school where Robinsfield children go) is very helpful and hopeful, thank you

That does not sound like my lived experience but I agree I don't think it's for you. PH primary- you get the ethos or you don't (large classes). Whatever they do works for them as the majority of children attend excellent secondary schools.