Highgate primary, St Michael’s, or Yerbury / Eleanor Palmer? Others? Which would you choose?

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We’re moving to the area and will be an in-year entry. Obviously I don’t know where will have a place but we’ll angle our exact location (renting) depending on primary school preference. I know about applying and waiting lists etc.

We’re deciding between Highgate or Dartmouth Park (on area). Which primary would you choose if you could have any? For an ADHD child, very bright but definitely struggles with sitting still. Child is also super sociable and loves making friends.

So overall we’re looking for a nice kind school with lovely kids, where they’d be understanding of neurodivergence (and also with great SEN provision). Somewhere “boring” would be tough. We have come from a small private school that was excellent with ADHD but can’t afford to continue with private in London as London private schools are too expensive!

I have a friend with a ND dd at St Joseph’s Highgate and she raves on about how caring the staff there are to the kids with SEN (they were previously at St Michael’s but their DD was terribly bullied so they pulled her out) - what age groups are you looking at?

Thank you! I’ll have a look at that school. I hadn’t considered it as it’s a catholic school but will check it out!

Just bumping this in case anyone else has any intel!

I have kids that go a school you've mentioned here. Usually parents are eager to suggest how great their school is but you've had crickets. I think you're gonna struggle to get engagement when your opening salvo describes coming from private with a slight sob story about cost (of course private schools are expensive!) and also that you essentially have the means to simply move close enough to any given school to hop a waiting list and guarantee a place.

My advice is visit schools. Most (probably all) Islington local schools have their own provision for children with SEN and the head will best describe their approach when you go on a tour.