Oxfordshire primary - do you know any of these schools or please can you help suggest others?

[wooflet]

Hi!

I'd really appreciate some opinions if anyone knows these schools?

We're looking to find a village to move to which needs to be (ideally) within 10/12 miles of Bladon/Woodstock that has a good (subjective I know) primary school. If you can suggest any others I'd be grateful to hear.

Dr Radcliffe's Church of England School

Leafield Church of England (Controlled) Primary School

Freeland Church of England Primary School

North Leigh Church of England (Controlled) School

Enstone Primary School

Stonesfield School

Woodstock Church of England Primary School

Middle Barton School

I'll look at both state & private but do a separate post for the private list.

wooflet x

Have you tried posting on local?

Hi, thanks for the suggestion but I can't see a "local" forum - please can you point me in the right direction?

wooflet x

At the top of your screen, the blue menu going across saying Home, my mumsnet, etc says 'local'.

My 2 are(were) at Woodstock Ds1 goes to the marlborough in September.
Its pretty good IMO. The last OfSted wasn't particularly good but there has been a change of HT since.
SAts results this year were excellent with 100% level 4 or above and lots of level 5s too. Having had a child in y6 I can honestly say that they didn't seem to be pushed too hard ie no extra home work (1 piece of maths and literacy per week).

The kids in the school are generally happy and reasonably well behaved and there is a wide social mix.

There are number of themed weeks or days through out the year for example French day which include Croissantsetc for breakfast, Science day, Maths day/week, art Week etc.

I'd definetly recommend a look around or chat with HT however be aware that the school has been over subscribed in the last 2 years and you are unlikely to get a reception place if you are out of catchment. There are however a couple of year groups which aren't quite full to capacity judging by the class lists we received at the end of last term.

Stonesfield is also pretty good though don't know as much about it as Woodstock. Combe is very hot on academic performance and is a bit of a hot house for kids going on to private schools later on!(or so I've heard)

Both these schools will have new head teachers in September which may mean some changes.

Is the Woodstock school next to a Spar that used to be a station?

My nan went there, from about 1914.

Hi,
I've got several friends with children at Enstone and they are very happy with it. Seems very good. I believe Stonesfield is good but although I know people there I don't know that much about it. A few years ago I heard less favourable comments about Leafield but it might have changed. Coombe is excellent but usually way oversubscribed and I heard it is loosing it's very good head. My two are at Charlbury ... it went through a sticky phase a few years ago with changes of head teachers, but has improved by leaps and bounds and is rapidly turning in to a very good school. I have friends with children at Cokethorpe and they are again very happy with it. Nice small class sizes I believe. Wychwood C of E school in Milton-under-Wychwood also has a good reputation.
Hope that helps...

lol this is a stroll down memory lane. i went to woodstock and then the marlborough. agree that combe these days is academically superior lol (had a recent discussion with someone who wanted to remove their kids as they were struggling to 'keep up')

nobiggy - the station was up by the 'other half' of the school on the main road (neither are there now - there is a garage/ now car showroom), and the 'newbuild' bit (circa 1960) is at the other end of new road - there was a little londis thing on the corner lol. your nan must have been there with me my nan.

Jellybrain - how long have you lived in Woodstock? Did your children go to playgroup?

Blimey Romy, we're practically sisters!

Roisin- We've been here about 5 years DS1 was in y2 and DS2 went to the Nursery but not to WUFA (I assume thats the play group you mean). I visited once and found it really noisy and chaotic (might have been a bad day though) however lots of parents say its wonderful. Have you plans to send dc there?No Biggy- the school is now on Shipton Road (I think its been there since the '70s when all the houses were built in the part of town) which is quite close to the Marlborough.

Not relevant I know but I LOVE Woodstock and got married there. I've spent many happy years walking my dogs in the Blenheim grounds.

I moved from the are prior to having my dd so can't help on the school front but the Local board should help.

My boys are too big now. We used to live in Woodstock but moved 6 years ago, so I won't have met you, but do know lots of the other families there.

My daughter currently goes to school in Oxford, but we might move out to a village so I've been doing some research into these schools. Dr Radcliffe's is supposed to be fantastic -- very nice ethos and a lovely building, nice mix of academic and sporting emphases. (Also excellent Ofsted report.) I have a friend whose daughter is at Enstone and both mother and child are very happy. They have nice small classes with good numbers of teaching assistants. (At last it sounds fantastic to those of us with 30 in a class and only one TA.) The only thing I know about Middle Barton is that someone who lives in the village took pains to get her children into Dr Radcliffe's! Hope some of this is useful, albeit highly unscientific.