Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

primary schools in oxford area

33 replies

Christiesparks · 27/04/2009 16:06

hello
we might be moving to the Oxford area - either in Oxford or driving distance to Oxford in the next few months and will be looking to place our 3 children in a primary school (currently year 3 and reception).
Does anyone recommend or not recommend any local Oxfordshire schools.
Any help and guidance would be brilliant.
thank you so much.
Best wishes
C

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Smilewearingthin · 27/04/2009 20:18

State or private? Any particular religious affiliation or idea about region. I live in Headington and so know a few of the city schools. Further out I hear good things about Enstone where a friend sends her children. If you could narrow down the area you're interested in, I might be able to help/find someone else who could offer advice.

ruty · 27/04/2009 20:22

best state primary schools in north oxford. All good in that area except Cutteslowe, to be avoided. Primary state schools elsewhere not great. Some very good ones in surrounding villages, particularly Appleton and Cumnor.

slummymummy36 · 27/04/2009 20:31

Combe is good out towards Witney.

Tabithacat · 27/04/2009 20:58

Yes, Combe consistently receive great ofstead reports, Bladon also good as is Bletchingdon - all these about 8 miles out of Oxford. All these are very rural though.

ruty · 27/04/2009 23:31

Combe lovely but really in the middle of nowhere - long lanes go on for miles.

CompareTheMeerkat · 27/04/2009 23:33

My SIL went to St Ebbes when it was a lower school (now a primary) which was very good then - it's in South Oxford.

New Hinksey isn't good from what I have heard.

Original poster

Christiesparks · 28/04/2009 11:48

thank you all for your notes - am so grateful. We're not sure exactly where we may live - either in the middle of Oxford or somewhere rural nearby.
Definitely needs to be a state school though.
may get in touch again once things are clearer - if that's ok
Thank you again

OP posts:

ChippyMinton · 28/04/2009 11:56

Kingham, which is a village north of Oxford, has a lovely state primary.

abraid · 28/04/2009 12:00

Further out towards the Vale of White Horse there are Ridgeway and Uffington Primary Schools, which parents seem happy with. Both in idyllic village. About 35 minutes to Oxford. Small class sizes and fields to play in.

Elibean · 28/04/2009 13:45

The one I went to (Crescent School in Norham Gardens) is long gone. So no use at all, but had to express some nostalgia

Good luck with the move!

hedgiemum · 28/04/2009 14:42

The town of Abingdon (8 miles south of Oxford) has some good primary schools; lots of Oxford families move to Abingdon specifically for them. Some of the villages mentioned by others have excellent primary schools, but are very difficult to get in to so you would have to make sure you moved in time to apply when everyone else does or you wouldn't get a place.
North Oxford is commonly help to have the best primary schools in the city, and is a lovely area to live in, but also has incredibly high house prices (even now).

abraid · 28/04/2009 19:00

The schools I mention in Uffington and Childrey have places. In fact, they would welcome children.

Smilewearingthin · 28/04/2009 19:13

North Oxford certainly best by reputation but I have friends who are not happy with St Barnabas and, I believe, you have to murder/seduce someone to get a place in St Philip and St James! And house prices in the catchment area of either, as Hedgiemum says, are truly bonkers, even now.

Wolvercote school also good, but area prone to flooding, she typed, watching the rain fall steadily outside.

Headington has some nice schools and one, Windmill, is worth keeping an eye on as they have a new head doing great things, apparently (huge waiting list for Reception this year). My daughter is at St Andrew's and we're very happy with it ('good' OFSTED). Lots of families in the area.

Lots of advice!! Get back to us when you're plans are firmer, perhaps?!

Good luck with the move.

hedgiemum · 28/04/2009 20:03

Smilewearingthin - interesting you say that about Windmill, we have Headington friends who say what new head is doing is too little, too late as lots of individual class teachers are poor. No idea how true this is. They said they would kill for a place at St Andrews!

OP - to be more specific about where is difficult to get places, I know people who have home ed whilst waiting for places at Appleton. They got one after 2 years!

I've heard good things about Uffington too, but it is quite far to drive into Oxford everyday imo. Sometimes thats a sacrifice worth making though...

Hther · 28/04/2009 20:43

schools for reception year chocablock which is why i am homeedding, was considering it but it became a necessity. Althogh of course they are allowed to break the rules for someone who's just moved here, if you're already in the county, even if you have children nder 5 and no transport znd are a single mum you are able to travel from one end of the county to the other but you can have somewehre on your doorstep if you have just come from another county!

sorry a bit of a touchy subject for me!

hope the admissions dept aren't so inadeqate with you in terms of not even responding to application at all, until sevral months later after several chase up calls

Smilewearingthin · 29/04/2009 08:20

Hedgiemum, I suppose that just goes to show that different children (and parents) look for different things in a school ... possibly dance routines to High School Musical feature high on my friend's wish list?!

Hther ... admissions certainly seems mad this year in our area. A head teacher friend of mine in the state sector says that those in charge just completely misjudged the number of places they'd need for September. Hope home ed works for you -- my neighbour did it through necessity and ended up taking all her children out of the system and loved it!

jujumaman · 29/04/2009 14:50

omg, Elibean (sorry to hijack)

I went to the Crescent School too! (Sorry in case you've forgotten we were discussing L school a few days ago)

Wasn't it the loveliest school in the world? When did it close?

I think we are soulmates [stalker emoticon]

qumquat · 07/05/2009 12:39

I worked for a while at St Andrew's in headington, it's a lovely school.

Elibean · 08/05/2009 22:36

Jujumaman, thats extraordinary! Though if I'm honest, I did wonder, when I posted that, whether another ex Crescent schooler would appear...

I don't know when it closed. My mother told me that it moved to Woodstock Road (was it there when you went?), but the building it was in when I went became a Language School years and years ago. Where did you go after the Crescent? And, if you don't mind me asking, when were you there? I was there soo long ago, I'm sure it was after me - I think I'm probably one of the oldest mums on MN

Elibean · 08/05/2009 22:37

Apologies for hijack

jujumaman · 09/05/2009 13:38

Everyone but Elibean please ignore [blush}

I was at the Norham Gardens school, didn't even know it had moved from that site. I was there in about 1978, I think I was only there for a year but it was the most blissfulof my school life and lots of my friends there went on with me to OHS. Is that where you went too?

Am amused that you are obviously a near neighbour and an old Crescenter too, and obviously thoroughly good egg. Am thinking of suggesting a NBarnes meet up but worrying that is too cyberstalkerish

Elibean · 09/05/2009 17:49

Hello Juju, I was at Norham Gardens too, but earlier - I left in 1971 and went to Wychwood. Very old, me. I had friends at OHS, but they would have been there before you...

A NBarnes meet-up sounds lovely, not stalkerish at all and would spare everyone else our old school memories! I can't think of a way to give you my email address without posting it on a public forum? I am set up for CAT-ing, I think, so if you are too then CAT me and I'll send it to you.

jujumaman · 09/05/2009 19:54

I don;t know how to CAT but will work it out next week when I am back at my desk mnetting working

Elibean · 09/05/2009 21:19

Look forward to it.

CAT is at the top of the MN page, 'contact a mumsnetter' but if you can think of another way of doing it thats fine (eg if you have an email you don't mind posting).

meadowbrir · 20/05/2009 20:01

Hedgiemum, could you please clarify which schools in Abingdon do you mean? May be you know anything about Rush Common school? We are looking for school for our son in this area and any advice would be highly appreciated.
Thank you in advance!

Flip

1 2