Stroud Green Primary North London

[gatheringstones]

Does anyone have experience of Stroud Green primary school?
I have heard mixed things about it and the ofsted isn't great compared to Coleridge, St Aidens and St Peters. We are trying to chose a school for dd1 but we are outside just about all the catchment areas for the 'better' schools (and aren't catholic so don't qualify for st peters) but SG is undersubscribed so it might be hobsons choice.
Does anyone have recent or current experience - good or bad?!

Friend-of-a-friend's kids went there and she was very happy with it.

But don't forget you can look at Islington schools too - we're in Haringey and were offered a place at Stroud Green but chose to send ds to Ashmount instead (Hornsey Lane), even though it was further away, because we liked it so much.

The most important thing is to see how you feel about it - atmosphere, approach, what the head's like - when you look round.

thanks for that - ashmount is the only school i didn't get an appointment with. they said they'd get back to me and never did but i will chase as ofsted looks promising and i've read and heard good things. think it's getting harder to get into though!
sounds like you're happy with Ashmount?

Oh no! Please do call them back - that's the first time I've heard of that happening, and I'd hate you to be put off... Ds is really happy there, and I can't say enough good things about it. (Apart from returning phone calls, clearly!)

Let me know if you have specific questions? People have definitely got places this year from as far away as you, if you're near Stroud Green.

Extrafox - Very interested to hear you are so happy with Ashmount. We went to their open day this week and thought it is a great school. Our children would be going into year 3 and the nursery and would really appreciate any other thoughts you have on the school especially as our eldest would be leaving a very sought after Haringey school to start at Ashmount. We feel he is under achieving currently and think a less target driven school would suit him alot better. It would be a bit of a bombshell for him leaving his friends but we really feel a different enviroment would ultimately be best.

Gatheringstones - hope I am not taking over yyour thread too much! By the way we know a few people with kids at Stroud Green and generally they seem very happy with it. I think it has suffered alot in recent years with some people being rather snobby about it and only looking at the more middle class options in the area. Make sure you do get a look at Ashmount, we really liked it: lovely children, likeable staff and impressive Head.

Shoppers - very glad to hear you liked the open day. From the sound of what you say about your eldest it might well be that Ashmount would be a good choice for him. The school has a diverse intake from all sorts of points of view and one of the things they do so well is focus on the children as individuals - what they need, what their potential is, how to come at things from another angle if a particular approach isn't working. Also, because numbers have been a bit lower over the last few years (particularly as the effects of the Coleridge expansion work their way through) there's a good chance he'd be in a smaller class than at his current school, which is a bit of a luxury! (Would he be starting year 3 this coming Sept?)

It must be a wrench contemplating leaving his friends - but my impression is that Ashmount's a welcoming place for children who join part-way through. There have been three new children starting in my ds's class this year, and they all seem to have settled in really well. There's a big emphasis on consideration and inclusion.

Hope I'm not sounding too pollyanna-ish - but I do genuinely think it's a lovely and impressive place...

I'd second what you say about giving Stroud Green a chance, too. Gatheringstones, I hope I didn't sound initially as though I was trying to teach you to suck eggs - wasn't sure what stage you were at with looking round etc - but we chose Ashmount largely on gut feeling (this was before its recent thumbs-up from ofsted) because we liked and trusted the head and her approach, and are so glad we did. It's hard when ofsteds and league tables inevitably loom so large in wider perceptions of which are the 'good' schools, and I think you're doing exactly the right thing to get other perspectives.

Extrafox, thanks for your reply. Yes our eldest boy would start year 3 this coming september so we would have till then to convince him (hopefully)of the merits of the move.

What about the school move to Crouch Hill? Do you think it will happen in 2010 as proposed or is the concensus amongst parents that it will be much later than that? It would actually suit us better as the current location is a bit of a hike for us.

Shoppers - just seen this and in great haste now, but my ds is in same year - am too much of an amateur here to know how CAT works (is that the thing that lets you get in touch off the board??) but was going to say I'd be happy to have a chat if it would be useful. Will investigate later when in less of a rush...!

Re the school move, I'm afraid it looks to me as though there's little chance of it happening in 2010 (though the council haven't formally changed their schedule) - planning consent won't happen till July this year at the earliest now - once that's sorted there should be a more reliable timetable. Current location bit of a hike for us too, but tbh it hasn't been a problem (though I realise your circumstances may be different).

ps gatheringstones sorry for hijack!

please don't apologise and no,not teaching to suck eggs, whole thread very useful to me, thanks both!

have been to see stroud green and gut feeling not wholly enthusiastic. will ring ashmount on monday.

it's stressful though this whole school thing. hadnt realised just how badly placed we are, geographically.

shoppers - cheeky of me to ask this but are you moving your boy from coleridge? obviously you don't have to answer that! i've yet to visit there but have initial mixed feelings about it. it does seem v middle class and not terribly diverse. i could be very wrong though.

as MN amateur have realised CAT is probably beyond me - but if it would be useful to talk a bit more off the board you could email extrafox1 at hotmail dot com