Brockley Primary Schools

[ant412]

Hi - we're thinking of moving to Brockley, SE4 and am therefore trying to research primary schools. It seems that Myatt Gardens is the one but we probably can't afford to live in that catchment area (which looks pretty small!). I see Gordonbrock is now in special measures and not sure about the sound of Brockley Primary. Do any local parents have any info they can pass on? It's so tricky to learn the truth from afar, looking at Ofsted/league tables! Thanks

I live in SE4 but my ds is too young for school yet so don't have any personal experiences however I know primary schools were discussed recently on the local blog http://brockleycentral.blogspot.com/2008/03/primary-schools-in-brockley.html which may help - the blog is useful for other local info too!

Also bumping this for you in case there are any other SE4 parents out there!

Gordonbrock is fine. It was a total shock when ofsted put it in special measures - the council said that all schools in borough should be put in special measures as its practices were standard in all schools.
Ofsted recently revisited and took school out of special measures.

Thanks for responses. I'll take a look at the thread you've pasted in, Cassell, looks helpful. Mercedes - that's heartening to hear about Gordonbrock. Do you know anything about the other local primaries? Thank you!

A popular school in the area is Stillness, gets good ofsted reports etc. But I have heard that they have a no talking rule at school dinners which I would not agree with and would put me off sending my child to that school.

best thing to do is visit. I liked G/b when we visited.

www.upmystreet.com/local/schools-in-se4.html
You can use up my street to search for schools in the area and get an quick overview of their KS2 results

I'm not sure about the no talking rule! There definitely isn't such a rule at stillness juniors. Gordonbrock went into special measures becuase of paperwork/tracking systems. It's a fantastic school and it's no longer in special measures. It has a great intake and fantastic teachers. I'd be happy to send my children to either Stillness or Gordonbrock and know people who do send their children to both.

Myatt Garden is an excellent school. We are so very pleased with it, and we were home educating for 2 years before our dd went in.
They have a no homework policy, it is very into the arts and every class has art every week. They offer music lessons, cookery lessons, and languages.

the head is wonderful, she has a very hands on approach, the kids love her and her educational philosophy is exactly what we were looking for.

Not sure what year your child is in, but my dd went straight into year 2 because there were openings in her class - there was NO WAY we would have gotten into that school if she went in in reception, it is highly oversubscribed.

we looked at Gordonbrock and didn't like it, thought the staff was unfriendly and unorganized.
we looked at Ashmead and although we liked the head a lot, he was very focused on IT and we liked the focus on the arts that Myatt Garden has.
Ashmead is also small and is a newly built building so one to check out.

For anyone considering Stillness Junior School, it is a very good school and only the infants are discouraged from talking during lunch, probably because they need to make sure they actually finish their meal instead of chatting. A bit harsh to some, but I really don't mind. My daughter is in the Juniors and I have another child in nursery. They are both thriving there. The main office and reception can be offputting for newcomers as it is often hectic and staff there can be unhelpful at times; also it is strange to me how the Infants and Juniors are run as separate schools and this can be frustrating, but these are the only faults I can think of. The school has a fantastic range of after-school clubs and school trips and the teachers are on the whole very approachable. My older daughter was previously at Turnham for three years, where despite receiving a good standard of education at least two of the teachers seemed petty and defensive if you asked them about any issues and she had problems from a small group of pupils almost every day, but at Stillness she hardly ever has anything negative to report. This is just my experience but I hope it is helpful.

Really useful comments in this thread. My DS is approaching 2.5 yrs and so we are considering putting him on the list for Stillness nursery. Interested how parents with children there are dealing with childcare outside of the nursery morning/afternoon hours? I work full time and DS currently at Tiny Acorns nursery from 8.30-5.30.

Ashmead Headteacher is fantastic but he will be leaving soon.

My experience with Gordonbrock is that it was VERY disorganised (this has been mentioned previously too).

Myatt Garden Headteacher is very charismatic but I understand that they are becoming a Federation with Brockley Primary. I agree with Hollybunda with regards to this Head, but wonder how hands on she will be when she is Executive Head of 2 schools.