I was walking past our local church yesterday and saw all these parents with toddlers pouring in in the hope of getting there children into our local church schhool. If you attend the service there is virtually no children over the age of 5 there!This is a good not outstanding school in a middle class area. Ds2 attends it and DS1 has just left. Well is it a school worth giving up your Sunday mornings and changing your principles to get your child into ???? Not in my opinion. The results are good. But when you are withen the school you realise the use of private tutors is wide spread. In my sons year 3 class he was the only boy who wasnt doing Kumon or being tutored!. Communication withen the school is poor. Everyone is lovely but the dont tell you anything. Children are put on the special needs register and parents arent informed.As I put in another post child are put on a catch up program and the class teacher doesnt know what it is or is for. Behavioural problems arent nipped in the bud. But parents persist in the mythe that its a good school because they went out of there way to choose it. This is an area with lots of "good" schools. Luckily we got into the school before it became over subcribed and got in because it was our closest school. We didnt pawn our souls for no reason. i guess what I am trying to say is look carefully under the surface of the schools you go for& dont just go for the one that is over subscribed. A friend who has done lots of supply teaching in the area said the school with the best teaching is actually the worst acheiving school. The one with lots of travellers children, new immigrants and poor housing.