Good Primary Schools around Greenwich/Lewisham borders?

[FrancyMgo]

Hi
I am having nervous sweats as i am struggling to find my DS who has just turned 3 a good state primary school in my area. We are bang on the borders of Greenwich (just within) and Lewisham which I know would make you think of Blackheath but a) we are not religious and b) we appear to be a fair distance from any of the good ones ie, Brindishe, John Ball etc.. Does anyone know what the catchment situation is like? Thanks

...sorry just to add I am at present looking for a nursery attached to one of these schools as DS is just 3, I need to do my research re, Primary Schools though right!? Arghhh

Yes you will need to apply to primary this autumn, check when but in our LA (not London) it's by early Dec. Can be Oct or Nov in some places.

Sorry no info about schools in Greenwich etc; but in general I usually favour the nearest school, for a number of reasons. Certainly check it out to see what you think befor elistening to local gossip (which can be unreliable).

is your local authority greenwich or lewisham?

Getting a place at nursery does not guarantee you a place for the primary school. I think you may be in the catchment area for Rachel McMillan nursery which is a very popular early years only setting. There are also private nurseries which do not depend on catchment area eg. Monetessori schools. Your catchment school may have a nursery too.

As for primary school, then you will need to look at your catchment school if you are not religious or thinking of going private. If you do not see what you like then you have a year to move. Nursery admissions operate separately from primary admissions. It has to be that way, because school nurseries often do not suit working parents, who need to rely on child minders or daycare nurseries.

I am a bit confused about how you can be LB Greenwich/Lewisham borders and not near John Ball. Are you out Lee way then?
John Ball is basically the village plus the estate down the side of the railway line (past Hurren Close etc)
If St Margarets or All Saints aren't options then are you saying it's Lewisham Bridge or Hither Green?

Greenwich and Lewisham don't have catchment areas per se; places are allocated using home to school distance along a straight line. If you go to www.greenwich.gov.uk and www.lewisham.gov.uk you will be able to find the 'starting primary school' booklets which will include a map of where all the schools are located.

It sounds as though you could be near Morden Mount, James Wolfe or St Matthew Academy but if you're not religious you may prefer to avoid a Catholic school. Lee Manor is another community primary (with nursery) and is close to Hither Green station.

I know a fair bit about Morden Mount and Lee Manor and enough about James Wolfe but I would advise anyone in your situation to be wary of using Ofsted reports to judge a school; contact the school and arrange to visit. For example, Morden Mount isn't necessarily a good choice on paper but the teaching is lively, imaginative and tailored to the needs of the children. If you do look at the Ofsted reports try to avoid doing so until after you've visited the school and remember, the KS2 results of last year's 11-year-olds aren't necessarily the best way to discover how appropriate that particular school is for your child.

Quaggy Children's Centre (next to Morden Mount) offers fantastic pre-school provision so that may be another option to consider for nursery.

Thanks everyone some great advice there. We are close to Lee so SE12, hence our nearest schools are community schools which have non too desirable ofsted reports, so many thanks to SE13mummy re the reports advice; i have been put off by them i must admit. With ref to Private schools, i have my DS name down at Colfes (this is only approx 5 min walk away) but we may not be able to justify the spend and I also believe community schools are very often as good if not better.
I will make some appointments and see what an actual visit throws up.

....i do really appreciate the time that you have all taken in helping me! Thankyou so much

Ah...that part of the Lewisham/Greenwich border. You need to visit Lee Manor, Baring, Hither Green and possibly Montbelle but it would make sense to check the admissions books to find out the home to school distances of the last places offered for the 2009/10 entry to Reception.

Some schools are having to admit additional/bulge classes to Reception (an additional 30 children over and above the usual intake) so it may also be a good idea to contact the LA admissions departments directly to request the home to school distances of the last place offered according to the usual admission number e.g. for Lee Manor it's 60 children per year but in 2010/11 will be 90 so to base your chances of getting in on an intake of 90 (which is bound to cover a wider area than 60) may well lead to disappointment.

I know of people in your area who were offered places at Hither Green and Coopers Lane but would definitely advise that you visit a handful of schools to get a feel for what you are looking for; they are all quite different and may only be 100m or so apart but their approach to the curriculum and its delivery can be quite different.

Thanks so much I will have a look and try to not get too stressed. I am still in shock we are very lucky.

What about this new primary school planning to open up in the area? www.facebook.com/?ref=hp#!/pages/Urban-Green-Primary/217310481616953 Looks great!!

SEmum Are you serious? Where's the curriculum?