Weeke primary in Winchester

[NotNigella1]

I know the coveted primary schools of Winchester are near impossible to get into. Anyone have any experience of Weeke primary? Company have called us back from overseas without much notice and need to get son and daughter in same school by Sept. Am trying to be realistic and apply for schools that they might stand a chance of getting into.

Weeke primary v popular and usually oversubscribed. PAN went up to 60 last year (2009 entry) but there may be spaces in other years.

Western and St Bede all have long waiting lists and are chock-a-block. This said, lots of places do seem to have come up at the latter this year: at least three in year R, when last summer people were offering to slaughter their own grandparents if it would get them a place there.

All Saints and Olivers' Battery usually have places at different stages, and both are lovely, lovely schools. SATS aren't fab in pure terms, but they both serve a mixed area and have some challenging children that they do a pretty damn good job with. We have been delighted so far with the former, and friends with the latter. I'm aware anecdotally that Itchen Abbas was undersubscribed this year. South WOnston and Kings Worthy also often have places. Harestock, which is close to Weeke, I know nothing about.

Where will you be living? Which year groups do you need places for? Year R has been oversubscribed everywhere this year. In 09 Bede's and Weeke both took their PAN to 60, and this year Winnall and All Saints will have to take extra as well. The city is bursting at the seams, it would appear. This said, there are no bad primary schools in Winchester, and your children would be fine at any of them, to be honest. You could always take what you can get while staying on the waiting list of your more local school.

You may be lucky with Year 3 places at the poncier places due to the usual exodus of Tarquins and Henriettas to the private sector at that stage... Probably best to phone the Council to see where there are places, and to take it from there.

Thanks Anner, straight talking, just what I need when I haven't got a lot of time. You obviously know what you are talking about.

My son will be going into Year 1 (turns 6 in August) and my daughter into Year 3 (turns 8 in October), I think that is right, we go in Grade system here.

Good to hear views about other schools. We will be coming from overseas and my children have been friends with children of all nationalities (usually being the minority in their class in terms of being English), so will be strange for them to go into a village school or indeed the city centre schools where predominantly caucasian.

Good to get some positive reviews on the not so popular schools in this chat forum. I was thinking that the only schools to hold out for were St Bede and Western, even if it means an 18 month waiting list.

My son has a few speech problems (due to hearing problems that we didn't pick up for a long time) and is very shy, he has only just made a friend at school now and he started last January! I am worried about him the most, and because of his strong relationship with his sister, really want them to go to the same schools for support.

Already phoned the council, they said because we haven't got an address, we just have to apply for the schools and then tell us when we get an address. Of course, bit of a catch 22, as need to know where to live to know what school is in that catchment to make our application, We need to make application this week as an out of rounds admission, even without a UK address.

Really are going blind into where to live in Winchester, my dh needs to be by the station as will work long hours and might not have the transport at first to drive to the station. Any area you recommend more than others, looking at the usual near the station, but like the surrounding areas too.

Appreciate your response and I might just even start seeing a light at the end of the tunnel! Sorry if this is long.

Hi there again,

On where to live? Hyde (St Boden Bede) and Fulflood (Western) are both on the station side of town, and attract London Emigres like large jam jars attract wasps. Consequently they are both eyeball-scorchingly expensive. St Cross (St Faiths; Stanmore) has larger houses, as a rule, and is still on the right side of town for the station. Badger Farm (Oliver's Battery/ Stanmore) would also be do-able. In the East of the city (All Saints, Winnall) we are further away from the station but more affordable. My DH sometimes works in the smoke and the station is a 30 minute walk from here, or about 15 on a bike.

When choosing your school (and you may as well put down the one that you want, as they'll tell you if there are any places and allocate you elsewhere, anyway!) it pays to look more at the value-added on the SATS than at the raw scores. The highly desired schools take from very middle class areas, and the SATS are merely a reflection of this - as they are anywhere else. They are doing with their children what they jolly well ought to be doing, whereas some of the less-lauded schools are getting kids from zero English to level three English in KS2, even though this still isn't enough for OFSTED. Also, many of the people braying about how wonderful W and StB are won't have actually set foot in any other schools. It's telling.

Having visited a fair few schools, I honestly (as a teacher) don't think that the most popular schools are actually any better than anywhere else, unless you are very concerned for your children to mix only with other middle class children (which you don't seem to be) All of the schools get good grades out of their best pupils and stretch them well, which is after all what they should be doing. There really don't seem to be any schools where every child is underperforming. Maybe CAT me if you want to talk more? Good luck!

If your son is six in August, he will in fact be going into Year 2 in September, as the cut-off date for the school year is 31st August. If your daughter is 8 in October, she will be going into Year 3.

Also you don't have to live in the school catchment, as you will be applying out of year. If you are going to hang around a waiting list then being close to the school will push you up the waiting list, but if you are applying to a school with vacancies then they will accept you regardless of where you live.

Do you know Winchester? I was just wondering why you had decided on there to live.

How soon can you be back in the UK at least for a visit? Because it is by looking around schools that you really know if you want your child there.

Can't comment on Weeke personally but my Dd is at All Saints and I think its a fantastic little school.

There was a thread in education a while ago about Winchester schools - may be worth a look. Don't know if Weeke is full now, but a friend of mine who already had two children there but was out of catchment was convinced her third child wouldn't get a place but then did, so worth a try. Some of the out of town primaries not so full eg couple of people from Dds nursery going to Cheriton and live nowhere near, Twyford St Mary's not full also I know. If you are in Twyford can get train from Shawford.

Have also heard good things about Olivers Battery which did have a bad time a couple of years ago but has apparently turned round - new head and staff etc

thanks so much for your help, I think it might do my DH some good to walk to the station for 30 mins every day - this overseas living is not good for the ever expanding waistline!

I could have guessed you were a teacher by your writing - have to think about my grammar here now! Good to have someone in the know and as you say rather than take advice from someone who hasn't set foot in the schools.

My DH preferred All Saints to Western on the website and Ofsted, that's all we have to go by, and we decided not to go with the herd. Did go for Weeke though, because it looks like has a good special needs unit that my son could benefit from - as I say he is shy and gets lost in a noisy environment!

Does the east side have more family houses with gardens? We have lived in a condo for 6 years and I am yearning for a garden that I can sit out in at least 3 days a year in the sunshine and watch the kids play. Oh, and go to a playground and talk to actual Mums rather than maids that look after the expat kids over here!

I see you haven't mentioned Kings Worthy, is it further out? Would it really be a culture shock slap in the face if we move there rather than closer to city centre?

Mummytime - I am trying to get back early July to look at the schools, my preferences might change and also it gives me two weeks before HCC come back and say we have Winnal available. Feel a bit more relaxed that we don't have to necessarily live in the catchment if we don't want to be on any particular waiting list.

Decided on Winchester as family is in Southampton. My DH says there's no way he's going back to Southampton with his tail between his legs after living overseas. I've always liked Winchester, but not much in the way of a diverse culture I know. I commuted on northern line for hour and a half every day when living in London 10 years ago, now it's DH's turn!

I was told by the admissions team that son is Year 1 because born late august and Daughter Year 3, got to go and verify that!

Both All Saints and Winnall have catchment areas that include some of the less prosperous areas of the city but I have heard good things about both. Apart from Winnall which has a couple of blocks of flats, most areas have houses with at least a small garden. Don't know anything about Kings Worthy primary school(s) but there are loads of familiesin the areatand lots of new build houses so may be easier to get somewhere to live at a reasonable cost than in city centre.

31 August is cut off date. Yr 1 is age 6-7 ie 6 before 31 August they start yr 1.

Re Western - it has an open plan layout and I have had several friends who have moved their quiet children elsewhere when they couldn't cope with the general hurly burly and noise levels so you may be right in not putting it on your list.

Ditto Lucysmum: Kings Worthy is a bit cheaper than city centre, but further out, so you would need the car to get anywhere. I've also heard similar about Western - maybe we have the same friends!b

Highcliffe has a mixture of LA houses and Victorian/Edwardian terraces, 2-3 bed. The St Giles Hill/ Alresford Road area has larger houses, most detached, different ages and styles. Estate agents often refer to the area as "East of City" as 30 years ago Highcliffe had a bit of a reputation.

If your son was to start now, i.e. before the school year ends in July, he would now be in Year 1, moving into Year 2 in September, as he will be six right at the end of, but still within, the school year. Maybe the confusion arose with admissions over exactly when you wanted them to start?

Winchester is an excellent choice for families with young children. Lots of people move here from elsewhere because of the schools and quality of life. If you can find our thread on Education from a while back, there was a long discussion as to why Winchester's state schools are good and are perceived to be so. I wouldn't like to live anywhere else.

Ahhh, I went to Weeke Primary. 1969-1974 . I was very happy there. We had a mahoosive playing field at the time.

But Winchester is unbearably smug and self satisfied and middle class nowadays, imvho.

Here is the link to our long discussion on Winchester schools.

Good to see that the old "it's so smug" point of view is still out there!

Indeed, you can always rely on me to come and stick my oar in on a "Winchester is just the best place to live, you must come you absolutely must" thread.

Thanks for all your replies. Relief to hear that Western might not suit my son, as we didn't put it on the admissions form!

Great to start getting a clearer picture of different areas of Winchester too. Can only recall the city centre, not had any need to be around the outskirts.

Will check out the previous threads you talk about.

Was starting to doubt moving to Winchester, but seems to be a lot of rentals coming up all the time. Just want to get there now and look around the properties in person and get a feel for them.

I work in Winch and yes, there IS an element of truth in what bibbity says, to be fair! I have several Bodenista friends in Winch who are generally fab but can on occasion be relied upon to remind us non-ex-Londoners that they're doing us a favour by keeping the house prices (and 'tone') so high (they're all sleeping with their friends' DHs as well but that's another story...)! BUT the upside of this is the schools are in the main, pretty good- my friends do look askance at parents who still insist on sending Tybalt and Olivia 20 miles to private schools with such excellent state schools on their doorstep!

Thanks for all your help, we found out yesterday that son got into All Saints Winchester but Daughter didn't - there are no places for her in any of three schools we put down.

I am guessing that we have to appeal, but on what grounds? As I say, son is very shy and lacks confidence when not around sister, can I go with that? Or the fact that they allocated my son a place without a UK address but not my daughter. I guess I am now boarding the appeal train like so many of you on these threads!

If you are prepared to drive 10 mins out of winchester , Wherwell primary school is wonderful, with a total pupil count of 120 covering 5 classes (20 ish children per class)ages 4-11 it so friendly, your son would florish there.
They grow their own vegtables, keep chickens, orchard in the front garden, need I say more.

Good luck with the appeal. In some ways it is good that it wont be an infant class size appeal (as it would have been with your son).

If you want appeals advice, I would be tempted to start a new thread with something like 'Appeals advice help needed' in the title in the primary ed. section.

Hi, NotNigella1 again.

Did your daughter receive any offers? They are obliged to offer her a place somewhere.

The difficulty is that you need to find somewhere with two places in different years, which is quite tricky. Your son would certainly be fine and well looked-after at All Saints. He'd be in the same class as my DC.

Places do come up from time to time, and it may be better to accept the place that you have been offered while waiting for the second, rather than waiting for two to come up at once, which could take forever. I don't envy your position at all. Do CAT if you want to. There are appeals experts around, so I'd start another thread, linking to this one.

Hi Anner again.

No, my daughter didn't receive any offers? That's what I thought, that she would be offered the next available school place for her year! I am hoping that it's not Winnal, I understand Stanmore is quite good now, but my brother has warned me against W.

Yes, we have accepted my son's place - seems silly not to, and as he is the one that is, let's say a bit more fragile of the two, then I am glad at least he got a place.

Any advice on what areas we should be looking at for houses to rent?

OK, will look at the other links about appeals. Thanks so much for your help, you don't know how many headaches you have relieved me of over here!

Well NotNigella1 might see Anner in class then!