Harris South Norwood? - Croydon Secondary Help!!

[HokeyCokeyPigInAPokey]

DD1 is in year 6 so we are just about to start looking at secondary schools.

We are close to Harris South Norwood, we are closer to Oasis Shirley but dd is not at all keen on the idea of going there, and nor am i.

We are also close to Shirley High, Edenham and Arch Bishop Tennison all of which we will see. Admittedly i do not hold out any real hope of ABT as we are no religious.

Any advice, anyone have any experience of any of these schools.

Before falling in love with any of these schools, make sure you read the admission policies first.

ABT, Harris & Shirley tend to reach 70+ achieving 5 A*-Cs inc Maths and Eng. Oasis is 65ish and Edenham is a little lower.

ABT is virtually no entry unless you attend church regulary for the past 2-3 years and are involved with church life.

Harris South Norwood is on the up, does well for all pupils of low, middle and high ability but does not have a sibling rule. Also as the school has grown more popular the catchment area has falled to under 1 mile (I believe it was .8 of a mile last year). Some people are not keen on the Harris way, personally, it is nice for Croydon North to have some schools that are willing to push kids to be the best that they can be and the school looks fab!

Shirley High and Edenham are also both on the up, take other people's opinion of both schools with a pinch of salt. People tend to talk about the old reputation of each school. Shirley has a smaller catchment area than Edenham but both have the sibling rule (if this is important to you).

What is important is what YOU are looking for in a school and your child's personality. Have this in mind when you go to view schools. Ask your tour guides not the teachers (as they are primed with typical school response) if you want honest answers. A school is more than the GCSE results.

Oh and a final tip, get to Harris & Shirely High early on visit days they both tend to get busy quite early on otherwise your tour can feel a little on the rushed side of things and you may not have time to see all the facilities.

Thanks for the reply.

I am under no illusions about ABT i know only 10% of the intake are "local" children.

We are 1.1 miles from Harris South Norwood, i know some children who got in last year and are very happy there, they live further away than us so i hope we would be in the catchment. I like the sound of the school and am hoping the visit will live up to expectations.

DD is keen on Shirley as it seems that is where most of her friends want to go, we will get to them all early so we can have a good look - thanks for the tip.

Have you visited yet? What are your impressions?
I am still few years away from the secondary admissions, and hoping to have moved at the time, but from what I have heard my top choices would be Shirley High, then Edenham.

Does anyone know what is the catchment for ABT non-religious places? Is it safe to live 0.2 miles from the school? 0.4 miles from the school?

Hello there,
I am looking for someone,who is ofsted registered,and would be able to drop my 11 years old daughter to Edenham High School from South Croydon.
Thank you! :)