Lewisham secondary schools advice please - DD currently in Y5

[SarfE4sticated]

Hi everyone, as you will probably see from my username I live in SE4. I would like some candid reviews of our local schools please. We are near Haberdashers and Prendergast HF, but would like to sell our tiny flat and move somewhere cheaper after DD has got her place and DD will have to commute to school, or I will drop her off on my way into Central London.

So query is two-fold.

1. Which of my local schools are the friendliest, with good academic results, and if the answer is none, what about in cheaper near areas (Catford, Bellingham, Beckenham etc)?.
2. Are there any other friendly affordable areas of SE London, where I could get a nice 1930s semi for about £550K?

Thanks everyone!

How far are you from PHFC? I know that a lot of Hilly Fields' brothers go to Prendergast Vale.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-73072940.html does it have to be 1930s?

Ummmmgogo My DH hates moving, so as I am likely to be living in this house until I die, so I wanted to buy something detached and with a decent garden like this.

CodewordRochambeau we're quite close to Brockley Station so closest to Haberdashers at the moment.

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/47206352?search_identifier=62b64fda891223f65ef5f619a56e71d9#LkKi7MM2sTIkhPAZ.97

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-52215462.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-64548175.html
Don’t really know the areas

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-59629588.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61085590.html

So my DD is at Sydenham School which is great but you’ll be out of the catchment area for that one. I have heard good things about Prendergast Hilly Fields, it seems a nice school.
Commute-wise - think carefully about the journey your DD will be making, sometimes in the dark - check if there are easy bus routes.

We looked at hilly fields and haberdashers last year, and were more impressed by hilly fields. But both schools strike me as being very good.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53939871.html

this one is walking distance to Thomas tallis secondary? x

The West Norwood house that Mary19 lists would be in catchment for Dunraven, an ACE secondary. I know the Rightmove school tracker says it wouldn’t but that is because the idiotic and useless Rightmove tracker doesn’t recognise the difference between entry to the 2 form primary department and the 6 class secondary intake (it is an all-through school).

I don't think you can go wrong in Bromley - nice, safe area and green. It has two super selective grammar schools so the other secondaries are more like true comprehensives. Commute to London is good. Wricklemarsh Rd is nice and Thomas Tallis is on the up.
Look at Hither Green if you are considering grammar schools as their are several train lines and Chislehurst and Sidcup and Bexley Grammar as well as Newstead Woods school become possibilities.

We really liked Deptford Green - which is near you. Current Ofsted not great (but quite old), but we adore the creative vibe and newish head and know lots of happy parents. Might be worth a look?

I would support the advice from Mrs Patmore, there are great Comprehensives like Langley Park in Beckenham or Darrick Wood in Orpington, plus the choice of grammars. DD is thriving at her grammar and has friends who commute from Lewisham to her school as it has a 9 mile radius catchment. You can definitely get a 1930s semi in the local area for that budget, or a 4 bed townhouse in Crofton near Orpington.

I would approach Deptford Green with caution. It has had a very rocky few years and you need to read the reports from the monitoring visits as well as the full section 5 ofsted reports. It would not be my choice for an academic child.

If friendliness is a priority then Addey and Stanhope might suit. It has a reputation for being small and nurturing.

Nevertheless, for an academic child in that area my choices would be Haberdashers, and PHFC for girls.

Likely to be in the catchment area for Bullers Wood - <a class="break-all" href="http://www.bwsgirls.org/www.newsteadwood.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.bwsgirls.org/www.newsteadwood.co.uk/

You could also apply for the nearby grammars including Newstead Wood - www.newsteadwood.co.uk/
Both girls / Ofsted outstanding & good results.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72306779.html

Not the style of house you were looking for but lovely garden, well situated and pretty spacious accommodation for the price -
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-71891996.html

Again, a compromise on the style of the house , but good value for 500K - www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-49131717.html

Depending on where you want to move to, even if local to SE4, worth checking the postcode & routeplanner as you may be still within the 9 miles allowed for Newstead Wood.

Thanks everyone, you have been so helpful.
My problem with the grammars is that DD is pretty bright, but also very sensitive, and I don't think she'll be able to stand the pressure of a super-selective, if she gets in. I think Haberdashers is a pretty good school, and friends of ours are happy there, so maybe we'll stick with that and I'll have to wait another 8 years until I get my house!

Just to clarify, Bullers Wood isn't a grammar, it's a non-selective local girls school (with boys in the sixth-form I think) with a good MFL offer. Anyway, whatever you decide, I hope it goes well and you get your house in the end.

We're in Hither Green and the girls who get places at PHF tend to be those who've got music scholarships - it's unusual to get in on distance criteria. Other girls mostly go to Eltham Hill or Tallis but I know of a couple who've ended up at Prendergast Ladywell. If you look further into Catford, the Corbett estate to be precise, you'll see girls travelling to Sedgehill and a few to Sydenham Girls.

When we chose a secondary for DD1, we didn't look at results but we did look at how far away the schools are/how long the journey to and fro would take her each day. She's in Y8 now and that still feels like the right decision - her school doesn't set loads of homework, has high but realistic expectations and a sensible approach to supporting extra-curricular interests that require time off school

Bromley is difficult, you need to be careful where you live. Bullers distance shrunk again and the next two years have bulge classes in primary and several schools increased permanently from 2 to 3 form in the area.

Beckenham - lovely but there is only Harris unless you live in distance to Langley which is not central Beckenham.

You could look into Hayes Secondary but distance was just under 1mile this year.

For the grammar - unless you get in by scor you need to live very close to get in by distance.
Transport links are good though.

What about this house? It's exactly the kind of house I want, but I don't see any schools that are mentioned here. It would be a 45minute commute for DD to Haberdashers too...

Bonus Pastor has a great reputation but it (obviously) has an overtly Catholic ethos, and you're unlikely to get in if you aren't practising Catholics.

HAKA is in the same federation as Haberdashers' Hatcham but is not really comparable. It has improved a LOT since it was Malory but it serves a very different demographic.

Harris academies are incredibly good at improving failing schools rapidly and getting Outstanding status. They are not for everyone, however.

You need to check the admissions for the school you want and see if you would be certain of getting in from the property, not that are ever any guarantees when a major criteria it is distance. I know of people who've moved well within a past distance and then found due to a bulge class a few years before or a new housing development, a large number of siblings that year etc, the catchment has shrunk and they haven't got a place resulting in a very expensive upheaval for all the family without the planned outcome.

Please be aware that none of the schools mentioned (or indeed any school in Lewisham or Bromley) uses a true, defined catchment. Catchments are fixed and do not change except by proper consultation. Posters referring to 'catchments' mean the admissions area defined by admissions on distance criteria in previous years, which are as PWP describes subject to change due to a high birth rate year, bulge class etc. It's an incredibly common mistake and estate agents are particularly guilty of using the term incorrectly.

Hi OP, my DD is in Y7 and at Newstead Wood, same as another poster on this thread. I think it counts as super-selective, and I have been very very concerned about whether it was the right choice for her for the reasons you outline OP.

DD really only wanted to try for a grammar as her very academic older brother is at St Olave’s. It’s a great fit for him, but DD is much harder on herself, has to ‘graft’ a bit more than DS, and we have a very very good, recently refurbished girls’ comp a 20 min walk away, rather than an hour’s commute away...

Long story short: she loves it. I think, to be honest, she would have loved the comp too, but she has made lovely friends, joined in ‘the life of the school’ and is not just coping academically but getting great reports.

I worried it would be all full of ‘alpha’ girls, and my quieter child might struggle, but she has found some like-minded friends, and seems happy enough not to always be top of the class/ up at assembly/ representing the school/ county/ national team in umpteen sports 😉.

If you have any questions, do feel free to pm me, and good luck with whatever you decide to do.