Colfe's vs Charter North Dulwich

[Jacaranda31715]

Hi all,

My son has an offer from Colfe's for Y7 this Sept and there's a high chance he'll get a place at Charter North given our proximity to the school (about 0.3miles) - of course you never know until offer day.

He loved Colfe's but it would be about 45-60 mins each way for him. We also have 2 younger children to think about/plan for.

Question is: is Colfe's worth it if we get Charter? Trying to plan ahead of next week's state offers day (1st Mar) and Colfe's acceptance deadline (3rd Mar).

TIA

My kids go to primary school in East Dulwich and I have a DC in y7 in the area too (not at Charter North but he has friends at Charter North from primary school). It has a great reputation locally and his friends there have settled in well and are all very happy. Academically it performs very well and the sports facilities are decent too. We would have wanted our DC to go there but we aren't quite close enough unfortunately!

I know nothing about Colfe's so can't comment on that, but 3 x DC at private school in London is quite the financial undertaking (factoring in fee rises and possible VAT on fees at some point). We also have 3 kids and ruled out private as local state schools are good, and Charter North is one of the best in the area.

Was there a reason you went for Colfe’s? Is it the school itself or was it was a backup to not getting a place at the Charter (which seems unlikely from what you say). Presumably you’ve had a look around? In any event you have a couple of days to decide and you could stretch it out all the way till Sept although that would mean forfeiting a term’s fees if you opted for the Charter.

We had the same problem, having secured a place at Whitgift (45 min school coach) before knowing we got a place at Charter (600m away). Well the comparison now is ridiculous, he’s not even bothered by the commute (I am!) but I only have one son so am prepared to pay up for the next 7 years!

Private will buy you better facilities and smaller class sizes but if you embrace comprehensive education warts and all then Charter N is an excellent choice. It's recently got an outstanding from Ofsted and outcomes are above average. It also won't cost you private school fees x3 x7 years.