moving to s london with y7 dd

[lilalien]

Hi all

looking for advice. We'll be moving back to London for my job after many years in the wilderness. Thank the lord!

My daughter is currently in y7 at a grammar school and has known nothing but a sleepy market town. I'm looking for advice on where we might choose to live for good schools. We last lived in Peckham/E.Dulwich but that was 11 years ago and I'm not sure we can afford to buy there again. SE London would be ideal though.

Any thoughts? Has anyone else made a similar move recently? I'm really concerned about not being able to get a place at a decent school because she'll be entering yr 8.

Further out, but generally good schools and good transport links for centre of london, would be Bromley. May be a bit suburban for you though.

Thanks Pooka - was thinking that myself. I lived in Orpington many, many moons ago. Might not be what I'd choose for us as a couple but would possibly be less of a culture shock for dd. She really, really doesn't want to move as she has a gang of mates here that she roams the town with quite safely. I'm guessing that's not a practice I'll feel comfortable with in SE London!

Well there's a good choice of schools at secondary level. Darrick Wood great, from what I've heard. Hayes and Langley Girls get good press. Ravensbourne seems on the way up (though depends who you talk to).

If she's a a grammar, would Newstead be an option? Not sure how they deal with admissions post year 7. But I do remember 2 friends leaving my comprehensive to go to Newstead Woods, one in year 8 and one in year 9. But that was many moons ago!

Bromley not especially 'happening'. But in terms of being a good place to raise children, could do much worse. It's safe (comparatively) and a bit staid and dull, but dull can be good ;)

Also think about Tooting, either within the Graveney or Burntwood catchments. (One mixed one all-girls.)

Graveney select a number (50) through an 11+ exam and so has two strong top sets as part of a secondary which regularly gets outstanding Ofsteds.

If you talked to either school they should be able to give you an indication of the sort of movement and what criteria they use. However living close to either school should do it. (Tooting is great as well with good transport, the "curry mile", a covered market, lots of green space and a lovely Lido.)

If you are religious Greycoat Hospital has large numbers commuting up through Waterloo and Victoria, and again they select a small number (15) on the basis of "language aptitude" and who form the nucleus of an academic top set.

There are a number of areas of South London where secondary provision is sparse and of poor quality. As a result schools which have a good reputation, and particularly Grammars are very sought after and may be tougher to get into than elsewhere in the Country. (If you want to scare yourself Google Tiffin and 11+ and soak up the angst and panic.) Research really is important, and the Good Schools Guide is a useful starting point.

Another option if she is very bright might be to talk to the private Dulwich schools (JAGs, Alleyns) about the availability of bursaries. Too many people in South London end up paying when they might not want to or cant really afford it, simply because options are limited.

I'd second Tooting but the catchment area for Graveney is truly tiny - a well-lobbed cricket ball from our garden would have a chance of breaking one of the school's windows and yet a few doors down the road from us is out of catchment

However, the top stream at Graveney is easily the equivalent of any grammar school - there are some scarily bright kids there! The other bonus is that the 6th form is huge (one of the biggest school 6th forms in the country) so they have a wide range of subject options and expectations are high.

Getting in at y8 would depend on whether someone had left, but being south London there is always movement

Burntwood has a much larger catchment and is also v big - 10 form entry - the top few streams are fine and it's strong on music and art, but the lower streams can be a bit problematic

The small catchment is in part because there is a well established rental market from families who will rent for a year or two right next to the school to ensure they get a place.

But not such a problem if you are moving to London anyway and were able to rent for a while, even if you plan to buy later.

From what I ear though it is worth it as the school is lovely.

Thanks all. Some really good suggestions there. Good to see some of the school names coming up that I'd come across in my research. I guess I'd better get on with sounding some of them out about how much movement they might have.

Really looking forward to getting back to London but not looking forward to the hassle of finding a school place. I think we'll have to rent for a while anyway as houses moving very slowly here in the backwater!

Adjacent to Bromley you also have grammar schools in Bexley. Bexley GS is co-ed and Townley is girls only. I would NOT describe LB Bexley as like a sleepy market town, but

1. they are both very good schools
2. Bexley village is pleasant and has a good commute via train
3. Because there are four LARGE grammars in Bexley, the chances of places coming up in Yr 8 for newcomers to the area is better than average

LB Bromley does also have Bullers Wood in Chislehurst, a very good girls' comp with a languages specialism.

I'm interested in what people are saying about the small catchment area for Graveney school. We moved out of Tooting to the west country when the children were smaller - we lived in Moyser Road and always assumed the children would go to Graveney - is that in catchment or were we delusional?

Thanks - definitely not moving back to London to emulate sleepy market town - had enough of that! Am not overly committed to Grammar - the one here hasn't really been great shakes. A good comprehensive with good differentiation strategies would suit me fine.

thefirstlady depending on whereabouts on Moyser you'd probably have been fine, although the end near Mitcham Lane wouldn't necc be in catchment - depending on how many (now non-test) siblings in any particular year

Haberdasher Askes in New Cross/Brockley has a great reputation, I don't know anything about entry criteria. It's a mixed school but teaches in single sex groups. There are also new Haberdasher schools in Grove Park and Crayford. I think Predergast in Brockley (girls) has a good rep but I could be out of date on that. I teach in a Catholic Comprehensive in Bexley which I love, but the area doesn't feel like 'London' to me! Other schools I know in the area include Coombe Girls in Kingston, Langley Park in Anerley, Kidbrooke nr Greenwich (much 'grittier' that the others mentioned but amazing drama dept if your daughter is into that).

Just to add - Tooting and its environs are also commutable for the S. London girls' grammars: Tiffin, Nonsuch, and Wallington. Though I'm not sure how admission would work after the 11+, and not sure how you'd feel about your dd doing the commute.

But, as others have said, Graveney's top stream is effectively a grammar. But with the benefits of a comprehensive.