Hello everyone

We need help with a dilemma.Our son is due to start reception in 2019. Our older children attended Belmont Primary School but we have now moved out of the catchment area.
The dilemma is do we move closer to Belmont Primary School because it is familiar (even though we do not think they stretch the more able students) or do we apply to Christchurch Primary School?

We are likely to get into Christchurch as we attend church and live locally but I am not sure about the school.
Does anyone know what behaviour is like at Christchurch?
Does anyone know if the school stretches the more able students?

We have read the Ofsted Report and as a teacher myself I know that Ofsted reports do not always show the full picture. We would love to hear from parents of children that attend Christchurch or what people may have heard about the school.

We are also looking at Old Bexley School. It is further away from us but seems like a good school. Does anyone have children at this school? What is behaviour like? In what ways do they stretch the more able students? I would really appreciate your opinions.

We also have a dd in year 5. We are thinking of St Catherine's Catholic School as a back-up/ non selective choice.

Any views would be much appreciated.

Kind regards Daddyof3

Dear daddyof3

I don't have children at either Old Bexley or Christchurch so I'm afraid I can't give you any personal feedback from those schools. I do think that we are very lucky in having such good primary schools in the Bexley Borough, there are very few that aren't up to scratch.

My advice would be to visit the schools, and go with your gut feeling. If I have read your post correctly, and you are willing to move to an area within Bexley for the right school (assuming this given the distance between the schools you mentioned), then perhaps ask around - friends, family, neighbours for feedback, visit the schools and go from there. They will all vary greatly, in size, feel, location etc. Then check out their Ofsted reports, draw up a shortlist and go from there?

Also probably worth looking into catchment for the schools you are interested before moving and you also might want to consider local secondary school options.

Good luck!

Thanks so much amfnc for your advice. We have started going to open mornings and have been asking local parents their views on the intended schools.

We have also started looking at accessibility of our desired schools as the daily commute and pick up is so important. We only considering schools with a breakfast/after school provision.

We have started reading through the admissions criteria as a school we thought we would qualify for we actually found out that we wouldn't be a prioriy for that school.

Thanks so much for your post.

daddyof3

Please don’t rule out schools that don’t have breakfast and after school provision. It really narrows the field. There are plenty of childminders who offer this service at very reasonable rates and pick up from school gates etc, they are often more flexible on times. You also never know when a service run by the school might close. I do know Parents who chose schools like Farringtons that have a school bus that picks up from home, then drops back home and has after school clubs etc and the fees aren’t as exorbitant as some fee paying schools but it still isn’t a sole reason to choose a school. Yes if you like two schools equally and both are convenient but one happens to have a breakfast club that might be a clincher.

Thanks so much PettswoodFiona you are right. I did not consider childminders. I will look into this as well.

Does anyone know or heard anything about St Catherine's Secondary School?