St Michael’s 1st March 2019 Allocations

[Hereorthere]

I agree with CestMoi. A very friendly relaxed chat with your family. You can discuss any concerns or doubts you have. She is very approachable.

[gulat]

My dd and my better half met the head of KS3 today.

My dd came out of the meeting a bit concerned and I would appreciate advice from parents who have older children attending the school.

Concerns in no particular order
- The school does not have any lockers. Money and mobile phones to be left in blazer pockets and blazers hung on pegs in summer. (DD primary school has had a few theft of named blazers etc)
- No place to securely store text books so as to avoid carrying books back and forth
- Blazers have to be left in school during winters as the overcoats do not fit over the blazer. Additionally the overcoats are not water proof nor do they look very warm

So questions are:
- How safe are books and stuff (Oyster Card, Basic Mobile) left hanging on pegs or kept within desk
- How do girls keep dry during wet weather and warm during winter on the way to school
- Do many girls walk from the school to Woodside Park or West Finchley stations on the Northern Line

Practical advice from parents with girls in Y7 and Y8 greatly appreciated.

[ToadMum]

Does the school not allow purse belts oor something similar to keep valuables in? Or could your DD put them in her bag (presumably they have bags with them all day to carry their books around in)?

[gulat]

Purse belts not allowed. Additionally school bags to be hung on a peg for the day. An additional small bag to be bought into school to ferry subset of books between classes.

[llhj]

Honestly, do not worry. The cloth bag dies a death almost instantly and they end up lugging backpacks around. These have their phones and money in. They are heavy with textbooks but this is the story for most schools. They have their own desk in the form room to store books in too. The girls all wear the coat (completely non negotiable and loathed), it is pretty warm but yes not waterproof. Waterproofs and brollies are something that, again, no secondary pupil is remotely keen on. You will see, these problems all dissolve. No one is interested in nicking blazers either. They all just stay on pegs.

[llhj]

And yes, lots of girls travel on tube.

[ToadMum]

Just looked at the prices of various uniform items on the supplier's website.

, basically.

Will the new PP girls get at least part of their uniform provided by the school (the £95 blazer or the £100+ non-weatherproof coat perhaps?).

[gulat]

@llhj thanks for the feedback and reassurance.
Are the desks that they keep their books in within their form room locked as I assume the form rooms are used as classes for other year groups during the day. Do girls usually leave their books in their form rooms or just lug them around?

@ToadMum exactly my expression when I saw the price of the Uniform

[loobylou]

Compulsory coats at > £100
I'd be so unimpressed if we had to buy school coats.

[wisdom]

My dd and my better half met the head of KS3 today.

My dd came out of the meeting a bit concerned and I would appreciate advice from parents who have older children attending the school.

Concerns in no particular order
- The school does not have any lockers. Money and mobile phones to be left in blazer pockets and blazers hung on pegs in summer. (DD primary school has had a few theft of named blazers etc)
- No place to securely store text books so as to avoid carrying books back and forth
- Blazers have to be left in school during winters as the overcoats do not fit over the blazer. Additionally the overcoats are not water proof nor do they look very warm

So questions are:
- How safe are books and stuff (Oyster Card, Basic Mobile) left hanging on pegs or kept within desk
- How do girls keep dry during wet weather and warm during winter on the way to school
- Do many girls walk from the school to Woodside Park or West Finchley stations on the Northern Line

Practical advice from parents with girls in Y7 and Y8 greatly appreciated.

Hello, I've been a St M parent for more than 10 years. My DDs have never had any problems with valuables, in fact I don't remember them losing anything at all. It is true that lockers/desks are not locked, but I do not think this is a problem. There is a very trusting ethos in the school but the girls understand from day 1 that any missing items/thefts would not be dealt with lightly. There is the odd mistake with uniforms/pe kit etc but things always turn up or return to their rightful owner.

Many girls walk from the tube, although probably a greater proportion get various buses.

Regarding the lovely black coat, it's compulsory after October half term up to Feb half term. If it rains you get wet and coat gets heavy and smells of sheep!! So small umbrella in school rucksack highly recommended. For rest of year, no girl ever wears the coat as it is not that attractive!

Regarding textbooks, depending which year DD is in, you either get a desk or a locker. You only need to take home the books needed for homework. All books are numbered and owner identified, so no problems there.

Regarding blazers, you can wear under coat but almost nobody does, instead leaving blazer at school from October to Feb. My DDs have never complained from cold but they do sometimes wear a thermal vest under blouse.

Regarding the cost of uniform, it is expensive but lasts forever. The only items I have bought since initial purchase in Y7 have been extra blouses and couple of jumpers. In fact, one of my DDs coat has gone through 2 families and still going strong....

I hope this info helps.

Good luck to your DD and enjoy the school!