St anselms and st boniface Post Reply

[Asmac]

My sister is considering moving to between Tooting Bec and Broadway. Her husband is Catholic so they are interested in views on St Anselms and St Boniface schools. Does anyone have any feedback on either? How big are the catchments? They would be very grateful for any feedback.

[Wheresmyschool?]

St Anselms is very very very good.

Amazing results, amazing PTA, I've heard almost only brilliant things.

The only downside to it is that because it's so good (one of the UK's best performing primarys) they have huge power over parents. That means you have to really jump through hoops to both get in and whilst you're there. Massive input expected in terms of fundraising etc.

That's not a problem - just an observation.

[Asmac]

Thanks so much for your help. Do you know anything about catchment area/admissions? They are planning to buy but obviously want to be confident they would get in before committing. Many thanks

[Wheresmyschool?]

Hi
The bad news is it's going to be almost impossible for them to know.

As it's a religious school the selection criteria are a little subjective. Distance to school is important (catchment area) but so is their commitment to the church in terms of profile with the priest, attendance at church etc etc.

To be brutally brutally honest if they are regular church attendees and valuable members of their current church community and their priest is prepared to put it in writing then they might, just might, have a shot.

Otherwise there is no chance.

I'd suggest they speak to the school and do some digging but they will need several years of regular current church attendance.

Don't get me start on whether that is Christian or not!

[firsttimerSW11]

http://www.tootingonline.com/forum/toot ... ances.html

doesnt seem to be much in it.

[Asmac]

That's really interesting, thanks so much. Does anyone know anything about St Boniface? TIA

[papinian]

I know both parishes and schools relatively well.

St Anselm's admits 30 a year. St. Boniface admits 45 but this is increasing to 50 from next September. Demographically, St Anselm's is very largely white English/European whereas St Boniface is more mixed with a significant number of children with Tamil, Goan and Keralan heritage.

The headmistress of St Anselm's has just announced that she will be leaving at the end of this school year, so a bit of uncertainty about that right now.

The admission criteria for each school are similar. For both schools those attending Mass at the parish church rank ahead of those not attending Mass at the parish school. There is one slight difference - for St Anselm's it does not matter whether you live in the parish (although obviously distance to the school matters) whereas for St Boniface (all other things being equal) if you live in the parish you will be admitted ahead of someone not living in the parish.

I don't have an exact idea where the boundary between the two parishes is but the parish office at either church should be able to tell you. Don't make any assumptions about where the boundary is, e.g. most of Furzedown is in St Anselm's parish even though it is nearly St Boniface.

If your sister and her husband meet all of the religious criteria in terms of admission priority, i.e. child baptised and attendance by child and Catholic parent (attendance by non-Catholic parent not necessary) at Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation over period of 3 years prior to the date of school application, then living anywhere between Tooting Bec and Tooting Broadway their child is likely to get a place at the school in the parish in which they live - certainly at St Boniface, almost certainly at St Anselm's. My only hesitation re St Anselm's is that because it only admits 30 a year there can be years where the number of siblings gets to over 20 (it looks like this year will be one of those).

[falconmum]

Papinian is spot on .

We were considering St. Anslems as an option as my husband is Catholic .However, despite of regular attendance over the last 10 months (since we moved) , we have been told we have no chance. Fact that I am not Christian does not help.
Also because my husband did not sign the register while he was attending, it makes it a double strike. This is tricky as the priest only announces this at the end of the mass , only 10 times a year , so it is quite random .
If you dont attend due to holidays, you miss an attendance.

There are quite a few other great schools around Tooting including Tooting Primary, Fircroft , Furzedown, Pentwortham etc ...quite a long list. So, if not a Catholic school, your sister will have other options available.

I know both parishes and schools relatively well.

St Anselm's admits 30 a year. St. Boniface admits 45 but this is increasing to 50 from next September. Demographically, St Anselm's is very largely white English/European whereas St Boniface is more mixed with a significant number of children with Tamil, Goan and Keralan heritage.

The headmistress of St Anselm's has just announced that she will be leaving at the end of this school year, so a bit of uncertainty about that right now.

The admission criteria for each school are similar. For both schools those attending Mass at the parish church rank ahead of those not attending Mass at the parish school. There is one slight difference - for St Anselm's it does not matter whether you live in the parish (although obviously distance to the school matters) whereas for St Boniface (all other things being equal) if you live in the parish you will be admitted ahead of someone not living in the parish.

I don't have an exact idea where the boundary between the two parishes is but the parish office at either church should be able to tell you. Don't make any assumptions about where the boundary is, e.g. most of Furzedown is in St Anselm's parish even though it is nearly St Boniface.

If your sister and her husband meet all of the religious criteria in terms of admission priority, i.e. child baptised and attendance by child and Catholic parent (attendance by non-Catholic parent not necessary) at Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation over period of 3 years prior to the date of school application, then living anywhere between Tooting Bec and Tooting Broadway their child is likely to get a place at the school in the parish in which they live - certainly at St Boniface, almost certainly at St Anselm's. My only hesitation re St Anselm's is that because it only admits 30 a year there can be years where the number of siblings gets to over 20 (it looks like this year will be one of those).

[Pud1]

Both are great schools. St Boniface is slightly more diverse. Holy Ghost in Balham is another option. Similar to St Anselms and again, you would need to prove mass attendance and live on the doorstep!

[ExitPursuedByABear]

For St Anselms you need to have been attending mass weekly for at least three years before the application date, and even then you need to live close to the school.

It doesn't matter at all if only one parent is Catholic though, as long one is attending.

[Asmac]

Thank you all SO much for your super helpful advice

[Cloud]

For what it's worth (as there seem to be more replies to this thread about St Anselms than St Boniface), St Boniface is a great school as well. Its headteacher, Mrs Kerins, is amazing and knows all children in the school by name and is the driving force (in my opinion) behind the school's success (along with the very dedicated teachers). There is a lovely atmosphere, very good discipline and overall a fantastic school (supported by their excellent results). The class sizes are slightly smaller than most state schools - 25 per class (2 classes per year), which is a deliberate choice by the school (i.e. not due to the school being undersubscribed - they allocate a large proportion of their budget to teaching costs as they place a large value on the teacher:pupil ratio).

In terms of admissions, for both St Anselms and St Boniface you need to prove you have attended mass regularly for at least three years but remember, this doesn't have to have been at either of those churches for the entire three years (in other words, if you move from elsewhere but can provide a statement from the priest from your former parish that you attended mass regularly there, that will count towards the three years).

I agree with Papinian that if you live in Tooting Bec or Broadway you will have a good chance with both, and we're lucky to have both these schools in this area.

[dohnia]

St. Boniface has a brilliant reputation. As a teacher I have heard very good things and have been impressed by the positive atitudes of staff I have met on training days etc. I also think the diverse nature of the school is a benefit for children socially.

[Pud1]

Just wondering what your sister did in the end OP. Did she get into either of the schools?

[Veri123]

Hello, quick q re the signing sheet for st. A. We are regular attendees and heard a couple of times about this but weren t sure what this was until we asked the Priest. do you know if the sheet is available during all Masses on these 10 selected Sundays? We do not necessarily attend the Children s Mass at 10.15 and I was wondering if the message was shared throughout all 4 w/e Masses.

Thanks