Alderbrook & Fircroft Post Reply

[NYVANLON]

My family and I will be moving to the area in the spring (no firm date yet, so hopefully paperwork will be sorted by then) from abroad. We've hired a school search agency to give us an idea of what schools have spaces for our children in the area. They would be in Year 1 & Year 3 this school year 2015/2016 and we'd apply via in-years application for the last couple months of this school year.

We received the report this morning and unsurprisingly, there are no spaces in any of the "Outstanding" schools in Clapham, Balham and Tooting areas, but we did have some luck with "Good" schools. We specifically requested both our children go to the same school, so that was a consideration, as well.

The only schools with spaces right now are Alderbrook & Fircroft. I would love some insight from parents of either schools. Good, bad, things to look out for, extra curricular offerings, etc.

Also, should I be concerned that there are spaces at these schools? I am a very active parent at my kids' current school, part of the PTA the past 4 years and neighbourhood community is very important to us. We will base our housing search on the school with our best chance and the agency will do another round of availability checks right before we're ready to look for a place. I'm taking this time to do as much research as I can, since we can't physically be there right now.

THANK YOU!

[Goldhawk]

What agency are you using?
You can phone the council yourself to find out the info on spaces

Those schools have spaces because other schools have better reputations (deserved or not)

Are you renting or buying a home?

If you want one of the outstanding schools your best bet is to move as close as possible to it and then wait for a space to come up. You can send your kids to a school with space while you wait.

[Mumboo]

Hi there,

I'm a very happy Alderbrook parent. My child is in Reception and I've been nothing but impressed and have recently joined the very active PTA.

There was a thread asking for views on the school not that long ago so probably worth searching for that on this site.

Just fyi - Alderbrook was one of nine schools within Wandsworth that recently achieved virtually perfect scores in last summer's national phonics tests (96% - same as Honeywell and Belleville). This success rate puts it in the top five per cent of high performing schools nationally.

Anyway, feel free to PM me if you want any more info.

Good luck! x

[NYVANLON]

Goldhawk- we are using Laidlaw To help us with our search simply because it's too difficult to be on the phone searching around with our time difference and we wanted some local guidance. Do either of your children go to the school's I inquired about? We will be renting when we arrive. It's very important to me that our children go to the same school off the bat and with the traumatic move already, the last thing I want is to switch them around in schools too much. This is why I would prefer not to deal with any wait lists if at all possible.

I don't want to put too much weight on "outstanding" vs "good" as community atmosphere, parent involvement, happy kids, teachers that love their jobs and extracurricular offerings etc are considered for us as a family. My kids are very happy at our school here in Canada but by no means are we even in the top 10% if you go by the ratings. I ask for parents at the above mentioned schools to comment because they would have the first hand knowledge of the school atmosphere.

I don't quite understand (yet) why so many families move to private/independent schools from primary. Does this happen at every school and is that mostly to prepare for tests? Will my kids make friends and then lose most of them to private school? I'm trying to understand the system better so any insight is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[NYVANLON]

Thanks Mumboo - I've sent you a PM.

Goldhawk - We've hired Laidlaw to assist in the school search. The process is so different in London that we wanted some guidance and with the time difference, it has been helpful for them to make all the calls etc.
Do your children go to either Alderbrook or Fircroft?
We don't want to move our kids around schools, since we're already traumatizing them with a big move. Our preference is to find a school we have a chance of getting into and staying put.

It concerns me that I've been reading so many people move their kids to private school after Year 4 / age 8. I'm trying to understand why this is, as this is not common in North America at all...should we expect our kids to make friends and then everyone leaves?

Thanks all for your insight!

[T&R]

Hi there, what age are your children? What years will they be joining here? I have a child in Year 2 ( age 6) and reception ( age 5) and they are both very happy at Alderbrook. It has a super Head who is really improving the school, young enthusiastic teachers, a friendly atmosphere and is still a small school so you recognise faces in the playground. It has a good PTA which really care about helping to make a difference for their children at the school. The school has a wide mix of children, just like the London we live in today. The schools moto is 'the best for every child every day'.
Good luck with your move

[Topsycat]

Hi, my children are currently in years 1 and 3 at Alderbrook - we'd be glad to have you join us! We are very happy with the school. The teaching is very good, and both my children are doing well and enjoying school life. As others have said, there is an active PTA and a friendly atmosphere in the playground.

When my eldest started at the school it was not as popular as others in the area, plus it had expanded to 2 form entry only the previous year - as a result the classes weren't full and Year 3 still has small class sizes. Since then the school has become much more popular and the catchment area has shrunk, to the extent that my neighbours are worried they won't be able to get in. I hope that helps to answer your concerns about why the school is able to offer you places.