Belleville or Honeywell Post Reply

[Mamas and Papas]

Hello, I am sure that this question has been asked before but we live right between Honeywell and Belleville and are wondering which would suit our daughter more. Would love to hear of any recent experiences. Thanks in advance xx

[Lepresidente]

People will find out on the 19th April!! School allocation day!

To answer your question they are both so different but Honeywell has a large number edge . TBH most parents want to get into Honeywell but simply aren’t close enough ( if you close , apply to Honeywell) . It is sought after from across London and has a fantastic playground and facilities plus a much smaller school (400 vs 900 at Belleville) . Belleville less so but still an outstanding school . The Belleville playground is concrete which is massively disappointing and they squeeze 900 kids in there over x hours .

If you have the luxury of choice due to location , choose Honeywell . We are also very lucky . You are in a very envious position TBH .

[LavenderH]

If you are looking to apply for next year, Belleville just got fresh Ofsted inspection so definitely look out for that. Our son goes to Belleville and we weren't in a position to choose between the two so cannot really compare it to Honeywell other than the Ofsted stats which should be the most objective but dated. Definitely visit both schools if you haven't and to get a less rehearsed view attend an event from the PTA for both - i.e. Christmas fair or similar.
DS loves it at Belleville and so do we. It's a very active and welcoming community which we weren't expecting. It's indeed larger in size but as a result very diverse which suits us well. NappyValley is indeed a very privileged area and kids that get to those schools (specially Honeywell given the small catching area) tend to do so by very careful engineering of either buying or renting expensive property. This also applies to Belleville but to a lesser extent and you therefore get I suspect a bit more of a mix in families and backgrounds.
In any way you are very lucky to find yourself local to two excellent school with vibrant communities and truly can't do wrong. Good luck!

[curly]

Having had children at both schools, I would only choose Honeywell from now on.

Both have a sense of community, but Honeywell is more personal and is smaller. It’s little things like : Belleville teachers are not allowed to communicate with you via email (if you email the school, they come and find you at pick up or drop off) whereas you can email Honeywell teachers directly and you will get a direct contact. This really matters when you are a working parent and can’t do drop offs etc.

Belleville is much bigger and felt more of a machine. This could have just been my experience but I have had many friends move their kids from Belleville to Honeywell over the last few years.

Good luck with your choices. We are lucky to have such good schools on our doorstep.

[troubs]

I think you really need to visit both and get a feel for which school suits you. I would also visit the Meteor site of Belleville and the junior school part of Honeywell.

We were in a similar position to you a few years ago and chose Belleville over Honeywell for a variety of reasons. We have friends at both. Belleville has a larger intake and split over two sites (if you are located between Belleville and Honeywell I suspect you would opt for Webbs Rd). Mefeor is over one floor and I know some children have gone over to that site from Webbs when they have broken their leg for example, so they can still attend school, but generally you stay on the same site once you have started. They have added large play areas to the playgrounds and are doing them up at the moment but they do bring out lots of equipment e.g. trikes for younger years, for them to play with during the break. The teaching is great, with specialist teachers for some subjects and others led by those with an interest in the area. The books the children read are carefully chosen to represent the wider world and to be more inclusive for example. The OFSTED results should be announced soon but the rumour is that it went 'really well'. Hopefully the after school provision can increase too as things were more limited due to space constraints over covid. Their teaching during lockdown esp second lockdown (live teaching etc) was really well planned and far more useful than that provided to my friends' children in Honeywell (although let's hope that never has to be enacted again). I've never done drop off or pick up, but have always emailed the teachers and they have emailed or called me without any delays or issues. Often the teachers are still around when I pick up my children from afterschool club and so they will make a point of catching me then to have a face to face chat.

Honeywell has one fantastic playground (that children could only use once a week when we were considering the school) and the others were a bit sparse. I think the big thing for me is the huge turnover of staff in Honeywell juniors in the last couple of years since the new head came in. Parents and staff seem deeply unhappy in juniors since this change and several of my friends have left Honeywell for this reason. Numerous complaints fall on deaf ears and there seems to be no attempt to address concerns. I should add this is based on what friends at the school have said and not my personal experience and I am sure some parents remain very happy with the junior school. The infants school still seems as fantastic as ever though.

They both have a very different feel and I think its important you see both (take your child too) to see what you think feels right for you all.

[betsyboop]

Belleville has wonderful staff and great families, but it is really big and this influence the way it is run which doesn't leave much room for differentiation and individualisation, but is reasonably efficient big machine.
Despite what it is advertised the children do not get as much of the specialised teaching you would think (in art and ICT for instance). 
it has a strong focus on maths and English (with success in English, many children find the maths boring, as the method is extremely repetitive), and the money and efforts are currently poured into that, less so in the other subject sports/art/languages. Drama is unheard of.
Special needs aren't also getting much attention either, with things often pushed push back and away with a passive attitude and parents being told to wait as children may outgrow whatever it is that worries you. so if you have any suspicions of autism, dyslexia or ADHD etc it's really not the place to go. The children who fall clearly behind will get support, but anyone middling or performing below their potential won't. 

Belleville has been historically more diverse than Honeywell and possibly more structured (with Honeywell perceived as more creative and adventurous). Belleville has a high teacher turnover, throughout the school and Honeywell has had a lot of changes recently in the junior, but I think this may stabilise as linked to a change in headship. Honeywell I think has more sports fixtures against over school and starts early on.  

​​​​​​​if you want nurture and care, I would go for Honeywell. 
But both are vibrant schools, unless you have specific needs, you are not going to go wrong. 

[wenlinchineseschool]

Can't comment on Honeywell because we don't have experience there. We love Belleville! 
 

[bellevillemum3]

I would go for Honeywell as I like the fact they mix the classes in the year 3 and year 5, the kids can make new friends and can reinvent themselves etc it's an opportunity to re-balance classes as well, if needed.

Belleville keeps classes together for 6 years and mix them on the last year Y6, which is too late and unsettling in what is already a busy stressful year (with SATS and secondary school transfer), by then cliques have formed and whoever hasn't found their true friends will struggle, it's also more difficult for children who get into the school mid-way to "break in" etc.