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Secondary education

Secondary and primary education in Croydon.

17 replies

Mellisa · 27/02/2013 08:14

Hi every body I am new to mumsnet we moved back to uk in southfields near Wimbledon in 2010 my eldest is 11 years old then a six year old and the youngest one is five all of them are girls the eldest one passed 11 plus and has been offered places at old palace whitgift in Croydon,notredame senior school in cobham,Sutton high in cheam,marymount in Kingston I am finding it difficult to choose from,since we will have to move also does any one know good primary state and private schools around Croydon I don't like the area around old palace whitgift school, what kind of crowd goes there any idea .

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Mellisa · 27/02/2013 10:14

My daughter has processing issues is senco department in old palace whitgift strong enough to help .

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Ladymuck · 27/02/2013 11:20

Well firstly girls will commute some distance to Old Palace, and obviously there is a direct tram from Wimbledon, so there is certainly no need to live in central Croydon., or even within Croydon borough. I appreciate that it isn't the nicest of areas but in fairness the school is older than many of the surrounding establishments.

Old Palace is by far the most academic of the senior schools that you have on your list. Did you also go for any of the Sutton or Kingston grammars?

You are no doubt aware that Old Palace has a junior department based in more leafy South Croydon. The other two key girls prep schools in the Croydon area are Croydon High (which is based in Selsdon) and Cumnor Girls (on the Webb Estate in Purley). Naturally the girls at Croydon High procede onto the girls school there, so if you were looking at private schools I would look at both Old Palace and Cumnor Girls. There are also various co-ed prep schools in the Purley area which would send one or two children to Old Palace each year (St Davids, Oakwood, Reedham).

In terms of state schools, then I guess Sanderstead would have to be the area of choice. It has 3 good state schools, all with different characteristics, and again a number of pupils will go onto Whitgift Foundation schools at the end of Year 5 or 6.

In terms of what "sort of crowd" go to Old Palace, have you looked around the school on a working day? You would still have that opportunity whilst you make up your mind. But obviously they are academically selective and feepaying, which narrows the "crowd". I would note that a number of families who go for private preps and then Whitgift for boys tend to prefer the Wallington High or Nonsuch for girls if they can get a place (they are very competitive). I think that with Whitgift and trinity you can see what your money is buying, but some parents feel that the difference at the girls schools is not as striking.

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GetMeOut · 27/02/2013 11:50

Royal Russell might be worth a look - perceived as less academic, but has the wow factor in terms of grounds and facilities, and appears to be developing well under the new headmaster Co- Ed with a junior and senior school and on the tram line ( coombe lane ) so further out of the town and very green and leafy.

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Mellisa · 27/02/2013 12:15

Some one said that most kids are on bursaries in old palace and from struggling backgrounds which they should be proud of anyway we didn't go for Kingston grammer but only Sutton high which is not a grammer school, i would like to move from southfields since I live with my mother inlaw it's just a temporary base so we will move out eventually. Do you think in that case purley will be a better option houses are more affordable is it more safe than east Croydon stanstead is quite expensive.

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FatalFlowerGarden · 27/02/2013 12:28

I would definitely second Ladymuck's recommendation of the Sanderstead primaries. Well worth investigating.

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Mellisa · 27/02/2013 12:51

What about schools in smith ham,reed ham and coulsdon south, coulsdon looks nice do they have nice primary state and private schools

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LIZS · 27/02/2013 13:01

Coulsdon is fine but not much different in terms of property prices and demographic to Sanderstead and Purley. Chipstead primary is supposed it be nice plus the Purley/Croydon/Caterham/Chaldon prep schools. Presumably you have to accept a place very soon, can you arrange to visit again and ask re. SEN? Did you have to send an EP report with your applications ?

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Ladymuck · 27/02/2013 13:23

I think that the Sanderstead house prices reflect the value of the schools, or at least the schools reflect that it is a high-priced area.

Purley is more problematic for schools as actually historically a large number of families went private. So I wouldn't advise Purley if you were looking at state options.

I think it is unfair to say that most children in Old Palace are on bursaries, though obviously some are. But that is likely to be a number between 10-25%, certainly not "most". Given that bursaries are available to families with income up to £70k, your average bursary pupil could have 2 teachers as parents for example.

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Mellisa · 27/02/2013 18:54

That's amazing I was impressed by old places principal, a nice lady , the girls were well mannered . we have an appointment with them on Friday to discuss how the school can help my daughters minor learning difficulties. We had an educational psychologist assessment done in old palace she was not given any extra time for her 11 plus exams i am a bit anxious how my daughter will adjust in the school but I suppose all parents are since it's a transition from primary to secondary from a small school to a big one .

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noseynoonoo · 01/03/2013 12:27

Sorry to jump in. I have been wondering where Old Palace Senior school do sport. I can't see that they have much space for sports fields on that site and is there a pool?

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noseynoonoo · 01/03/2013 12:34

Sorry to jump in. I have been wondering where Old Palace Senior school do sport. I can't see that they have much space for sports fields on that site and is there a pool?

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Asterisk · 01/03/2013 20:09

Hi all -- my DD is at Old Palace (very happy there). The girls get on a coach and go over to the Croham site for sport. It's a short drive. Not entirely sure fi this is still the case, but I think they might take a couple of classes at a time, and sometimes they have a lesson at the Croham site after/before games so it isn't too rushed. They have netball courts at the Seniors' site and, of course, that lovely swimming pool. Also, dance is very well taught at the school. Many take it for GCSE or Arts Award.

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noseynoonoo · 01/03/2013 20:52

So do you think that time is wasted because of the travel required and does it mean that they don't do much sport?

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Asterisk · 01/03/2013 21:02

I'm afraid my DD is not sporty at all and didn't go for any teams, so I can't comment on how seriously it is taken outside the curriculum. As far as games and PE are concerned, the school does a reasonable enough job. The time taken to travel by coach doesn't seem to be a big deal (I think it's 10 min or so) and it seems well organised. Maybe someone else can give you more info?

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Mellisa · 01/03/2013 23:06

They have a swimming pool it takes the girls about six minutes by coach to travel to the sports ground I loved the way the principal made us feel , at ease and answered all our queries sensibly and patiently I was impressed, the only problem is finding the schools for the other two and a place to live other than Croydon,it's irritating because I like the school but living in Croydon seems to be a difficult option.

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noseynoonoo · 02/03/2013 14:55

Did they tell you 6 minutes? I can't see how it could take less than 10 minutes and then you have to factor in time getting to and from coach - and then multiply it by 2 for the return trip.

Mellisa, why do you think you need to move to Croydon. Could your daughter take the tram?

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Jobforlife · 02/03/2013 16:03

We used to live in Purley and sent all three of mine to state primary and secondary schools locally... firstly Woodcote infants and juniors, and then Wallington Boys and Woodcote High. Woodcote infants and juniors amalgamated just before we left. I wasn't happy with the changes there, but don't know how it is now? Most wanted kids to go to the state grammars if they could: Wallington Girls, Wallington Boys or Sutton Grammar. Woodcote High was seen as a good non-selective secondary for those that didn't make the grade. Riddlesdown was also well received. An other state primary with a good reputation was Smitham.
As for what it's like living there - you get a lot of house for your money, but frankly, we never really settled.... Very isolating living in a big detached house, and lacking community feel.

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