On 8 Oct 2012 at 10:01am Mum of 6 year old wrote:
Any views on which is the best school for a six year old boy who is currently trying to rule the roost! Highly creative but only wants to do what he wants to do, are both schools well disciplined are both creative?........moving from a rural country school of 45 children... we think he is currently bored!... any thoughts appreciated....
On 8 Oct 2012 at 10:46am SHS wrote:
Western Road. At Southover they just sit in front of computer screens (yes, at 6!).
On 8 Oct 2012 at 11:52am Footymum wrote:
I'd choose neither and look at Wallands CP School excellent teaching and wonderful opportunities. My three children would agree with me.
On 8 Oct 2012 at 11:57am SK wrote:
Daughter just started Southover - absolutely loves it. Lots of interaction and PE, really challenging and fun, very structured but that's what she likes. Made new friends easily. teachers v supportive, Head Teacher quite impressive. Have friends at Western Road who are loving it as well - class sizes smaller (so better!) than Southover but both good I think. Good luck!
On 8 Oct 2012 at 12:30pm Local wrote:
Presumably you need the best school to continue with the same strategies and disciplines that you have already put in place to make it clear to the little darling that he doesn't rule the roost, that creativity is just one aspect of life and that he needs to learn other attributes too, and that he does need to do things that he might not want to do? Or are you just after a dumping ground to blame for his failings?
Might well influence your choice of school...
On 8 Oct 2012 at 1:40pm RAD wrote:
As ever you ask a simple question on here and you'll get some good answers and some knee-jerk prejudice (it is rubbish to say that all they do at Southover is sit in front of a computer screen).
I can't speak about Western Road as my children have not gone through that school. I have three children who have attended / are attending Southover however. I think it is excellent in the main (nowhere is going to be perfect). There is strong (but not ridiculous) discipline, with the teachers particularly good in years 5 and 6. On the creative side I think music and art are well catered for. Soutover is also strong for sport. I slightly disagree with SK - I think the Headteacher is very impressive at Southover! From what I know of various 'demanding' childen, Southover copes well and helps them. My instinct is that Southover would be a good choice given the circumstances you describe. Wallands also has a good reputation but is larger than both Western Road and Southover and that may be worth considering given the size of school your child is leaving.
On 8 Oct 2012 at 1:51pm someone else wrote:
I'd recommend Wallands, as they have a specialist speech and language unit, and are generally better equipped and resourced to help kids who struggle with school.
On 8 Oct 2012 at 3:14pm Miss Evil wrote:
How about some more discipline at home rather than expecting teachers to sort your child's behaviour out?
On 8 Oct 2012 at 4:00pm Irrelevant Steve wrote:
I hear, so it turns out, that Captain Planet did in fact leave his heating on all day when he was out 'working'. Hardly the behaviour of an ecologically minded individual is it?
On 8 Oct 2012 at 5:01pm wrote:
I think you will find in Lewes that the education department offer a place at a school with vacancies and there is not always a choice, if you don't like the school offered its bottom of the list for you, schools considered the ' best ' are often full and so a place hard to come by or you have a long wait on your hands, this was my experience, good luck!
On 8 Oct 2012 at 5:01pm wrote:
I think you will find in Lewes that the education department offer a place at a school with vacancies and there is not always a choice, if you don't like the school offered its bottom of the list for you, schools considered the ' best ' are often full and so a place hard to come by or you have a long wait on your hands, this was my experience, good luck!
On 8 Oct 2012 at 5:41pm Mum of 6 year old wrote:
Thank you for all of your comments especially Irrelevant Steve, fantastic! We do have a very disciplined home life because of his wilful tendency so its important that the school works with us on this.
On 8 Oct 2012 at 6:56pm Pete wrote:
Both schools are good - as are all the primary schools in Lewes to be honest. Wallands has more specialist support though. The main differences between western road and southover from my experiences with both are:
Southover is a church school and religious, western road isn't.
Southover good for sports, western road good for art.
Southover bigger 11/2 classes per year while western road has 1 class per year.
I prefer western road but I think that is because of the religious thing as both schools are good.
On 8 Oct 2012 at 10:31pm Local wrote:
I'm amazed that anyone can think that a religious school is a good thing in this day and age, especially a Catholic one. How on earth can they defend the shameful actions of so many in the past?
On 8 Oct 2012 at 11:34pm grafter wrote:
Southover and St Pancras are not exactly religious schools. There are no religious tests before attending and many parents are openly non-religious.Maybe the Lewes skeptics should wrestle control from the Cof E and teach Darwinism from reception upwards?
On 9 Oct 2012 at 9:45am Southover Parent wrote:
Southover is a very good school. Both my children went there and they absolutely loved it. There are some excellent teachers and the majority of children are very well behaved. Good school orchestra and the only primary school in Lewes that has one. Sport is well catered for too. Always a nice atmosphere at the school and lots of opportunities to see your children perform in assemblies and celebrations. My children have had a very happy time here.
On 9 Oct 2012 at 5:14pm Flower Power wrote:
At Priory head girl & boy always seem to be Southover students, so they must be doing something right. Great school go for it!
On 9 Oct 2012 at 10:27pm Bartleby wrote:
yes I agree - your comment on head boy/girl says a lot about both priory and southover, for good or bad.
I think a good rule of thumb is that if you would use a private school if you had the money, go for southover (and ditto if you plan to send your kids to private school once they leave primary school).
btw western road also has an orchestra, if that's what floats your boat
On 11 Oct 2012 at 1:17pm brixtonbelle wrote:
Western Road's 'orchestra' must be a recent addition to the school. Yes lots of the kids there play instruments, but they are mostly taught privately. The tuition in school via the Sussex Music service was pretty poor when my child attended the school (last year).
WR has a reputation of being 'arty' but like most schools has to priortise science, english and maths. The other subjects are neglected somewhat imho. It has a cohort of creative parents though who do run extra curricula events and classes (like an art class) and also organise the Xmas makers fair every year. The xtra curricula sports classes (football and netball) were initiated and run by parents also.
We were disappointed by WR, in the end they were chasing Y6 Sats results and they compared badly to the inner city school my kids had previously attended - which had better teaching, better management and better results despite having a more troubled mix of kids, more special needs, more social and behavioural problems to contend with - and it was twice the size and had half the space. WR attracts bright middle class kids on the whole and isn't doing its best for them - I think they are coasting on the ability of the kids it has and relying heavily on the pushy/involved parent factor...
On 11 Oct 2012 at 7:27pm Hello wrote:
Try Iford and KIngston C of E, excellent school
On 11 Oct 2012 at 9:53pm Bartleby wrote:
I agree there is a general problem with schools chasing results. I'm sure WR is not immune to it. That said, despite your comments, it currently gets amongst the best results in the town - and yes, even adjusting for the very able intake.
But these things do fluctuate, statistics don't tell the whole story and I agree there's a lot more to a good education.
As for extra curricular classes - it's a shame these aren't taken more seriously. I gather one can pay for cheerleading classes at Southover.
Seriously, I don't think you can go too far wrong in Lewes.