Moving to Marple ......... schools?

[hollins]

I agree that 11-18 schools are better academically and socially:-
- it gives the lower-year children some older examples to look up to, and the 17 and 18 year olds some chance of prefect responsibility;
- it avoids the academic drop to "lowest common denominator" when children from several different schools come together to start A-levels;
- it gives the teachers the morale booster of being able to teach their specialist subject to the higher (A) level and to students who have made a choice to study those subjects;
- it allows the older children better opportunity for mentoring;
- it allows families with multiple children to have them in the same school, with the same term times, for much longer.

I also do not understand why Stockport chose otherwise. I suppose it was the "politically-correct" idea at the time. There again, so was the "Initial Teaching Alphabet" ...

[simonesaffron]

11yrs to 18yrs right the way through is almost, universally accepted as the best way to educate. I can never understand why all authorities (particularly Stockport) deviate from this.

[Dave]

Stockport suffers to a degree in that its policy of separate education to 16, then 16 to 18 elsewhere, weakens the pool of really good teachers in the secondary schools,

I couldn't agree more.  And there are other disadvantages to that policy too - for example, in 11 - 18 schools the presence of older kids (16 - 18) can have a positive effect on the behaviour and attitude of the 11 - 16 year olds. 

[Heritage]

Hard as ever to say which school is 'best', except to re-inforce what others have said...at primary level you won't find a 'bad' one in the great scheme of things. Secondary education much more debatable IMO....one could not say with conviction that Marple Hall represents the top flight of state secondary schools compared to the likes of Poyonton, for instance....and its Ofsted [whatever your views on Ofsted] reflects that. Stockport suffers to a degree in that its policy of separate education to 16, then 16 to 18 elsewhere, weakens the pool of really good teachers in the secondary schools, since really good secondary teachers want to work [not all!] in an environment where they can teach classes right up to A-level, to stretch their abilities....teaching just til 16 isn't quite the same....so experienced teacher friends tell me.

Hence [in part!] the steady flow of buses in the morning to Stockport Grammar, Cheadle, Hulme Hall, MGS.....

[tricky]

We chose High Lane for ours.. after looking at all the Marple schools.

We couldn't be happier tbh. However, all the local schools are very good.

[JMC]

I agree that secondarys are good in the area. However many people still feel Rose Hill is too big. Traffic was bad when there were 300 kids, 500+ is unbearable. I would not send my youngest there as it is simply too big and I don't think the design is good with balconies and lots concrete stairs etc.   

Some good points, perhaps it is too big. I've not had the opportunity of looking around it so I can't comment on the design. More to the point of this thread - Where exactly will you send your youngest? As everybody is saying, currently there doesn't appear to be any alternative other than Rosehill.     

I am hoping All Saints' as my older kids attend/attended there and it is our catchment and nearest-and a fantastic school. When my youngest starts (with luck), there won't be a sibling there though which is a worry. I know of a few people who didn't get a place there this year even though they live in/very near the catchment. I don't think the sibling rule is fair out of catchment because you should (in my opinion) be able to attend the local school instead of people driving in all directions. If we don't get a place I will probably have to put High Lane/Offerton schools perhaps, although it will be tough for us to get there for various reasons. I liked Rose Hill when it was smaller (have had my older children attend in the past) but it is simply too big now and traffic dreadful. As a pedestrian it was very dangerous even when it was smaller with people zooming up pavements right next to your child. This doesn't really happen at All Saints'.It is also too far for us to walk really so if I am driving I may as well go somewhere smaller that we are happier with.

[simonesaffron]

Dave,

Whilst I agree with you to some extent about Ofsted, the point being made here is about available primary schools in Marple. You can't as you suggest visit them as there are none save one (Rosehill) to visit. 

[Dave]

It's really important to visit the schools (with your children) and make up your own mind about them, and how well they would suit your child.  As hollins says, how your child does at school is largely a function of their own behaviour and motivation - i.e. how well you have brought them up.

Above all, don't take too much notice of Ofsted reports - they are often quite unreliable, and based on superficial impressions gained on quick visits, and with more attention to data than to actual observation.  An extreme case, perhaps, but do you remember this, from back in January:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jan/26/nigel-leat-school-sexual-abuse-review

The key paragraph reads: Ofsted carried out inspections and described the level of care afforded to children as "outstanding" during the time Leat, 51, was offending. The education watchdog was not able to say on what basis it reached its conclusion because its records are not retained. 

And this from an organisation that costs us taxpayers over £200 million a year.......   

[simonesaffron]

I agree that secondarys are good in the area. However many people still feel Rose Hill is too big. Traffic was bad when there were 300 kids, 500+ is unbearable. I would not send my youngest there as it is simply too big and I don't think the design is good with balconies and lots concrete stairs etc.   

Some good points, perhaps it is too big. I've not had the opportunity of looking around it so I can't comment on the design. More to the point of this thread - Where exactly will you send your youngest? As everybody is saying, currently there doesn't appear to be any alternative other than Rosehill.     

[JMC]

I agree that secondarys are good in the area. However many people still feel Rose Hill is too big. Traffic was bad when there were 300 kids, 500+ is unbearable. I would not send my youngest there as it is simply too big and I don't think the design is good with balconies and lots concrete stairs etc.   

[simonesaffron]

All of the schools (primary, secondary and sixth-form college) in the Marple area are good. It probably reflects the affluence of the neighbourhood. A child's performance is more correlated with parental interest. When they get to the later years of Junior School they will want to make their own way there so I would suggest ... the school closest to your home! My two went to Rose Hill on that basis, and did fine.

Choosing close to your home would normally be good advice. However in Marple you can't do that. The reality is; You won't get in St Mary's if you are not RC. These days you can't get in Mellor unless you live in it and you can't get in Ludworth or All Saints unless you have a sibling connection. Although they would never own up to this, all appeals where a Rosehill place has been offered are being dismissed by the LEA.

On the positive side Rosehill should get better the new build must have been a great upheaval and the transition will have been very disrupting for staff and children. Once the move is complete then everyone will have a state of the art,spanking new school where everybody can fully concentrate on doing what a school  is supposed to be doing and not part school and part building site. If it is any consolation there are only 2 State secondary schools in the Catchment Area, Harrytown if you're Catholic AND Marple Hall if you're not. So whatever primary school you go to one of those will be your secondary school. I know lots of children that have gone to both and are now adults and most of them I would say have done well.   

[JMC]

I have spoken to many mums of pre schoolers and what seems to have happened and maybe contributing to this issue is that many parents are put off sending children to the new build Rose Hill as it is so huge. So All Saints' suddenly massively increased in popularity. From an average of 16 a year in reception to 30+ with 80 applicants this year; 50 put it as 1st or 2nd choice. 

I can only assume the already popular Marple Bridge schools (due to many considering them 'the best') also increased in applicants. Also a recent change to the sibling priority has led to situations where catchment children have much lower priority than siblings out of area leading to the situation described above where people didn't get a place despite their proximity to school.

Rumours are that the council wanted to shut All Saints' also because there is surplus capacity at Rose Hill. Additionally the council are not forthcoming with giving All Saints' the extra class it was promised at some stage. Again suspected that the council wants more to attend the new super size Rose Hill.

[Howard]

I have no experience of the other schools but Rose Hill did very well for both my children.

They suffered slightly from being the venue of choice when both Peacefield and The Dale were closed. They had to overcome the difficulty of the cultural change that came with joining up three completely different sets of children, parents and staff as well as having a major construction project taking place on one of the sites. Currently the school is split over two sites (albeit only 200yds apart) with KS1 in the old Dale school and KS2 on The Dale site. Given the circumstances, I think they did an exceptional job of managing the change that have come with the merger and the new build. In September both sites will move into the brand new building which has absolutely top notch facilities.

However, I must concur with Hollins that the attitude that children take to their school comes from their parents. When my kids went to Rose Hill, there was an outstanding PTA which was highly engaged with the school and contributed a great deal to the positive atmosphere around the place. Were I to be in the situation again I wouldn't have a second thought about my children attending there.

[jen123]

Hi there,

 

I really would like to thank you both for your responses, they have been very helpful.

I did contact a few of the schools you mentioned this morning with regards to securing a place for Sept in Year 1 but with a waiting list of 20 for Ludworth, 1 on the waiting list for Mellor, and absolutely no places at St Mary's she didnt know what the list was like and with your feedback of the situation I think we can safely say its an oversubscribed area! 

We have been to visit Marple Bridge and researched the area, were looking for a lifestyle change and school to match and it got us hooked so we are gutted to say the least.

Our current situation is that our daughter is in a ofsted rated good school albeit in an area of high social deprevation and all the issues that come with that, the other schools in our area (are all outstanding) and also the ones we are in catchment for, they are highly over subscribed with long waiting lists so we didnt get in them but sent to a school further away.

Anyway, we didnt want to jump out of the frying pan into the fire so to speak so its looks like the search is on again!

xxx

[hollins]

All of the schools (primary, secondary and sixth-form college) in the Marple area are good. It probably reflects the affluence of the neighbourhood. A child's performance is more correlated with parental interest. When they get to the later years of Junior School they will want to make their own way there so I would suggest ... the school closest to your home! My two went to Rose Hill on that basis, and did fine.