Category: Wansteadium

Nature notes. It’s not been a good summer for hedgehogs, with just a single sighting reported by the readers of Wansteadium. And there were no reports at all of anyone keeping a hedgehog as a pet, despite claims that more people are doing so. But lovers of Daddy Long-Legs, if such a thing exists, will be happy: the wet spring and unusually dry summer has been great for crane flies and on some evenings Wanstead feels like it’s under attack from them.

Not the Wanstead Guardian, but the actual Guardian. Wanstead takes centre stage in its “Let’s move to…” feature. Author Tom Dyckhoff makes much of how Wanstead could have been a very different place if the original Wanstead House had not been demolished, but nevertheless concludes that Wanstead is doing very nicely thank you. He says:

[H]istory may turn again for Wanstead. Spots west of the river Lea now fetch prices not dissimilar to those of Knightsbridge, St James’s Park or Richmond, eyes are turning to this, the real East End.

Our Lady of Lourdes and Nightingale primaries get nods for being rated outstanding. Wanstead High ‘”requires improvement” but is “taking effective action”‘.

He adds: “Hang out at… No end of options: Time for Tea for cakes after a walk in the park, The Larder for a light lunch and the super Provender for posh.”

And he gives this summary of property matters which George C Parker, our property blogger, may comment on in the coming days:

The “village” has pleasant Victorian terraces (£500,000-£750,000) and even the odd Georgian off the high street, but it’s most attractive around Wanstead Park, with broad avenues of Victorians and later (detacheds £750,000-£1.5m, semis £500,000-£1m). The Aldersbrook estate is marginally cheaper. North of the A12 has fine late-Victorian and Edwardian terraces and semis around Spratt Hall Road. More leafy suburbans on and around the Counties estate and Nutter Lane. The Warren estate has fine 1920s/1930s semis. Rentals: three-bed house, £1,500-£2,000pcm; one-bed flat, £900-£1,250pcm.

Property features obviously hunt in packs – the Evening Standard gave Wanstead a good write-up in January which we deconstructed here.

Wansteadium reader Sue Mutter poses an oft-uttered thought, the answer to which might include a bit of nudge theory. She asks:

How can we encourage late night users of the park benches to enjoy this lovely space but clear up after themselves?!

Geoff Wilkinson writes on Wanstead Daily Photo: “I came across this guy trimming a hedge in Wanstead the other day. I admire the fact he appears to have great balance plus a head for heights. I personally got dizzy just thinking about it while I was taking the picture.”

Wansteadium reader Pete Daly took this video of flash flooding in Overton Drive after the thunderstorms on Friday afternoon.

Wansteadium reader Clive Ewerton, who has made a close study of the process for applying for school places, writes:

Dear Wansteadium,

I just wanted to give some tips on applying for primary school places as there tends to be lots of confusion/misconceptions about the process in Redbridge. Each year people find themselves unnecessarily without a school place.

1. Visit all your local schools before applying so you can get a feel for the school. Try not to read too much into the Ofsted reports. The school you like most may not have the best report in the borough. Don’t be put off the school you like by friends/family, you know your child best.

2. Read the application booklet THOROUGHLY (it’s available on the Redbridge website) It really is essential!

3. You don’t actually have a ‘choice’ in schools, you have a ‘preference’. Make sure you choose all 6 local schools, so if the worst comes to the worst you are on the waiting list for all 6 preferences. If you are in a black hole area in Wanstead (central Wanstead) think about what your options are if you don’t get a place in a local school) Nothing is guaranteed unfortunately, people also have difficulties getting places at the faith schools too.

4. Know your catchments. Email Redbridge admissions (admissionsandawards@redbridge.gov .uk to find out your distances to all your local schools (do not try to calculate distances yourself, it won’t be accurate). You may come under the catchment for only one school. Compare your distances to those in the applications book. If you live a mile away from Nightingale you won’t get in, even if you apply for just this school. Lots of people think you have to get one of your preferences so only chose one school and then get left without a school place, don’t let this be you!

5. Apply for your catchment school. This may sound obvious but every year you get parents in the Warren Estate/Overton Drive/Wanstead Station/Gordon/Dangan Road/The Green/Seagry Road area applying to only Nightingale and Snaresbrook schools. These areas have not been in the catchment of these schools for the past 5 years (and this seems set to continue). If you aren’t applying to a religious school your only preference is Aldersbrook, but the catchment for Aldersbrook seems likely to have a reduced catchment along with all the schools in Wanstead. There are parents having to journey from the Warren Estate/Seagry Road/Draycot Road/Warren estate areas to Barkingside this year because they only applied to Snaresbrook and Nightingale school and they could have got a place at Aldersbrook but didn’t apply.

6. The application is decided in the following order: 1. ‘Looked after children’ 2. children with medical/psychological needs 3. siblings 4. Distance. APPLICATION IS NOT DECIDED ON ORDER OF PREFERENCE. This means that having a school as your 6th or 1st option will not make a difference to you getting a place. I hear lots of people saying “I’m putting Snaresbrook Primary as my first choice as I’m worried my child won’t get a place if I put Nightingale first”. Each preference is considered separately, purely through the order indicated. If you prefer Nightingale put that as your first choice.

7. Make sure you submit all your documents and application on time.

8. Apply online (MAKE SURE YOU SAVE ANY CHANGES) you get the results a day or two earlier

9. Cross your fingers and hope for the best

Best of luck folks