Lewes Schools - Which are the best local schools? How can they be improved?

It's that time of year again...a new school year is about to commence. For many, it will involve a change of teacher, class, expectations, pencil case and experiences. And for others it will be the start of their first term in a new school. As a community, we need to consider how our Lewes schools are doing. As a parent or carer, we want to know which are the best? What's good and bad about our local schools? What are people's experiences?

Lewes has a number of schools and yet their sizes, ethos, policies and politics vary. What's important is finding the school that's right for your child.

So what are your options?

Well, unfortunately, it's not quite that simple. East Sussex County Council has an admissions criteria and children/parents do not always get their first choice of school. The criteria takes into account a number of factors such as whether a child is being looked after, has medical or social needs, has siblings at the same school and the location they live in. The criteria can be viewed here. What do people think of this system? Is it a fair way of allocating school places? Of course, this system is only used if there are more applicants for a particular school than there are places.

The choice of schools to apply to may seem overwhelming. What are the important factors for you to consider? Within Lewes itself there's South Malling C of E Primary School, St Pancras Catholic School and Wallands  Primary School. Then there's Lewes New School where Pells School used to be located, Pells C of E School which is now at the foot of Landport and Southover C of E Primary School next to Western Road Primary School, the latter two sharing grounds.

There are also the following primary schools in nearby surrounding villages; Iford and Kingston C of E, Laughton, Newick C of E, Plumpton, Ringmer, Hamsey, Firle C of E, Barcombe C of E and East Hoathly C of E School.

Take a look at their own websites and you'll notice they are all very different. For example, Lewes New School states on their website that they have already implemented key findings of the Cambridge Primary Review. This includes the scrapping of SATS and replacing them instead with tests to inform teachers/parents of a child's progress rather than providing national statistics to measure government policies. What do you think of this? In a country where stress seems to be a health epidemic amongst adults, do we need formal tests at primary schools? Or should school be fun? Or maybe there's a place for both?

In terms of Secondary Education, Lewes Priory School is a mixed comprehensive, and also has arts, language and science college status. There are approximately 1100 pupils at Priory. And if you're considering paying for your child's education, Lewes Old Grammar School provides education for 3-19 year olds.

So which are the best schools locally? Tell us what you think.