applying for schools while overseas

[JJ]

We're in Switzerland at the moment and are planning to move back to London during the summer of 2005. This is a tentative plan -- we might move back a little sooner, although not much later.

We have ideas about where we'd like to live (SE or E London, maybe - at most a 45 minute door to door travel time to Liverpool St Station) and it'll depend on what kind of houses are available when we're looking (we'll buy a house - an issue for another topic!). But I have a feeling I need to start looking at schools now, so my eldest, at least, has a place somewhere. Necessarily, these will be independent schools. I've just started looking and come across some schools with registration in the autumn for the next year. How do I handle this? Will I have to choose a school by next autumn? Will we have to narrow our housing search? Does anyone have any recommendations for good schools? I hope that he'll be able to go to a decent local primary, but who knows about that, as it'll depend if there are places available.

Thanks for your help. Suggestions on where to live are welcome, too. We're looking for a house w/ 4+ bedrooms somewhere decidedly non-posh.

[SueW]

Hi JJ, can't really help on areas to live but for 45 mins out of Liverpool St you could look at places further afield such as Bishops Stortford. No idea how posh it is though

Good luck with the search and forthcoming move - hope someone can help.

Just got back from Geneva and Biel over half term.

[alibubbles]

jj, go to independentschools online you can look up school in whichever county you like, all sorts of schools, specfial, mixed, single sex etc.

[monkey]

Hi jj, good luck with the move. Have you tried getting a rail plan and working out which areas have the 30 minute commute to LPS? Also one of the broadsheets publishes (or at least used to ) a guide to living somewhere nice out of London but still within a reasonable commute, they also gave details such as which station, train frequency, house prices & schools. Sorry i can't remember which paper, but maybe you could mail them & find out?

I've lost your mail address if you want to get in touch.

[JJ]

Thanks! I'm hoping I can put his name down for a couple of schools, so we have more of a choice where to live. SueW-- sorry I missed you! I'm soooo bad at emailing.

[rosiesmumof4]

JJ - some(most?) of the independent schools will want to assess him before they offer a place, so it would be worth asking when these are likely to take place so you can make sure you're free - certainly at my boy's school not being local doesn't exempt you from the exams - one of the boy's in my eldest's class had to travel from London up for the assessment day - if you don't turn up then no chance of being offered a place!
Have just got the forms for my youngest who is also due to go sept 05 - he will be assessed last friday in Jan 05 - seems miles atm

[LIZS]

Hi JJ,

Being non-resident shouldn't prevent you getting him enrolled at Independent School or put on a waiting list (they may charge a Registration Fee). I know a family who are moving back to UK shortly and have had to take both dd's over for assessment days - they are 3 and 4 ! -but aside from the logistical problems of this they had no difficulty with the private schools although the LEA were less than helpful.

Can't remember whether have told you this already but ds is due to have an assessment with written tests in November at the same Independent School where dd would have place, for entry the following September (assuming we go back then!). Our back-up private school is chasing us atm as to whether he will be going there in Sept this year, having rolled the place forward for 2 years already !

We may well still apply to local LEA schools for both kids for entry in Sept 05 as a back-up, but we do still have an address in the area which enables us to do so. You may find in your chosen area that you could apply for entry straight into a primary school at 7 if the LEA operate a separate Infant and Primary school application procedure. Then, as long as you could prove you were going to be resident locally, your ds1 could stand as good a chance as any other to get in to a good state school. You'd need to find out the timing of applications from the LEA as if you were to miss it, it could be a lottery for places again.

dh suggested you may want to look at Essex/ Cambridgeshire, but definitely to keep north of the river to get to Liverpool St.

hth