Leicester. Help to choose area with regards to good primary schools PLEASE

[NanaM1234]

Hello everyone
We're planning to move to Leicester with work and I need your help/ recommendations asto which areas to choose that have good primary schools and are generally safe and child friendly..
Thanks x

[NanaM1234]

Please chaps... Any advice is appreciated... Cheers x

[Ellle]

Hi there,

I can recommend you the area of Wigston and Oadby. Most of the schools in the area of Wigston are outstanding or good. I've heard the same about the schools in Oadby.

Where abouts are you planning to move? How old are your children?

[Dontbugmemalone]

Most good or outstanding schools are over subscribed. If they are run by Leicester City Council then the class limit is 30, they won't go over that.

It also depends where you want to move.

[SocietyClowns]

For family friendly I'd go for Clarendon Park. It's also closer to the centre than Oadby, so you can walk into town down New Walk. Nice playgrounds in Victoria Park, too. If you don't mind faith schools, St Thomas More is outstanding, St John not far behind.

[NadiaWadia]

I would also recommend Oadby (and Wigston). It's outside the city boundary, but really just a suburb of Leicester and quite easy to get into the city centre, and also into the countryside. Schools are great. The houses may be a bit more expensive than in Leicester as a whole (especially Oadby), so it all depends on where you're coming from whether it's affordable to you, I suppose.

There is a bit of a curious feature with primary schools in Oadby and Wigston, in that they transfer to secondary after the end of year 5 (although this may change soon). Consequently, because they are doing Key Stage 2 sats at the high schools this sometimes means the primary schools don't come up in lists when you are searching (like on Rightmove). Look on the Ofsted website or Leicestershire County Council website instead.

[NanaM1234]

Thanks for all the helpful information:)
My LO hasn't reached school age yet but I don't want to move again because to be in the catchment area of a good school.
Seen a property on fosse road north. Does anyone have knowledge of the area and adjacent schools? Also what about nurseries? Cheers

[NadiaWadia]

Honestly? I wouldn't personally. It is a bit 'inner city'. Fosse Primary School is one of the nearest ones, and it 'requires improvement' according to Ofsted. Look on Ofsted. There may be other Primary schools nearby that are better.

But maybe you prefer living in the heart of the city, and there is a brilliant school round the corner, I wouldn't know.

[Fairyliz]

Tbh do you have to live in Leicester? The schools are all over subscribed and the best ones very difficult to get in. Why not move 5/6 miles out of the city Wigston/Oadby as suggested or Glenfield Groby Narborough. All good schools there.

[Mopmay]

Op what kind of area are you after? I love Clarendon Park but I like city living. Oadby is nice but more surburban.

[NanaM1234]

I'll be working at Leicester Royal. So anywhere within about 20 minutes by car is fine.
All I'm after is a nice family friendly area with good schools and nurseries.
Drove around Leicester City and was a little shocked as to how many scary big city areas we drive by

[NanaM1234]

One more question
Is Enderby any good? Cheers x

[Mopmay]

What do you mean by big scary city areas??? Leicester is tiny compared to most cities like Birmingham and Manchester

[NadiaWadia]

Don't know that much about Enderby, (although we did view a couple of houses there a few years ago). I think it is an OK place to live, although it is a village, so further out than Oadby and Wigston and much further out than Clarendon Park, so a bit more of a drive for you, as you can see on a map.

I think there is only one primary, Enderby Danemill, which 'required improvement' a few years ago, but became an academy a couple of years ago and is now 'good'.

Sounds like you are coming from a small town or a rural area, OP? TBH, there are so many schools and different areas to live in and around Leicester, you will have to do some research if schools are important to you. Are you intending to stay for a few years, do you want to rent or buy? I think that when moving to an completely unknown area it is sometimes a good idea to rent for 6 months first, then you can get more of a feel for a place and work out what area would suit you.

[SocietyClowns]

From Clarendon Park you can walk down to the hospital, never mind drive! (Sorry I keep pushing Clarendon Park- I'm a little biased). It is a nice family friendly area with good schools and playgrounds, lovely local shops on Queens Road, great Victorian houses of all sizes, within walking distance to your work and to the city centre. If I got a job at the Royal I'd live on Bulwer Road/Lytton Road/ Adderley Road... or if you have more cash to spend, Portland Road and thereabouts.

I agree with pp, what are you looking for? Modern houses, Victorian houses? Large garden/ courtyard garden? Parks/countryside? Close to the centre/ within driving distance?

[NadiaWadia]

If I was going to be working at the Royal and didn't want to be too far out, and wanted somewhere 'naice' I would go for either Clarendon Park, as pp mentioned, Knighton, Stoneygate or Oadby. Clarendon Park is very trendy, I wouldn't mind living there, but the housing is relatively expensive mostly victorian terraced so less chance of a lawn for your DC to play on. It is right by the university, a lot of lecturers live there I believe and of course many students if that bothers you!. There is a big park (Victoria Park) close by and a nice atmosphere. Knighton, a little further out along the London Road, is typically interwar semis, so more space, but still fairly expensive. The primary school there (Overdale) used to have a very good reputation, unsure if that's still the case. Neighbouring Stoneygate is sort of the premier area to live in Leicester, a lot of big detacheds, but also many flats, and all quite expensive. Still if you were coming from somewhere like the South East you would probably still think it was cheap as chips!

Less posh, but perfectly fine are Wigston (used to live there myself), and possibly Aylestone or West Knighton.

Then there are the villages, like Enderby, Narborough etc which are fine (although apparently Broughton Astley is to be avoided as it's cliquey according to a recent thread!). Posher villages are Kibworth, Great Glen. The villages will all mean a longer drive, obviously.

[mollyonthemove]

Haha! My dh is from Broughton Astley and it is supposed to be a bit 'posh'! from where we live though itjust seems ridiculously cheap. Leicester, to me, from a small city, is blimming HUGE!

[TheElementsSong]

OP, I agree with posters above who recommend Stoneygate, Clarendon Park or South Knighton. Leafy areas, attractive housing, great local shops and parks. My DC go to one of the schools in that area (would prefer not to say exactly which) and it is really great. We work very close to the Infirmary and it is easily walk/cycle/bus-able from those areas.

[gatorgolf]

Brought on Astley isn't posh

[ggirl]

Kibworth is lovely

[Oleaginous]

What Nadia said, pretty much. Though am living in a village not far outside Leicester, (with quite a few medics from the Royal) and lots of people seem to move out here from the city for the school, which suggests reservations about or over subscription of city schools...? There are certainly two sets of neighbours who moved out from Clarendon Park despite loving it, because they didn't rate the schools - but that's just hearsay.

DH and I both work close to the RI, and get to work in about 20-25 minutes from here if we avoid high rush hour.

[mollyonthemove]

I never thought it was! No idea where they got that idea.

[NadiaWadia]

I second what Oleaginous says. And I would still recommend Oadby overall, though it is 'suburban'. The reason being that the schools there have a good reputation right from 4-18. I know a few families living in lovely areas like Knighton, who were perfectly happy with the primary school but not so much with the city secondary schools so tried hard to move their DCs into the Oadby secondaries after 11. And sometimes that can be difficult. So if you were keen to not keep moving ..

[TheElementsSong]

According to schoolmate chatter around here... Avenue School in CP doesn't have a good reputation, but St John the Baptist (CoE) is good, as is St Thomas More (RC) nearby. Overdale is a lovely school. As for secondary schools in the south of the city, the girls' school (Jonathan North) is apparently good while the boys' school (Lancaster) associated with it is not so good. Secondary schools in Oadby and Wigston overall have a better reputation.

[WheresMeJumperOhNo]

I know a few people who work at the Royal and live in Quorn, they find it an easy commute and the school is excellent. The village itself is very big (and getting bigger) but has some lovely facilities and you're obviously not too far out of the city for all of that, too.