Who can tell me about schools in Banstead? Warren Mead and The Beacon?

[Jen99]

Hi we're thinking of moving from Cheam to Banstead and are looking at the schools. A few houses we have seen are near Warren Mead primary school and the nearest secondary is The Beacon. Any experiences? We are really torn about moving as the children are currently in an outstanding primary school and we're in the catchment area for 2 really good secondarues. TIA

[Bansteadmum]

No direct experience, but the Beacon's exam results were pretty poor when we looked at performance tables a few years ago, and it seemed an unpopular school in comparison with some of the Epsom ones.

Didn't like Warren Mead infants when we looked round, it was dark and really dirty, a few children out of class randomly (for an open day) and the then head didn't come across well. Perhaps we just went on a bad day! much less popular than Banstead infants and some of the epsom schools. But house prices are much lower!

Public transport is rubbish here IMO!

[Jen99]

Hi Banstead mum, thanks for your reply, I'm assuming that you're in Banstead? What schools would you recommend and which parts of Banstead are best for schools and transport?

[Bansteadmum]

can't tell you much more about other schools, Banstead infants was the popular one when we looked, the juniors less so. There are some faith schools but we didn't look at those.

Banstead is rubbish for public transport! Unless you both drive to (local) work that is likely to be a pain. The train station is miles from the high street and slow, infrequent trains. Commuters to London often drive to west Ewell and pay to park. Many families have 2 cars.

[Golden1975]

Hi Jen99, we live in Banstead and both of my kids have attended Warren Mead Junior schools (my youngest also attended the infant school). We have been very pleased with both, the infant and junior school. We moved from Sutton about five years ago and compared to their previous school, Warren Mead has been fantastic! Great teachers, really good after school clubs and a caring atmosphere.

My kids felt supported and nourished, my eldest got a place at a grammar school and I believe it is mostly down to the fantastic teaching at Warren Mead (she didn't receive extra tuition). Both kids really blossomed when at Warren Mead. Also compared to their previous school, Warren Mead kids seem very well behaved and polite.

Warren Mead Junior school also has it's own swimming pool which has been an added bonus!

Banstead is a great place to live, lots of other families and activities for kids locally. My kids have a very active calendar: dance clubs, cricket club, football club, swimming, horse riding, scouts/brownies, tennis...

I commute from Banstead to central London (2 trains per hour during rush hour). Banstead is still within Oyster card zone 6, so cheaper commute than from neighboring Epsom. I really don't have any problems with the commute, only a slightly longer commute than what I was used to from Sutton.

I don't have any personal experiences of the Beacon school, but know local kids who go there and from what I have heard the school has really improved since new head was assigned and results have gone up.

Banstead high-street has a good selection of shops and for more selection I head to Sutton (out of old habit) or Epsom.

All in all, we are very happy here and feel that moving here has improved our lives.

[Atod01]

Hi, I know this is an old thread but was wondering what you decided? I'm in the process of making a similar decision regarding schools and need all the help I can get
Kind regards