Relocation to London

[expatjunkie]

Our family of 4 which includes 2 teenagers, will be relocating to London in the Summer. Our kids are in the IB programme and therefore considering ACS International schools.
Have not excluded central London as an option to live as yet, but would like some guidance about living outside of London. ACS Egham is our first preference, but also considering ACS Cobham.
Now to my question, sorry for the long intro. Hubby working close to Bank and Moorgate stations in London. I would like to know what the travel time from stations in Egham or Cobham would be to either of these London stations?
Any recommendations as to the best areas to live which is accessible to school? We have a 15 year old and hope it will be an area that will be of interest for a teenager. Our daughter will be attending University in London and living on campus.
Thank you in advance, but any suggestions will also be appreciated re living in London itself.

[Ifailed]

According to TFL:
Egham to Bank takes 1:13 with 2 changes, can be quicker but with 3
Codham to Bank takes 56 mins.
Obviously these are the 'best' times, need to add some contingency, but are typical London commute journeys. More info here: tfl.gov.uk/plan-a-journey/

As to an area of interest to a 15 year old - pretty well everywhere! If you can't find a group that shares your interests in London, you'll not find them anywhere else in the UK.

[eviloops]

I reside in Cobham; it's our dream village, fantastic country vibe, sufficient 'posh' shops ( which we can't afford to buy anything in but says a lot about the community!) and an abundance of family activities going on in or around the area.

A3 and M25 are gifts on our doorstep. Effingham/Cobham station are okay - tiny, well used and adequate. 40 minutes (guaranteed seat) into Waterloo.

ACS has a terrific reputation. But, Cobham come with a hefty price tag. A basic 4 bed ex LA house starts around £550k in an okayish area. 4 beds on not so nice streets start at £450k. But we like it and feel safe and couldn't imagine a better place to raise children.

[expatjunkie]

Thank you for the information. Truly appreciated.

[MrsFilthPacket]

DD1 is at ACS Cobham - PM me if you want more info about the school. Cobham and Egham have quite different vibes (a friend's son is at Egham). Egham is more "European" in feel and Cobham more "American". The commute is pretty easy from Cobham/Esher/Surbiton/other Surrey station.

Oh and ACS Egham does the IB programme all the way through, but Cobham uses a mix of American/British/IB until the last two years, when they do either IB or AP. (DD1 is on the IB programme.)

[expatjunkie]

We have decided to visit 4 IB schools. Just wondering if you have any opinion on them? They are: Halcyon London International, International Community School, Southbank International school and International school of London (Gunnersbury avenue).

These are the only schools besides ACS that offers full IB programs in London. Decided against ACS as my husband has no interest in travelling more than an hour to work.

Please if you have any positive or negatives for any of the schools, do let me know.

Thank you and kind regards,

[user1471433932]

Did you look at ACS Hillingdon? Not as far as the other two ACS schools, they do a shuttle bus from west London ( various locations), it is about a 30 minute drive on the bus for the students. Don't know anything about the schools you mentioned, sorry.

[EmpressOfTheSpartacusOceans]

Decided against ACS as my husband has no interest in travelling more than an hour to work.

I don't know about schools but an hour or more is a pretty standard commute here so you probably would be looking at Central London.

[ChairRider4]

We are Herts and at least one of the schools here do the IB
25 mins to London on train then straight tube

[Frankfurt2017]

Sorry for adding a message out of the blue I was just wondering how you resolved your schools question? I am looking at southbank Intl and wondering is it a good idea! Apologies again if posting like this is odd. Many thanks!