anyone in long ashton?

[peppapug]

Hi
We are living in east bristol at the moment but plan to move again at the start of july. i really like long ashton - am keen to get out of the city a little bit, get a bit more space whilst still being near to bristol and long ashton seems to really fit the bill. we will be renting for a couple of years, so am a bit worried that there isnt much of a rental market there and nothing will come up in our timeframe.

so can anyone give me the lowdown on the area? i see theres a couple of good schools - are they ok for places or oversubscribed? we have a 3 year old DS (as well as a 2mo DS) so schools are a priority.

DH is a bit worried that there isnt too much going on and I will feel a bit isolated with the kiddies after living in cities. Am hopeful there are some local playgroups and I will meet other mums though .

Oh, also nurseries (or childminders) - I spotted that Apple tree one on the main street, any opinions welcome...

Thanks in advance for any info!

[givemeaclue]

Schools are over subscribed, if you look on council website you can see how many applied/got places etc. One school is regarded as being better than the other. Nearest secondary school is not great, but lots can change by the time your child starts secondary and many kids bus it to further schools.

It is a nice place to live, it is regarded as part of the city you are 10 mins from town its not out in the sticks by any means.

Loads and loads of young families. High house prices. Very nice place to live

[peppapug]

thanks for that givemeaclue - i know bristol publish that info online but i cant see it on the north somerset site, maybe im missing it, have emailed them anyway to see if i can get an idea of the oversubscription issue.

glad to hear its a popular spot with plenty of young families, hopefully it will work out and we can get a house there.

[givemeaclue]

Hi - yes its on the north somerset site - if you go to education/admissions its in the back of the primary admissions guide for 2013-14 - I can't link properly as my pdf access isn't working. There is an appendix in the back of the admissions guide with all the school admissions data for 2012. they are also really good if you call they give you the info straight away.

www.n-somerset.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/29BBDF9F-BDE9-48AC-BD88-77F398131B8D/0/22154_Startingschoolguide201314.pdf

you will need to be sure that you are well within the radius that children without older siblings at the school were allocated spaces. if you move out of the area and its no longer your nearest school, sibling rule will not apply to your younger child.

[peppapug]

Ah perfect, thanks for doing that- will have a look now. Suppose it all rides on a rental house coming up in the catchment of one of the schools. mustn't set my heart on living there in case it doesn't work out- I fear it may be too late for that though!

[RememberingMyPFEs]

Sorry for delayed reply - we moved to SW Bristol in September from London and had the same thoughts and worries about LA... We ended up buying in Nailsea area instead - Nailsea and Backwell secondary schools are apparently awesome and there is more going on here.
That said I've not really met anyone yet as working in London still. DC1 due in Aug so looking forward to NCT classes as an opportunity to meet some local Mums...

Good luck with the move

[peppapug]

Thanks for that remembering my DH actually grew up in Nailsea, moved to another part of the country when he started secondary school - he is surprised at how much nicer it is since his day.

Backwell seems nice too- would keep a look out in these areas too. Would like to stay close to Bristol though, LA would be a pretty easy drive to both our works.

Good luck with your pregnancy, NCT sounds like a great plan - I met fab friends through mine but then left them all behind hen we moved from London a year ago :(

[GertieLush]

Schools are oversubscribed but it looks like it's lessening (the houses at the end of the village are 5 years old so there's been a bottleneck of people who had babies when they moved to the village). Flax Bourton also has a lovely school - although FB itself doesn't have a village 'centre' as such.

Nurseries - Apple Tree is ok, not great though. There are a couple of others nearby which are streets ahead - the one at David Lloyd, and the two Charlton nurseries in Wraxall and Flax Bourton.

You'll notice that houses get cheaper at the further end of the village because they are further from schools. When we bought there was a £100k differential for similar properties in the 'old' and new sides of the village.

There are plenty of baby and toddler groups in the village, and Bristol is really accessible. You can walk up to Clifton through Ashton Court in 40 minutes, or drive in about 20 in good traffic. Morning traffic is busy but not hideous.

We are missing a cafe, but other than that it's a good place to live!