Stoke Gifford & surrounding area - what's it like?

[Niemadh]

We are possibly moving to Bristol soon & are unfamiliar with the area. We have two young children 4yrs & 18month & I am wondering what Stoke Gifford & the surrounding area is like to live in? What are the schools like? Is it good for families? Would be very appreciative of any advice as moving from Dublin & feel very out of my depth.

[northofhome]

Hi - my children are a good deal older than yours and when we moved to the area we were put in a rented house in Bradley Stoke (within a mile of Stoke Gifford) - it worked out fine. Stoke Gifford is an area of mostly housing estate built from the 1980s onwards so it's architecturally unexciting! However, there are lots of young families in the area and therefore lots of schools / preschools etc, a nice leisure centre and pool at Bradley Stoke and the usual doc / supermarket facilities. It's also near the delights of Bristol (Zoo - fab annual membership pass scheme, balloon fiesta in August, shopping at Cribbs Causeway etc etc). The area is also near both the M4 and M5 - so it's easy to get away to the SW, Wales, London or up north for exploring new areas. It's just over an hour to get from Bristol Parkway up to London Paddington too - perhaps not with the children! Employment prospects in the Bristol area are fairly bright with many large employers and two universities. From our initial Bradley Stoke base it was easy to explore possible places to buy a house and we ended up to the north in Thornbury - but there are good schools throughout the area. If this is a long term move, it may be worth following the advice someone gave us at the time: think about secondary schools first. Secondary places in this area are often oversubscribed - and if you live very close to your chosen secondary then you won't be disappointed. I'll leave others to comment on schools local to Stoke Gifford. Good luck - it will be fun and do get yourselves an annual pass to the zoo!

[lovinglapland]

The primary school in Stoke GIfford is good. It's one of the largest ones around and has recently had some new building work I believe. The secondary school however would be Abbeywood Community School, formerly Filton High. It is ok and improving I believe but would not be my choice locally. Bradley Stoke has a better secondary and several good primary schools, plus all the other facilities mentioned above. Another area near to Stoke Gifford is Winterbourne. This has more of a mixed housing stock rather than all modern new build, local shops, leisure facilities at high school, library and all the other usual amenities. 5 mins drive to Parkway if you need the train, buses into Bristol, Cribbs causeway etc. Good primaries, and one of the best high schools in the area (in terms of results).