Fleet/Hook primary schools

[Mumz16]

DH has just been offered a new job, meaning we'd need to move in a few months. Looking at Fleet/Hook area. Can anyone tell me which primary schools are the best in the area and which are to be avoided?! They all have outstanding/good from Ofsted, but I'm well aware that that doesn't always mean much! I am particularly keen that music and sport are important at the school and that it's not all just about getting good SATS results. Really need some local knowledge! TIA

[Hissy]

Any school around Fleet, Hook, Hartley Whitney, Rotherwick or Odiham is good.

They all feed into Robert Mays automatically. Although my Dc is going to a school in Alton that I felt altogether better in terms of pastoral support. And it's outstanding at sport.

Fleet is good for the amazing sporting facilities at the Shiny new leisure centre, is more of a town, but is very sadly a town that is dying on its arse.

Centre managers hike shop rents, high street has void after void and it's really sad to see. I loved the town, live moments from it but it's being ruined by people wanting to make money at the expense of everyone else

Where would you like to live? What kind of day to day lifestyle do you want/need?

[Hissy]

Obviously fleet schools feed into the secondary schools there. I don't personally know anything about them, but I think they're good secondary schools

[Mumz16]

Thanks for responses. DH's job will be based just south of Maidenhead, but my sister lives in Hook, which is why I thought of that area. I'm not really keen on this move as I'm really happy living where we are and my son has just got a place at a fabulous primary school. I think Hook is probably a bit small though, which made me think of Fleet. We're currently in SE London, with everything at our fingertips, so am thinking a town, rather than a village. I also need to be on a good train line to London, as I'm a musician, so that rules out areas such as Camberley, Crowthorne, etc.

[Hissy]

Hook to Maidenhead is a quite a schlep... He'd have to battle past Reading/Bracknell/wokingham traffic and it's utterly grim sometimes.

I think you're dead right to consider somewhere bigger, but perhaps closer to Maidenhead - which is lovely, and well connected. I'd avoid Reading for schooling as it appears that it's very hit and miss.

I used to live in NW London and after a couple of years abroad came back to live in this area. It is woefully small minded at times, although I have learned to live with it.

[HopeClearwater]

I agree - Hook/ Fleet to Maidenhead is a very poor commute.

[Mumz16]

Tbh, my husband is used to hellish journeys, so the Fleet/Hook journey to White Waltham doesn't look too bad compared to what he's doing at the moment. I've been looking at journey times during rush hour on the various map apps which include traffic, roadworks etc and it usually says between 40 & 50 minutes, which is nothing compared to what he does now. His journey home from one of his north London offices took him 1h45mins yesterday, so anything under an hour would not feel too bad.

[Hissy]

Living out here is about quality of life

The older we get the more that commute bites. If he's gone thru that hell all this time, it's time to make a decent move to a much better life balance.

Look the other side, nearer Maidenhead, there are a gazillion great places to live over there, and it's not as stupid expensive as here is.

Maidenhead has great transport services, ours don't run late enough. Last Waterloo train back is about half 10.

Nobody in their right mind would choose to live here and work in Maidenhead tbh. Not when you're moving home to facilitate this.

You can easily visit your sister and likewise, but a commute like that is not fair to inflict on your h for the sake of where your sister is currently living.

I moved back here partly because my mother lived in the area

A couple of years later she moved 4 hours away.

[Mumz16]

Places without late night trains from are just no use to us. I'm a musician, working regularly with the London orchestras at venues such as the Albert Hall, the Royal Festival Hall and the Barbican. Often, my concerts don't finish until well after 10pm.

[Hissy]

It's not as bad as it was when I was growing up, but the last train is 23.48 from waterloo stopping at hook

fleet is better, 1.05am, but that really is the last train until 5am

Does that work? Maidenhead trains run on the hour until 1.30am from paddington

How wonderful it is that you are a musician ! What do you play?

[MusicForTheJiltedGeneration]

Have you considered the Twyford area? Good links to Paddington with late trains and about 20 minutes commute from Maidenhead.

www.thetrainline.com/train-times/london-paddington-to-twyford/28-jul-2017/2350