Moving from US to London - In Year Secondary School - Which Areas to pick?

You don't even need to decide which borough. You could hedge your bets and apply for schools in different boroughs (up to 6) and then change your preference order later. (Easier than leaving the whole application late)

Except perhaps if there was space in yr 7 but not year 8. I think if there was money for one set of private school fees I'd pay for the 12 yr old if at all possible. Trying to intergrate into an established year 8 will be tricky and unlikely to be the best school if you are forced to wherever there is space.

All the Americans I have known in London with secondary school age DCs use the Amercian school in ? St John's Wood.

Yes but a lot of State schools won't agree to it here

You can get the thameslink from Wimbledon into Farringdon, very easy, air conditioned etc

Agreed...look at areas on the Elizabeth Line. Ealing is a nice leafy area, but not sure what the schools are like.

This is a good idea as then he will be starting yr7 which is a natural transition point. My experience is the other way British/ European Children moving to the US and Canada and being " upclassed" by a year or 2.

I work with Professionals who are reloacting to The UK. Its not unusual for Dc from The US to go down a year but they tend to use Private Schools so its easier

Where in the US are you coming from ?

I think the 12yo will be the trickiest. Yr8 in the UK is very different from US 7th grade. As others have said he will be expected to get himself to and from school possibly by public transport, also I think the academic standard will be closer to 9th grade in the US, the high school diploma being roughly equivalent to GCSEs ( taken here at 16).

I’d look within walking distance of Kentish Town Tube/National Rail. You won’t get loads for your money but you’ll be central, there are primary school places to spare (you might not get the middle class school but you’d get a good school). For secondary you’d get somewhere, maybe Haverstock, but you’d go on the waiting list of others.
Farringdon is really quick from Kentish Town (by the Tube station, not Kentish Town West).

I would go north of London as others have suggested to say St Albans or Harpenden.

You can get the Thameslink direct to Farringdon from Wimbledon, takes about 40 mins , very easy

Have you considered Orpington or Petts Wood? The house prices are in your range and there are plenty of fast trains into London (Farringdon) via Thameslink. The primary and secondary schools are good too. (One of the selective schools is amongst the top 5 in the country. John Harvard went there and then went on to set up a University!)

Have you thought about looking in Hackney (eg.Stoke Newington / Clapton / Victoria Park?) Easy to get into Farringdon via train or bus or even cycling, lots of green spaces and parks, diverse communities, a quick check on rightmove shows some 3/4 bed houses in your budget and plenty of very good state schools at both primary and secondary level.

The usual way of choosing secondary schools is by checking the exam results: GCSE at 16, A-level at 18. And also university admissions, which are dependent on A-level results, although you may not plan on staying that long. Catchment area plays a part in this choice too, as schools usually fill from their closest areas. Unfortunately, the schools with vacancies in Year 8 may not be those you would choose. If you move to a grammar (ie selective) school area, there is little likelihood of admission in Year 8.

If he turns 12 in Feb 2025 he'd already be yr7 here so you will need to apply for year 8.

But most London primary schools aren't currently oversubscribed in reception, as mentioned above. All the primaries in my borough are Good or better and only a tiny number are oversubscribed.

The op has nothing to lose and everything to gain by putting in an application before Jan 15th. Applications received after that date willbe treated as "late" and will only be processed after all the on-time applications are allocated places. For now, she only needs to decide which borough. If she changes her mind later, she can modify the application. After the initial round of offers on April 16th she can apply to as many schools as she likes, in any borough.

This. You would be hard pushed to find a really poor school in Barnet.

But reality is without an address they are likely to be refused places at oversubscribed schools. So they maybe allocated a place distant from where they end up living and need to go on waiting lists or appeal.

@widgetz thanks for providing documentation on this - that's why I said I don't know as I don't recall seeing evidence in this thread that you can apply from overseas. I know in other threads others have claimed that in their local authorities you cannot.

Extract from the above link:

"I’m also not 100% sure you can apply with an overseas address, though others may be more informed on that."

Best not to comment if you don't know as you will muddy the water. I do know for certain that OP can apply from abroad because I'm a school governor and see the applications for our school.

It is the parent's responsibility to verify their child's immigration status before applying: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/schools-admissions-applications-from-overseas-children

Also as others have said, school places can come up anytime. If you wait until September, it’s likely that you won’t have a place for at least a week or two because the schools are closed over the summer break and often don’t offer places until the next school year has already started. So in many ways it’s better to take the place early. Even if you accept a school place further away than you want, you can remain on waiting lists for closer schools. Accepting a place somewhere doesn’t preclude you from a waiting list place later on.

I am a Relocation Agent (not in London) and if you do plan to get one involved the earlier the better.
We usually have knowledge and contacts that you don't, plus we are experts in the area and can come up with suggestions you won't have thought of.
You WILL need to sort the address before the school though and hope you can find places not too far from you

Not sure if it’s worth putting in an application now for your 4 year old (assuming they don’t turn 5 until 1 September or later). The deadline is in less than 2 weeks, and you don’t yet know where you’re going to live, so it’ll be a total guess on what schools you put down and even what borough to submit the application from. I’m also not 100% sure you can apply with an overseas address, though others may be more informed on that. Of course, if you do apply and your youngest does get a school place, you can always change your mind and apply to different schools once you’ve moved. But it seems like a lot of stress and random decision making right now. Once you know your address and an idea of what schools you want, you could submit a late application for them. If the schools are undersubscribed anyway, it won't matter whether you apply on time or late.