Moving from the US to the UK and need advice/tips/sanity check

Maybe try around milton keynes? MK itself is very diverse and has a number of market towns and villages around it. Also fast trains into London...

Like others have asked, more details would help to refine

Your best bet will be to rent as close as possible to the school you pick in order to be number 1 on the waiting list for your 13yo. Then once you have a sibling at the school you could move a little further away.

in the UK it’s very unusual to get into a school just because you live “in catchment”, they need to actually have a space come up which generally requires someone to leave.

These threads crack me up. I foresee a new section of disillusioned US immigrants in the not too distant future. Diverse chocolate box English village with progressive uniform policies spitting distance from W1 doesn’t exist. Watch Little Britain and take heed.

I agree with others that looking for a non-uniform school will massively limit your choices and might be unworkable if you are looking for state places (so you will get allocated to wherever there is a space). I don’t like uniform fwiw but it is hard to avoid. Your kids probably hate the thought of it but actually avoiding having to think about what are the “right” trainers in a different country with a different fashion culture to what they are used to might be easier. They can just wear the same old unfashionable uniform as everyone else.

I also agree that finding a diverse village could be a tall order. Towns might work better. Just outside London places like Sevenoaks and Reigate in the south are pretty diverse and would be within an hour of most central parts of London.

Weirdly North London has a fair number of non uniform stats secondaries in a close proximity. Fortismere (co-ed), Parliament Hill (Girls), Camden Girls (girls) and Acland Burghley (coed) all within a mile of each other.

I agree with others, I would ditch the no uniform requirement as that will massively limit your options. Uniform is OK really IMHO.

Tho actually there is a secondary school near me where the students can wear what they want, and they don't seem to burst into flames as a consequence. I sometimes drive past them going to school and they all wear joggers (boys) or jeans (girls) with T shirts and hoodies. So pretty much a uniform anyway.

I also agree that a village, even one an hour from London (and do you mean an hour, door to door, from your place of work? Because that will limit you a fair bit) is unlikely to be very diverse.

If I were you I would look at a suburb of London which is likely to be diverse, have good schools, and be near enough for what I presume is a commute to work.

YY what is your budget for housing? And are you looking for state schools (free) or private (fee-paying)? Bear in mind that the latter will most likely cost upwards of £20k pa for each child.

Are you wanting state only or open to independents?

The uniform preference will probably need to be tossed out for state secondary schools unfortunately. I'm an American ex-pat and hate the British attachment to overly formal (and often expensive and impractical) school uniforms but there are almost no state secondaries without them until the students reach 16+ level (Y12&13 in the UK, the equivalent of 11th and 12th grade in the US). If you're willing to go private there are some non-uniform schools.

Uniforms also vary pretty widely and some are closer to strict dress codes than traditional uniforms. I have DC at a school where ties have to be worn with dress shirts and the younger students wear branded blazers and jumpers, but they get to pick their own trousers/shorts, skirts and white blouses/shirts and after age 13 they also get to wear their choice of jacket/blazer and jumpers. It's a reasonable compromise for an English school. And many schools go to a "business attire" dress code rather than a uniform at 16+, so the uniforms may be short-lived.

I think the higher priority needs to be academics for your 13 year old. What year would you expect them to enter?

It’s how it is in much if not most of Europe too. I don’t really know what it is about Britain that makes school uniform so very necessary, when other countries manage fine, if not better, without it.

Will either of you be working in London ,if so whereabouts to take into account for the hour’s commute. Agree villages, and much of SE, is not particularly diverse. Do you have a budget in mind for housing?

What’s the main reason for no uniform- apart from that’s how it is in the USA?

Here in England the vast majority of schools have uniforms

The DC wearing a school uniform honestly makes things way less complicated each day!

I think you need yo drop the non uniform requirement. It will be hard enough getting two places in a good secondary school. I live in a village 50 miles west of central London and all the villages are very un diverse and all the school have uniforms

I can definitely see why you'd want a non uniform school but given that there are so few it seems a bit odd to narrow your choices based on it. Surely things like location and academic choices and results/ pastoral care / sports facilities are more important in terms of your DCs likelihood of success and you being happy with where you live. Then when you've got a group of schools you like based on those criteria, look at the uniform policy and see if it is reasonable to narrow it down further (eg my DD goes to an all-girls school that has a relatively relaxed uniform policy with no ties. The uniform policy helped push it to the top of our list but it wasn't the deciding factor or the main reason we considered it in the first place)

If you could share the reasoning behind your criteria we might be able to help more.

Also I agree that a London suburb would be better if you’re looking for a smoother transition and more diversity. You will probably feel like you fit in more as an American there than in an English village.

https://www.cherwell.oxon.sch.uk/400/welcome-from-the-headteacher

Oxford school without uniform

https://cherwellschool.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/document/The-Cherwell-School-Catchment-Area.pdf?t=1742840207

this is the catchment

There are areas in London that have a "village" feel - they are not cheap but may be what you are looking for? Highgate, for example.

Genuine villages will not be diverse at all, they will be complete opposite.

Edited - non-uniform school are rare, and why would you want that anyway? Also, as people above said, in a village you would be generally limited to one school only.

Why do you want a village in particular?

You say you want to make things easy for yourselves, but honestly your list of wants will make things monumentally more difficult! Village + diversity = rare as hen's teeth. Villages in the SE aren't diverse, they tend to be very white.

As for a non-uniform school, I realise you're just trying to maintain what your DC are used to in their American schools, but pretty much ALL schools in the UK have a uniform. It's just the way it is. And to be honest, it's hard enough making an international move without complicating things in the way you are. Just accept that your DC will be wearing a uniform, get them used to the idea, and then start looking at places to live.

Many schools in the SE are over-subscribed, so even getting your two DC into the same one is not going to be straightforward. And if you're living in a village you may not have many choices of school anyway, unless it's a village in the middle of several towns that all have secondaries to choose from.

Depends what your after.
You have a couple of private schools - TASIS (does have a school uniform but quite chilled uniform ) or ACS I don’t believe have uniform?

I have friends who have children at both schools as day students and seem happy there!

Not sure on state schools that don’t have uniform. Can’t really help on diversity , friends that live near TASIS their area seems diverse - but not sure about the school.

But your BUDGET is the key thing about where to live.

If you want non uniform you’ll really need to look at that criteria first, then see if you can slit of the rest of your requirements around it

oxford had one state school as secondary - but in reality Oxford isn’t diverse and you’d need to live close to the school to get a place

in all honesty I’d ditch the non uniform and look at the other requirements on your list, unless it’s your biggest priority

between Birmingham and London you’d be an hour to an hour and 30 minutes from London on the train

as others have said, you’ll not get much diversity in a village

British people are extremely wedded to uniforms. DD was at a non-uniform primary and there are a few round here (south east London) but all secondaries have a uniform.

St Paul’s Girls in the only non-uniform secondary I can think of (private, extremely academic and high-powered).

Agree that village and diverse is an oxymoron.

As others have asked, are you looking at private schools? Because it may be tricky finding places for both your children at the same state school (at least a well regarded one). But private schools outside of London are likely to have places (at least they do in our area). Is there a particular reason you don’t want a uniform? Tbh it makes life easier when the kids don’t have to decide what to wear in the morning.

If you’re looking for a state school you will be limited to schools which have space.

Also, what sort of budget can you afford? That will determine where people recommend as well.