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

Villages and diversity don’t really go together so you might be better looking at market towns. There are lovely ones that still have a community feel. I don’t know of any secondary schools that don’t have a uniform outside of London, but they must exist somewhere. Depending how important that is to you, you might be best finding a school you want and then looking at the catchment area for somewhere to live.

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/school-swap-uk-to-usa

Not sure whether you can access this programme. A group of US and UK school students spend time at each others school. Unfortunately, they’re not like-for-like (ie not both city schools, for example), but it may give you an idea.

London is generally diverse.

anything that is actually a village will not be diverse.

most schools in England are coed very few are single sex.

the vast vast majority of schools in England, private or state have uniform. I don’t know any that do not but there’s probably a list.

I second what @wordywitch says, which part if London do you want to be near? Also, when you say ‘diverse’, do you mean in terms of ethnicity/race, or lbt…?

Where I live in the Chilterns is an hour or less from London (assuming you'll go by train and avoid the traffic) and has co-ed schools but there are no non-uniform schools anywhere remotely near that I know of. Our village is very much NOT diverse but the town it's about 4-5 miles away is. I doubt you'll get everything on your list in one place but I'm sure you can find a nice compromise 😊

Are you looking for a private (paid) school? (Nearly) All state schools will require a school uniform. If you're open to private, St Christophers in Letchworth is worth a look Home | Hello and Welcome to St Chris, they don't wear uniform. Letchworth is a lovely area, and quite diverse, but not a village. It has a decent train service to Kings Cross, London. Pirton, a village nearby, might be worth a look, it's a commutable distance to St Chris. If you're wanting a state school, you'd be near The Priory School – Educating Students for Success in Life. You'd be a 5 minute drive from Hitchin which has a station and a decent train service to London. Hitchin itself is a lovely place too, but again, not a village. All three are less than an hour from London.

There was a thread on here a few years ago listing non-uniform schools but I’m afraid there aren’t many!

Are you looking at state or private for schools?

My immediate thought is that "village" and "diverse" might not be as easy as you think.

Neither will non uniform secondary unless you are looking at a particular type of private.

For your starter for 10 though I would suggest Thames Ditton and going to ACS Cobham. Work out what you love or hate about that option and that will help narrow the field.

You won’t get much diversity in a village, I’m afraid. Maybe a leafy suburb of London, sure, but a village outside the M25 will be mostly white.

As for areas, which part of London do you want to be an hour from, will you or your spouse be working there?