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Original poster

Moving to england, anyone able to advise on schools in west end, southampton?

14 replies

Penguin82 · 26/09/2021 14:32

Help!
Moving to england in december and need to get dd (9) enrolled in a school from start of january term. Where i am from there is only one school so the whole process is unfamiliar to me!
Dp house is near Townhill junior which seems nice enough, but one of his family has said theyve heard it ls not great and we should try to get dd into St James, but that is a bit of a distance and not sure how shed get there when i get a job and cant take her? Also not sure if its a religious school as looks like it is on the website?
Grateful for any help!

OP posts:

Whichcatthatcat · 26/09/2021 16:19

St James was a good school but heard some not so great reviews recently. It is a religious school. I'm not sure how far you can travel, but take a look at Feegrounds and Shamblehurst.

raspberryshake · 26/09/2021 16:28

Hey... welcome to the area... well we live a bit further east but it's a lovely part of the world here! I can't advise on schools but it depends on where you're moving to near Southampton. Southampton is a unitary authority and does it's own school admissions (for postcodes SO14-SO19) so Townhill is SO18, so a Southampton school. The schools a PP mentioned (Freegrounds and Shamblehurst are SO30 so fall under Hampshire school admissions. You have to live in the area for your admissions authority to apply for schools in that authority. Hope that makes sense...

Whichcatthatcat · 26/09/2021 16:46

Can you not apply to Hampshire schools? I didn't know that, sorry.

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raspberryshake · 26/09/2021 16:56

@Whichcatthatcat

Can you not apply to Hampshire schools? I didn't know that, sorry.

That's the way I read the admissions policy (just done Y7 application, and I had to put in my postcode to see if I was eligible) and when I looked for Townhill on Hampshire it didn't come up. Seems a bit bonkers, I know. However, just found this on Hampshire's site... (so thank you for making me check.... !)

Can I apply for a school outside of Hampshire
You can name any publicly funded school in England on your application form. If you name a school in another County, Hampshire County Council will pass your application to the relevant authority for consideration. We will then receive an outcome from the other authority and will notify you of this on the national notification date alongside your other preferences.

raspberryshake · 26/09/2021 16:57

So maybe you can.... ?

raspberryshake · 26/09/2021 17:01

Just cleared it up with my friend, you have to apply to the authority in which you live. She sent her children to a school in Southampton on religious grounds, but had to apply through Hampshire as we live inside Hampshire, not Southampton! So, OP ignore me and you can apply where you like! Sorry (I will get back in my box)

Original poster

Penguin82 · 26/09/2021 17:19

Thank you, we are a 6 minute walk from townhill so be great to hear if thats considered decent? Will look at the others suggested too. We arent currently in england so hoping we can apply from outside uk given that dp has bought a house in West End.

OP posts:

KeyboardWorriers · 26/09/2021 17:23

I think the hedge end schools are generally pretty oversubscribed.

Make sure you get a good idea of the likelihood of getting into an out of catchment school. I have known parents in Southampton to not get any of their choices

Original poster

Penguin82 · 26/09/2021 20:05

Thank you, im not used to catchment areas its all new to me. I looked online and i think townhill is the only school for my catchment. Does that mean they have to take dd?

OP posts:

Clovie · 26/09/2021 20:37

Bitterne Park is a lovely school and not too far. We are out of catchment for Portswood, but managed to get my dcs in there. Might be worth an investigation.

Original poster

Penguin82 · 26/09/2021 20:50

Thank you clovie ill take a look.

OP posts:

BendingSpoons · 26/09/2021 20:58

The schools don't have to take your child if they are full. Ideally you need to find out where has a space in her year. If your local schools are full, they might give her a place at a school further away.

In theory you can apply from abroad and if they have a place they will give it to you. They will expect you to start in 2 weeks or so, so you can't apply too early. It will be trickier if there aren't any places, as they will probably tell you to wait until you have moved before they need to find your DD a place.

Clovie · 26/09/2021 21:00

Bitterne Park and Portswood have outstanding OFSTED, both amazing schools. I think Bitterne Park is more well rounded, Portswood is extremely academic and some kids do get left behind. They also have zero sports clubs, which was great for mine, but not for everyone.

Original poster

Penguin82 · 26/09/2021 21:38

Thank you, i emailed 3 possible schools but they wouldnt tell me if they had space just that i need to apply. Ive not managed to register on the council page to make applications yet, dont know if its because my current postcode is outside uk. May just need to get a flight early december rather than mid december to allow more time to sort it all out..

OP posts:

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