Where in York to live?

[sadams123]

Hi
We are living in London but thinking of moving to York in a few years. We have in laws living in Huby and brother in law in huttons ambro but we would be looking to live in York. We have a daughter who’s 6 at the moment so most likely to move either when she starts year 3 (2025) or wait till year 7 (2029). We are strongly looking at independent schools as she currently attends an independent school now. I work full time and fully remote, my husband can change jobs to be fully remote or commune to London 1 or 2 days a week. We would have a budget of 700k for a 4 bed detached house. Which part of York would be nice and close to independent schools? We want to be in York within walking distance to shops, parks, or at least near it, and getting food deliveries etc. I see bootham and St. Peter’s near Clifton. We haven’t looked at schools yet but wanted to get an idea in where to base ourselves first. We’re happy to get on the bus for the school run as I know traffic can be bad and parking isn’t always available ( any advice on the school run would be great) Any advice on houses and/or schools, good or bad please let me know. Thanks

Central- Bishy Road is the current hotspot but not if you want a large garden or land!

Thanks. Do you mean Bishop thorp Rd?

bus for school run?

OP, avoid this. Really.

Don’t need a large garden, we currently have a 100 foot garden and it’s lots of work! But south facing garden would be ideal, and not so much work ideally

We live central and drive to Peter's. It's not terrible.

Mount Vale
East Mount Road
Etc are all lovely

Further up Tadcaster Road you have the Horseshoe and st Aubyns place

If you're interested in Peter's, you better get their name down quick - it's v v v v v popular

Thank you. If we can get parking near the school? That would be lovely. Not sure what parking is like around York. Also, looking at Dringhouses, is it far to drive from there to St. Peter’s?

Peter's has its own car park and some bays on side roads. I've never had a problem, you learn timings and strategies in the first term for sure!

Dringhouses is an easy drive to Peter's

Gosh thanks. We’ll have to contact them in September when school starts. She’d be joining in year 3 if we moved, not sure what the selection criteria is at that stage? Ideally a school she can move into year 7 without any assessments? Or that’s wishful thinking

Thanks so much! This is reassuring to know. We’re currently in beckenham London and parking is a nightmare here, lucky we have a cul de sac behind her school where we park no issues. So wasn’t sure what it’s like in York 🤔

Currently no exam to enter year 7 if already in the school. Plus it's a three school system, 2-8, 8-13, 13-18

Not sure how hard it is to get them in in year 3. But earlier the better I would assume

Thanks again ! We’ll contact them and see if there’s open days. I think they a few on a Saturday? Do your children/child goes there? Can you tell me what the schools like? Can pm me if you prefer

I have two children there, one going into yesr 2, one starting nursery.

It's absolutely fantastic, the best decision we made.

We moved from SW London and haven't looked back!

Yes- sorry!

I would have a look around a few schools and see what suits. There are lots of good independent schools, all very different in and around York. Pocklington, Bootham or Queen Margarets may also be worth looking at. Our 2 dc's (sporty and academic) are at Cundall Manor which is about 25 mins outside York. It's a brilliant school and they are very happy there, we chose it as it is smaller than most which means they get involved in everything, it felt a lot less pressurised but still gets outstanding results and no Saturday school which is a real plus for us. I would visit a few to find what suits your daughter and family and then find a house in an area to suit - most schools on the outskirts of York have good bus routes. If you are not set living right in the centre of York you could consider somewhere like Easingwold or one of the beautiful villages easily commutable to York where would get a lot more property for your money.

Thanks everyone for your advice. @Meggy123 we know those areas, my husband went to easingwold for school, not a bad area easy to reach to/from York but we like things close by so don’t mind spending more on a house in York . But we will consider those schools you mentioned though. Sorry what do you mean Saturday school?
We are also thinking of dance/ stage school round in/around York, my daughter loves going on Saturdays so another thing we need to look into.

Cundall Manor used to be non selective and specialised in those who didnt pass for other schools. So great SEND provision. Has it changed?

25 mins from York is optimistic though?

Bishopthorpe Road
Bootham
Holgate
Dringhouses all gorgeous!

Knowing which of DD’s friends got into Peters I don’t think that it is particularly difficult to get a place.

From what I have seen there is a huge number of applicants per place (about 6 or 7 to 1) but then a high number get in off the waiting list. (Ie of that 6:1 many do not have Peters as their first choice.)

Those that got in from DD’s (state) primary school were above average achievers but not particularly. (So group 2 of 5 for maths for example.)

That is for Year 7 - I gather it is easier to get in at younger ages. (We were advised that if worried about entry to start them younger.)

Both Peters and Bootham have Saturday school. For Peters it is 8am - 12pm for Years 4 - 8 and then until 3:45pm from Year 9 onwards. Not sure about Bootham but I think similar.

It is the main reason we decided against Peters - not willing to make that sort of commitment!

At Cundall you don't have to pass an academic entrance exam but they do assess all children to make sure that they can meet individual needs. They have great support for SEN but are also brilliant at pushing children that thrive at academics, that was one of the reasons we loved it. They offer academic scholarships as well as ones in sport, art and music. The class sizes are small. This year some leavers have got great scholarships to top sixth forms. Worth a look but just depends what you are looking for, some children will thrive in a much bigger environment some a small one.

That sounds positive
I know that historically Yarm 11 male transfers were encouraged to Cundall as nona cademic

Thanks. But is the Saturday school for boarders? Those pupils staying in the boarding school. We will be looking at the day school, not seeing anything in there about Saturday school for the day time pupils? This has sort of put me off 🤔

Everyone has school on a Saturday.

https://www.stpetersyork.org.uk/pastoral/the-school-day

You have to read quite carefully to spot it which is surprising really.

Whether they think Saturday school is just normal or because day pupils will live in York and so they assume locals know (which we do to be fair - you see the kids in uniform at the weekends).