To consider moving to Horsham for a better life?

[Mixedupmind]

We currently live in Carshalton however are seriously considering a move to Horsham / somewhere that way by the end of the year before our eldest starts school next September
What's horsham like to live in?
I've never needed to drive and don't particularly want to start, would I still get away with this in this area?
Is it a nice family friendly place to live?
Cheers

Did you not start the same thread a couple of weeks ago but moving to Chichester?

But op didn't say non english speaking fraidy

Also op, you contradict yourself - if non English speakers buddy up with 'English children' surely this would mean they are mixing....

I'm with CharlesRyder.

Are you the op who said there were loads of Polish people in your local park and you wanted to move as you felt they did not intergrate?

I think you want to live in the countryside and hope you can get this in the South East commuter zone. You can't.

Either embrace South East living or go to Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Kent coast, Norfolk etc. You will not find some cheap, rural idyll hiding in the South East that nobody else has thought of.

But OP - you say that your loacl schools 'perform very well'? That is as much as you can expect, surely?
Re shops in Horsham, off the top of my head, BHS, M&S, Jacques Vert, Phase 8, White stuff, Fat face, Several small independents, JD SPorts, Anne Summers, TK Maxx, Blacks, Millets and more. Waterstones, WH Smiths, Collingwood Batchelor (small departments store outlet) Macdonalds and several small independent cafes, Wilkinsons, Heath food shops, Montezumas chocolate shop, Body Shop...(these are just in the main shopping area. )
Squirrel there is a cinema. On the way to the station.

There were concerns on BBC news re the effects on English speaking kids as a minority in schools where the maj have English as a second lang.Saw it last week,think there is going to be further research.Don't think op is racist to have concerns.

Will try and find a link

My grandmother taught there and lived in a nearby village and it always seemed to me a lovely place. For me the only sadness was when King and Barnes closed down (town's brewery)

Retro, the effect of non English speakers in primary classes has been exhaustively researched and any detrimental effect ruled out.
Here is an example of some recent research.
And here is a surprising article from the Daily Mail.

DM article here

That research and article is 2 years old.

I definitely saw a piece on BBC news last week re English speaking children who are a minority in schools.It was saying results are great for the English as a second language kids but there are concerns re the English speaking kids when they are a minority.

The concerns weren't re schools with an equal mixture.

It will be dull like most places too close but yet too far from London.

Find it retro

Montezumas has shut. Gutted.

Was it this?
That suggests all pupils need a firmer grounding in grammar to succeed.

No it was primary.

Err re "find it" It was on BBC news 24, have searched the BBC news website and it's not coming up.

Well its an arts centre with 1 or 2 screens that never shows anything any good!
There's a 10 screen multi plex in Crawley.

It's important. You can't just bandy such inflammatory statements about if you can't find the original.

Well I'll just pretend I didn't see it then if that suits.

I like Horsham. But I dislike Crawley. Love Brighton, hate Manchester.
Depends what you need in your life on a daily/weekly/monthly basis.

I'm obsessing about the cinema... It has 2 screens (I know because I have been in them both). They show all the usual blockbusters eg this weekend it is Godzilla and Bad Neighbours (not my idea of great films but they are mainstream), plus a kids film. Of course it isn't going to have as many films on as a 10 screen multiplex, but it is soo much of a nicer experience watching a film there.

@ FraidyCat

Without this turning into immirgant bashing, yes I understand your concerns about non english speaking majority in the class.

we have a very good school near by where 70% is non English speaking first language.

I can assure that a few very liberal minded open minded friends...did lots of talking about various issues before their DC were faced with being in a classroom with 70% non ES>..strangely all of a sudden it didn't seem so palatable a prospect for all the reasons you mentioned....

Rightly or wrongly who knows....but when you have to put your own children into a certain situation its funny how attitudes suddenly change a little bit

It was saying results are great for the English as a second language kids but there are concerns re the English speaking kids when they are a minority

REALLY, WOW, you wouldn't think so would you, but then again, it sort of makes sense doesn't it?

Yes it was only re schools with a very tiny minority of English speaking kids,wish I could rem some key phrases to Google,was quite an interesting piece,no bashing of anybody.

Can't believe we were the only ones to see it.

Is this it?
The article describes how pupils from all backgrounds catch up then finds someone from an educational lobbying organisation to wonder whether white kids are falling behind.
Hardly research.

Does this look like UKIP central to you?

Your MP would be Lizard Maude though.