To think this surely exists somewhere?

[TheNotoriousRBG]

We currently live in London. DC1 is 4.5 and we didn't get any of the six primary schools in our neighbourhood. We missed the closest by 30 meters. DC1 is currently in a private school as a result but it's not financially tenable long term. We do have a fairly healthy house budget to work with of 1.25m. The only constraints are that we are after a 5 bed house within an hours drive of Leighton Buzzard (stepkids) and an outstanding primary that isn't over subscribed. Am I asking for the moon on a stick? AIBU unreasonable to think that such a place exists? So far I can't find it and am beginning to think IABU!

We love London and SE london would be great but we need to be within an hour of LB for stepkids as we return them to school on a Monday morning. I would think SE London would be too far? DH and I are Brits but both were raised abroad so don't really know anything outside London. I think we'd be fine living somewhere rural if it had good transport links into London or maybe Cambridge or Oxford? The schools local to us have zero places in any years so that is why we are rather giving up hope of getting a state place here. It seems ridiculous to traipse miles across london on multiple busses to a school with a 4 year old. We would get a place at the local secondary but would it not be strange to go prep to state at that point? DC1s school goes through to 18 and I'd be worried about taking them away from their friends. The council have reckoned we should give up as "the list has never moved by that much". I'll have a look at Harpenden.

Oxford, Bedford, Cambridge, Reading look at places around these cities as they are all within an hour of LB

Bicester (or the villages near it) Bicester has great links to London & Oxford there's some great village schools nearby (think 100 in the whole school) secondary schools are improving but not perfect.

A lot of the university & hospital professionals live in the villages around Oxfordshire so they seem push the school standards up.

Buckingham has some good secondary schools.

I would definitely reduce the budget for your house and go private personally. The amount of extra money you'll pay for a house that guarantees you an outstanding school place is probably more than a private education anyway.

You could get a new build in lb for your budget, don't know for sure about schools but commuting is easy to london from there.

Any excuse to look at houses on Rightmove

All of these are within 30 miles of Leighton Buzzard and priced at £1.25k. All have 5+ bedrooms and are inside the admission area (and within a mile or less) of an Ofsted Good or Outstanding school that wasn't oversubscribed in 2016:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63486395.html
Hitchen, Mary Exton Primary School

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-42058677.html
London, West Grove Primary School

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63427355.html
Great Kingshill, Widmer End Combined School

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63721073.html
London N3, Tudor Primary School

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44433498.html
Northampton, Wootton Primary School

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57499924.html
Chalfont St Peter, Bucks, Robertswood School

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-46167783.html
Princes Risborough, Great Kimble CofE School

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-62771456.html
Stanmore, St John's CofE School

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43997235.html
Biddenham, Westfield School

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-53770897.html
London W7, St Mark's Primary School, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Mayfield Primary School, Dormers Wells Infant School all within a mile.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63123425.html
Eastcote HA4, Coteford Infant School

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38633457.html
Oxford, East Oxford Primary School, New Hinksey CofE Primary School

That was just the first two pages of search results. If you're happy to travel more than a mile to a school then there are more that meet your criteria. I don't personally know anything about the transport links to London or these particular schools, perhaps others do.

I have major house envy now after looking at all those beautiful houses!

A village in Kent with fast straight into London? (Ashford, Canterbury). For half a million in my village you'd get a huge house and guaranteed Outstanding school.

OP, it's a really tough one as I know what you mean about not wanting to be back full time with a nanny for prep...But a house further out could save you 2k. London prices are ridiculous and I think it's a good time to cash in on an investment in London and move further out - that's what we are hoping to do at any rate though I will miss London terribly! :(

200K not 2K lol

Oh Kayellebee, that Southgate house looks good and it's still on the Piccadilly line. We have always had period houses. I think DH will take some serious convincing to go with something more modern. But perhaps that's the compromise? Currently he reckons he wants to move rural with some old stone farmhouse and land. I'm not sure where that would be though without running into the transport issue or the school issue.

If I go back to work we will need a nanny. The job I do or did requires a lot of flexibility and international travel. I certainly wouldn't be able to work term time only.

Kent looks very nice but I think it's too from my stepkids? Surely not within an hour?

Our school missed out on outstanding and got good because of pupil attendance.

I don't think it is very good though

I would pick somewhere you want to live and then look at the schools by viewing, rather than deciding on an Ofsted list of tick boxes as to how many absences the pupils have had.....

Being in London is your problem. Could you relocate?

I'm in Scotland (30 mins from Edinburgh), there's a massive 6 bed house for sale down the road, with private swimming pool and it's garden runs down to the seafront, with spectacular views of Edinburgh and the rail bridge - a snip at £725k (by comparison)