to be looking forward to moving back to the UK but to have no clue where to move to?

[BellaAnna]

Hi all!

We are a British family, with two kids, we have lived abroad in Asia for almost ten years, and it looks like we’ll be moving back home to the UK next summer (2022). After having not been home for 2 years thanks to COVID, we’re looking forward to it so much!

But.

I’m from the Home Counties originally, and we lived in the Midlands for almost ten years before moving abroad. I don’t feel any strong pull to go back to either of those areas, and I’m so lost as to where to focus my search for a new home! It’s likely that we’ll be able to work remotely, so we could live literally anywhere in the UK, which is great in terms of property prices, but having that much choice is absolutely paralyzing to me. We don’t have any family ties to any particular area, and our friends are spread over the southern half of the UK... where do I start?!

I’ve never been a parent in the UK, and although I have a 9 and a 6 year old now, it’s been 30 years since I was at school. I’ve no idea where to start with choosing schools, and access to good quality education would be a real priority for us ... my kids are currently at an academically rigorous international school where they’re pushed harder than they would be back home (I think), and they’re performing 1-2 years ahead of age expectations. We’d hate to lose that advantage...

I’m looking for a city or area in England from the Midlands to the south coast where there are great schools (grammar schools if possible), good public transport for my future teenagers to be able to get out and about easily without me having to drive them everywhere, access to nature and green space/countryside walks for dogs (we’re living in a huge city right now and I hate it so much... oh for the green fields of home), and property prices that aren’t so crazy that we’d have to live in a shoebox.

Does such a place exist?

I have to rule out the Home Counties / Surrey / anywhere commutable for London because of house prices I think. Right? What about Bristol or surrounding areas? Exeter? Somerset?

Anyone made a similar move home after a long time abroad and has any tips?

Depends on budget but Shropshire fits the bill. Tons of beautiful green space, bustling centre at Shrewsbury full of independent shops, and affordable housing for most budgets.

What about Stratford upon Avon?

According to google, Kent. Essex, Buckinghamshire and Lincolnshire are the counties that favour grammar schools.

Of those I suppose house-buying money would go furthest in Lincolnshire.

I suppose you would need to be very confident your children are good enough academically if you buy in a grammar school area, because if they don't get in to the school you decided to live near, that'll be quite a big problem.

Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire I understand have grammar schools, if that helps.

West Sussex is lovely and there are good schools, though watch out for Gatwick noise in some places. Ashdown forest and south downs are on the doorstep. Otherwise I agree with PPs that Salisbury is wonderful.

Trafford in south Manchester still has state grammar schools. Easy access to Manchester city centre plus local shops, cinemas etc in the suburbs. Also good rail links to London and elsewhere and an international airport on your doorstep. The only box not really ticked on your list would be access to nature unless you lived somewhere like Hale or Dunham right on the edge of suburbia, or do you not mind driving as there's tons of countryside within easy reach by car. Houses aren't cheap though, so it might depend what you call crazy budget!

Oxfordshire but not Oxford (very expensive) , somewhere around Abingdon and they could go to the europa school.
Tunbridge Wells in Kent, grammar schools connected to London.
It’s really hard to say without knowing your budget.

Might be worth joining local FB groups of places with grammar schools to look at parent experience. Not all grammar schools are good schools.

Hertfordshire might be worth a look.

I’m looking for a city or area in England from the Midlands to the south coast where there are great schools (grammar schools if possible)

So taking a grammar school space away from a local kid? Lovely.

If they move their kids will be local kids though?

I would do Oxford or Winchester if I had a big house budget or Cheltenham or Shrewsbury.

I would be very cautious about 'likely to be able to work remotely'. A lot of people moved out of London as they thought remote working was the future, it's turning out not to be for lots of people. Where would your actual jobs be based?

Kent is a grammar school, I believe. Deal seems nice, we have friends who seem very happy there. And I love Whitstable, but I imagine it's touristy and at the expensive end for property.

Hi OP. You don’t say what your housing budget would be?

If you are specifically looking for grammar schools, then it’s Buckinghamshire or Kent, basically. Do be aware though, that although grammars are selective, they’re not all what you might call “super-selective” and you may find a lot of them quite laid back in comparison to what I imagine you’re used to of your are coming from HK or similar. The London grammars are much harder to get into - eg the odds of getting in somewhere like Tiffin Girls in Kingston, or Latymer School in north London might be 1 in about 15; whereas the Bucks Grammar my friend’s DD goes to was more like 1 in 3. Buckinghamshire has some lovely towns on the river, like Marlowe and Henley. I’ve never lived that way, but have visited and it’s a beautiful area.

If you are also considering independent schools, look at the results rankings for GCSE / IB / A-level on the “Best Schools” website. You’ll see most of the best day schools are in London, but there are a few such as The Perse in Cambridge (have you considered Cambridge - a few excellent schools, I think, and one of the top sixth firms called Hills Road)? Oxford might well have similar. The is the King Edward something-or-other school in south Birmingham?

Berkshire and that area is basically boarding school land because it’s where all the Londoners who want flexi or full boarding go. So you have the academic boarding schools such as Wycombe Abbey, St Mary’s, Wellington, Eton etc. What this means is that many of the independent primaries in the area are geared towards these schools and prepare them for Common Entrance exams at 13+, rather than 11+. My friend who lives that way found this - she has no intention of her DC flexi-boarding, but kind of got sucked into it because if the prep school system in that area.

There is Brighton College (obvs near Brighton).

Devon is beautiful and I think there are grammars that way, though much more laid back (probably a good thing).

If you want a southern city with stunning architecture everywhere, then probably - Cambridge, Bath, Oxford. Also fast links into London from those cities which you DC will thank you for later

I don’t know Bristol too well, but people seem to love it.

Have a look at the Leeds and Manchester areas - plenty of choice regarding housing, things to do, good schools - a good look. They both have great transport links and grammar schools.

We moved to the Manchester area when we returned from the Middle East. Every year we were away, we kept looking for the right place to come back to (we had lived in Northumberland before becoming expats). Our top 3 musts were schools, house and transport links. Northumberland is fabulous, but so far away from everything we needed.

Good luck!

So taking a grammar school space away from a local kid? Lovely
What a silly comment. Once the family live here, their children will be local.
Although you said the south,if you are looking further afield, then Harrogate is a great place to live. House prices can be steep but compare well with properties in the south. We have excellent schools, proximity to great countryside and easy access to London on the Azuma trains.

Very difficult to help without a (rough) idea of your housing budget.
There are no state grammar schools in Bristol (Bristol grammar is a private fee paying school) and the best state schools are in the most expensive areas for housing. I know that area fairly well and don't think any of the state schools would have the same vibe as the type of school your dcs have now.

I always think Chester is a great place, lovely history and centre, river, lovely areas and schools, close to Manchester and Liverpool and best of all close to amazing coastline of north Wales. I’ve got friends who grew up there and they’ve got a fantastic network.

Maybe looks a North Somerset. They have some incredible secondary schools and easy to get in an out of Bristol as the kids get older and close to open countryside. Backwall Clevedon and portishead have great schools. Just avoid Weston Super Mare!

Sussex. Close to the sea, quick to London. Great schools.

my kids are currently at an academically rigorous international school where they’re pushed harder than they would be back home (I think), and they’re performing 1-2 years ahead of age expectations. We’d hate to lose that advantage...

Maybe factor in somewhere with good mental health provision if you’re seriously pushing your kids to be permanently 2 years academically ahead of their peers…?

@Meraas

I’m looking for a city or area in England from the Midlands to the south coast where there are great schools (grammar schools if possible)

So taking a grammar school space away from a local kid? Lovely.

They will be local kids...

Thanks everyone for all your comments, they’re all really helpful and I’ll respond individually later on 😘
Much food for thought!

Thanks for the judgement. I didn’t say that I would permanently push my kids at all, just that this is where we currently find ourselves. Obviously the older they become the more challenging the work will be...
Our school uses teacher assessments (not necessarily all formal tests) to benchmark student performance against other kids in their class, year group and then against the average student of the same age across the UK. We’ve never done any additional tuition, and I’m just being led by what my teachers have told me...