Moving to South London and Schooling

[WineLover21]

We are planning to move to South London with our kids (from a fairly rural part of Scotland). Absolutely terrifying.

Any tips on schools and how to know what schools to get into?

Looking at Balham, Wandsworth, Earlsfield area.

Also totally scared about doing this with kids. Any advice appreciated

if you have so many friends and lots of family support in london as you say OP…. why not ask them?!

If you’re not sure on the areas, could you rent for a bit to get a sense of whether you like an area? I think that your life in London adapts - I spent my twenties in nightclubs and dive bars, never going near a museum, and spent my thirties in museums with the kids, never going near a nightclub. It will probably be much more of a local life centred on the area where you live, but you’ll make local pals. One thing I did find was that London with little kids is quite tiring - having to get on public transport with buggies, long queues for things, everything getting booked up immediately. But it was a friendly place and we found a good support network. Having said that, we decided to move to the commuter belt for secondary as I wasn’t happy with the safeguarding situation at the local schools, and have heard of far too many teenagers getting mugged for their phones.

And I know the area very well, lots of family support and friends. Don't want to be in a random place that I don't know well.

and what do they say? where are they? surely they’re a great source of knowledge and you just gravitate to where they are?

(and how come you haven’t visited them in 5 years? 😆)

One thing I did find was that London with little kids is quite tiring

this is true

although the upside is my step count on maternity leave was through the roof!!

I have visited them in 5 years. What a strange comment....!

I wanted to reach out to a different pool of people. Isn't that what Mumsnet is for?

@Thepeopleversuswork

I don't mean that London is terrifying. I lived in Balham for 5 years and absolutely loved it.

I mean moving with two young kids and not knowing if it's the right move for them is daunting. I guess I feel selfish in a way as I want to be back there, with friends and working in the city. Rather than countryside, being around for the kids and not working.

It does feel terrifying because it's not just us we need to think about. And we can't just move back.

Wow, thank you!

In addition to the schools mentioned above I believe Ravenstone is really well thought of. Belleville and Honeywell too although mixed views on the upper years at Honeywell recently. Catchments are small but getting bigger due to dropping birth rates - not nearly as hard to get into these schools now as it was say 5/6 years ago.

I would highly recommend living very near a park with those age kids and especially coming from rural. Luckily there are plenty around. Gardens tend to be small but if you look at the Culverden/Dornton road area you can find some long gardens.

Would your husband be commuting daily and if so where does he need to get to ? as you probably know streatham is train rather than tube. Balham has both. Tooting tube.

I’ve been living and nannying in south London for nearly 20 years, Forest Hill is a bit of a sweet spot, as is West Norwood but Dulwich and Herne Hill are nicer (and more expensive!) look at the transport links from the different stations as to where DP will need to get into, look at the school catchment areas and go from there.

Look at SE London, your budget will get something very nice and large and the areas are family friendly and much greener.

If you go out to places like Bromley and Beckenham you can be in catchment areas for some of the Kent Grammar schools if that sort of thing is your bag.

There are different views on what constitutes a "good" school. Do you want 4 year olds in blazers or kids calling teachers by their first names? Wandsworth has schools with every possible ethos and lots going on for kids.

I grew up in Hammersmith and we always thought the area sarf of the river was a bit of a desert! I came back half a dozen years ago and I think it's a great place to be a parent.

They're easier to get in to because
a) Belleville is now a group of 3 schools, so has far more places
b) they've changed the rules on siblings for Honeywell, so that the sibling link only counts if the family still live within a certain radius of the school

And less children in Wandsworth

Can anyone share thoughts on Ravenstone? The nursery hours don't seem very long! Can you extend?

I don’t know- it looks like their holiday club is for age 3 up but not sure about required age for term time wraparound care. Worth asking, it’s run by Schools Out.

With little ones definitely get yourself near a park OP, as PP up thread suggests.. Even with a garden of your own, they're lovely on a Summer day and most of the areas mentioned above have a villagey feel so people do tend to congregate there after school etc. Might make settling in easier.
Sounds like you're going to have a lovely time.

Great, thank you so much! Starting to excited now as we've had our mortgage approved today!

op… any developments?

Have you decided on location OP?

Our house has sold!

Got three to view in Balham 🎉

Congrats OP! I’m sure you will be very happy in Balham as you have already lived there and it’s only got better.

We've had our offer accepted in Balham. Yay!

Can anyone recommend any nurseries?

What kind of nursery - full day or nursery school? For nursery schools you could try Marmalade Caterpillar (mine loved it there). Others: 345, Noah’s Ark, Eveline, Rainbow, Balham Nursery (this one is state, distance based admissions).

Congratulations. Balham is a great place to live and so family friendly.