We live in Bexley and it's a nice middle ground.

Depending on the part you live, trains are around 20 - 40 mins into Central London and the m25 is just round the corner so it's easy to get to schools, classes and other areas around London.

In terms of schools, state primaries are generally good - there are a number of excellent ones and we got our children into one. As Kent is a grammar school area, those or private schools could be an option for secondary.

In terms of african supermarkets, there are a few in cities, and there plenty in London and the outer suburban areas.

I live in Bromley and it's really good .I am Nigerian too .It's a nice mix and primary schools are generally very good .My children go to an outstanding school next door and they have settled in very nicely For secondary you can consider grammars and Kent is a grammar area like the previous poster said .
You can shop in woolich ,Lewisham ,Deptford for African supplies .A lot also offer online shopping now like Ade's in Thamesmead or Charlton .
My husband works in London and we have fast trains going to london so the commute is not bad .

Have lived in Essex for almost 20 years and kids attended state primary with some private tutoring and extracurricular activities. We tried private and public but it wasn't any better than our local state schools for getting into grammar schools and the best fornthe kid turned out to be a year group of over 100 kids of varying backgrounds.

Lots of local produce in the Thurrock/Basildon area with good access to London. I have heard people refer to Grays as Peckham extension but its a lot more diverse. There are Nigerian shops and takeaways and deliveries available.

Brentwood has limited boarding and most don't qualify for it. It's primarily a day school and they seem to have lots of school buses in the area so Brentwood School is not a bad option.


If I could afford Bromley or Brentwood I think I'd consider those.

Hi! Check out St John's School in Billericay. Small independent school in a nice area and the overhead train goes into Liverpool Street in about 35 mins. There are lots of African students at St Johns, far more than the other schools in the area. Really nice school.

[quote mumsqna]@ladyapinks ohh that’s nice. I don’t much about Bromley tbh beyond new stead wood produced Emma and Dina. Which is a good sign tbh.

Oh I didn’t know shops had started selling online. Wish that was there when I was in uni.

It’s okay if you don’t want to answer but how’s the mix in your kids school?

I’m looking for a good mix of nationalities/ culture as I think it gives children an enriching experience[/quote]
It's okay .Their school is quite diverse .Though a one form entry .
More than a third of their class is BAME and and there are a lot of others from EU countries so it's a very good mix though not as diverse as Greenwich that we moved from but still diverse .Their school has a large Nigerian population .

Yes a lot of shops are now online and there are some individuals that offer personal shopping by bringing in some food from Nigeria and delivering to your address .

Mine are in year 1 so I don't know much about the secondaries but I know theres the Newstead woods like you mentioned and St Olaves.some also go to Bexley grammars or travel on the train to the Grammar schools in Tonbrjdge

[quote mumsqna]@ladyapinks Ah I’ve never heard of one form entry before. I never there were schools like that. It’s good to know. Although it must be interesting, I’m sure the kids get a lot of attention.

Oh the personal delivery from Nigeria is very nice. Do they just do groceries or do they bring other things? Like traditional clothing.

Hmm would you say that Bromley has large/growing Nigerian community? Won’t be as large as Greenwich/Bexley I imagine.

Ahh okay, thank you very much.[/quote]
It's a very small school .A little over 200 so they get lots of attention and parents are very involved too .Most parents here love it and it's always oversubscribed .

Yes the delivery brings everything .You can actually tell them what you want and they can get it for you .I don't use them often as I always see friends and family coming from Nigeria so they bring things that I want for me .

Greenwich is definitely more diverse .I am not sure about Bexley but my sons school in Greenwich had a very large Nigerian community and they actually had Nigerian on their ethnic monitoring forms as opposed to Black African and there was Jollof rice on the school menu on Thursdays.

Bromley has just launched new project called embracing diversity and from their statistics it's predicted that in next few years the Black African population will rise (can't remember the exact percentage and that's part of why this new project is launching to get our communities to engage and fill gaps.
So it's definitely getting diverse but not as much as Greenwich .

Kent is great but avoid places like Isle of Sheppey which is full of ignorant people. My uncle lived there for a while and it really wasn’t nice. Mainland Kent areas can be good depending on what you’re looking for.

Hi @mumsqna where did you eventually settle on? Have you moved and what has been your experience?

I'm Nigerian too and was thinking of moving to Kent - Sevenoaks but now I'm thinking 2ce because of all these racist talks in Kent.

I am having similar problems in Winchester- excellent schools, area, easy access to London and Coast, very pretty historical medieval city but very few black people and diversity though I have been told it is improving. Very middle class area and haven't heard much stories if any if racism.
I have decided to go for it as if we don't choose to live in these places and benefit from all these positives then diversity will always be an issue.

West Essex is very diverse (Hornchurch, Dagenham, Romford) but we have found becomes less diverse as you move outwards for the most part (as one might expect). Commutes into the city tend to be very good though and reasonable prices

Designhelp Winchester is lovely. It doesn’t feel like the sort of place that will have heavy racism. Also, I think there’s a reasonable Jewish community there*

My DB and family have lived and worked in Winchester and then a small village on the outskirts for around 40 years and have been really happy there. I remember DB once telling me he’s the only Jew in the village and the black guy he knows referred to himself as the only Black in the village and they would joke about it to each other, but don’t know if this is still the case. It’s a stunning place to live, the state schools are amazing and my DB has always been involved in loads of community events, groups etc and not experienced any anti Semitism and felt totally accepted. There seems to be a really lovely sense of neighbourliness and community there with people helping each other out, street parties, volunteering to run the village shop after the post office shut because they felt it was an important place for locals and especially older people.

I see you like T-wells/ Sevenoaks. I can vouch for both of those as I grew up in the area. Tonbridge used to have a reputation but has improved massively in recent years. As someone else mentioned up thread, West Kent is a little “nicer” than further east.

At state primary level the schools are far less diverse, prepare for your dc to be the only minority child in the entire school —unless perhaps you’re living in the centre of town. Preps however have far more diversity, I see lots of Nigerians/mixed kids during away matches. I hear good things about the state grammars and private generally, although I don’t have direct experience yet!

Hi mum can anyone recommend a diverse private school in the kent my daughter is currently in a private school in canterbury but it has not been a good experience sometimes she is the only black girl in her year. She has struggled with friendships Amongst other things I heard about kings in Rochester but that is far from us. At this point we are willing to move and rent if we find a more diverse good school. But my other son is in year 5 in a primary school. So we have to move him too potentially. I’m so confused . Daughter not happy.

Thurrock and Basildon are Diverse Areas with a Hih African Population but there is Bromley/Bexley and Dartford Aswell

Live in Essex but more London/Essex and it’s fine, mixed and haven’t experienced racism like I did when I lived in SE london

Is your daughter primary age or secondary age navigationmummy? If primary I have heard Blean primary is very diverse due to being near the university. I sympathise East Kent is not all that diverse generally, getting better though.