Any black families living in Horsham?

[MrsUB24]

Hi Black Mumsnetters,

Looking to move out of London (East). DH works down in West Sussex and want to move that way, specifically to Horsham/Haywards Heath/Burgess Hill as I have heard good things about schools particularly in Horsham. DDs currently in primary but I am particularly thinking about secondary schools as don't want to have to move again for those when they start in about 3 years.

I want to strike the right balance between diversity so much girls don't stick out like a sore thumb at school but also want to be in the right place for us so I am not expecting little London. Bigger place, more space, alright local amenities, low crime, zero/low racist incidents. We aren't fussy. We generally lead a quiet life but I am not sure I want village living per se.

Been looking at Horsham, Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath....does anyone have any thoughts on any of those areas? Where to go that we will at least bump into people who look like us fairly often?

Budget in the 500/600 region. Ideally 4 bed.

Please help. Thinking about this is weighing me down a bit. Or am I worrying for nothing?

The only thing I know about Horsham is that Christ's Hospital School is there, and it has to be one of the most ethnically diverse independent schools in the country. The families may not be local though, so it may not reflect the local ethnic demographics. But if private is an option for you, it may be worth considering for your DDs? They would certainly not stick out there.

I used to live in crawley. Horsham isn't diverse at all and very nimby as is Haywards heath. I wouldnt choose to live there personally. Crawley is much more diverse and you will see black, Asian, Eastern European people everywhere.

I am mixed race BTW. I now live in another not very diverse town although much more chill but nowhere near where you are looking.

OP none of the towns you have mentioned are diverse.

To get around those areas easily you need to drive basically everywhere and they feel more like commuter towns where everyone works somewhere else. (That clearly isn't true as I've worked in them though my colleagues who lived in W Sussex lived all over.) Once you are out of London driving between places in that area is generally quick anyway unless you get stuck in Gatwick traffic.

OP where do you, yourself, work? I know from my sibling that used to live in that area and his wife made a lot of effort to ensure their children had non-white friends until they were secondary age. Even then their friendship groups weren't that diverse. Though one of their children was lucky to find another kid who looked like them who lived within walking distance though they didn't go to the same schools.

Crawley, which has been already mentioned, and Brighton are more diverse. (You can quickly google the demographic statistics of Horsham, Crawley and Brighton.)

Thanks, WildBactrian. I didn't know that about Christ's Hospital. I have been thinking about Independent schools recently so thanks for the shout. We just need to think through the financial implications of it. But on Horsham, you're right. Being a boarding school, the student population may not represent the local area.

Thanks, DaveMinion. Nimby isn't the vibe we're going for! 🤣 Crawley was on our radar initially but there seemed to be quite a few parts of it that "the Internet" seemed to be ruling out completely which really limited our options for where to look to the East side of town and not a lot comes up there within our budget. I always wonder if the criteria that some people are using to come to the conclusion that others should avoid an area might be different from the criteria that the others would use - if you see what I mean? Some person may say avoid an area because it's "too diverse" whereas that is exactly what I am after......Do you have any thoughts on areas of Crawley that just have a bad rep but are actually alright?

Horsham isn't nimby at all. Ignore that about Crawley, it's known as creepy Crawley for a reason.

It's certainly not somewhere I'd want to bring children up.

Top prep school in the area is Handcross Park. East access from Horsham and Haywards Heath

Thanks, Reugny. Oh dear.

Yes, I don't mind driving. We drive quite a bit as it is anywhere and we live in London!

I work in London and London Bridge or Victoria are fine for me although my preference would be Victoria. I have heard Three Bridges is THE station for that and I don't mind driving there if I can find parking at the station (do you know what that's like?).

Yes, I think we will just have to be more intentional about who our children mix with to try to broaden their friendship groups but we need to be working with something! Hahaha!

Don't think we want to go as far down as Brighton because it will mean a very long drive to work for my DH but it looks like Crawley is back on the radar again. Thanks. As I said in my previous post (above) there just seem to be son many neighbourhoods within Crawley that people say to avoid which severely limits us. Do you have any thoughts on this? What areas of Crawley are actually alright and just get a bad rep? I am coming from a relatively safe/low crime pocket of East London so I am not really used to that. What I mean is people tend to say you live in London so you're already used to crime etc but where I live in relatively shielded so not "used to that" as people tend to assume when you say you are moving from London. My area had lower than average stats!

I used to live in Crawley. Nice side is Pound Hill area - not far from Three Bridges station - primary schools nice - Milton Mount and Pound Hill. Secondary school Hazelwick that side which is very good I believe. Diverse area I’d say - high Muslim population , I think there’s a big mosque the other side of Crawley.

Crawley is very run down and deprived, I’d avoid it.

here is the demographics for horsham

https://citypopulation.de/en/uk/southeastengland/west_sussex/E63006026__horsham/

I work in London and London Bridge or Victoria are fine for me although my preference would be Victoria. I have heard Three Bridges is THE station for that and I don't mind driving there if I can find parking at the station (do you know what that's like?).

Southern railway used to be a nightmare. From recent reviews and when I had to use them this year they were still terrible. However I was only going from East Croydon into central London so I could get a train even though I had to change platforms twice at the last moment.

Thanks, ThereWeAreThenNoPunIntended. I always find this so fascinating how there can be quite differing views on the same thing. This is a classic example. I do think, considering where I currently live, some places do get a worse rep than they deserve but I don't know if that applies to Crawley or not! I have heard of Handcross Park actually. Thanks for the shout.

Thank you. I've heard good things about Hazelwick school and Pound Hill in general.

Thanks for the link to the demographics. Run down doesn't sound great. We have been through a few times and some places do look a bit tired.

Haywards Heath is lovely. A close friend lives there and I've visited a number of times. She's happy there with her family and it's a lovely place to bring up her family. Her DH is English.

Thanks,@Maggispice. I have heard good things about Haywards Heath as a place but it's also great to hear your friend is happy there with her family.

I often visit Horsham, have seen plenty people from various nationalities. May be not as rich as you , DP but....it is very homely little town and has all girls schools which is governmental - free and has good reputation

Just popped to my mind: Reigate. Good international mix in the playground and you can find a house of your liking also

Name changed as outing.

Horsham is a lot more diverse than it used to be. My kids are at school here and whilst it isn't as diverse as where we used to live in London, there's a real mix in my kids' infant and junior schools and you also hear quite a few different languages at pickup and drop off too.

Not like when I grew up here, when there was one none-white family in my entire three form entry junior school.

The schools are so good here that most people don't bother with private. We could easily afford it but it would be a waste of money.

Horsham is a genuinely lovely place to live and so family friendly. Much nicer than Haywards Heath as it has a proper vibrant town centre and loads on.

if you're talking about Millais , it really doesn't have a great reputation. Currently quite undersubscribed, is more than likely to become a co-ed school for Sept 2025 entry

This popped up in active, hope you don’t mind me posting as I live nearby so can hopefully add to the discussion.

I would choose Horsham over Haywards Heath, it has a much nicer town center, more shops, restaurants etc. I would say Sussex is becoming slowly more diverse, but some of the towns will only have a handful of black families per school. Crawley is a lot more diverse, mainly due to the large Asian population. Decent transport links on the main line too.

Agreed. Millais has gone downhill iver recent years. Tanbridge is a fantastic co ed secondary, so when we moved here we made sure we were in catchment.

I'd never live in Horsham unless I wanted the absolute essence of a small, white middle-class town in very way. It really is NIMBY and worse.

Crawley is diverse ethnically and socio-economically. Parts are a bit run down through lack of investment but not in any way that's particularly notable, considering so much of the UK is suffering from lack of investment. 'Run down' is often euphemism for too many people who aren't white/don't have an estuaries accent, which is worth remembering. Pound Hill and Worth are where I'd look, with Hazelwick school.

Haywards Heath isn't as pretty as Horsham and isn't particularly diverse. But the train station is a better option.

Burgess Hill is further out but that makes it a bit closer to Brighton and it's on a line that many use for commuting.

Of them all, I'd pick Horsham if I wanted a place that valued quaintness, Crawley for diversity and better train lines (and proximity to Gatwick), and Burgess Hill if I were happy to be a bit closer to Brighton.

I love Horsham I've been here a few years now but I get stared at constantly (headscarf wearer) and not in a good way.

Going out with my mixed race son breaks my heart (he's 22) and he said I hate coming out to this town because I'm sick of people staring at me.

I'd like to tell him it's not true but I would be lying after walking around with him.

The town's beautiful and clean and lovely and quiet too but in the local infant school theres I think four black kids in the entirety of the school and I've heard other parents refer to them as coloured kids...... and a coloured teacher I hear often.
Terms like half cast etc are used a lot here etc.
I think the people here are just quite thick.

Which is nuts because five mins up the road in crawley no one's gives a shit what I'm wearing.

I'm just friendly to everyone I meet and try to be the face of diversity I speak to everyone and show them we're the same as everyone else but it gets tiring some days soul destroying.

I can't believe it's still a thing....

I heard burgess hill is the same too if not worse 😞

But listen the more different people we have here the less I get gawped at so please join me 😂 and make this town a little more normal.

Before I wore a headscarf I never noticed as I'm white passing... what a blissful place it was to be...

I thought maybe it was just an Arab Muslim issue but my sons best friends Gambian and Says he can't stand it.

I'm ashamed to say I never noticed it as a kid being mixed as I'm white passing but now I see and sometimes it hurts.

Hi OP,

I completely get your concerns. I am a female POC, 1st generation to Ghanaian parents and I was born and bred in Crawley. Whilst growing up I felt it was quite “villagey” and really not diverse however this has changed dramatically over the last 15/20 years and I don’t think I would feel like I “stuck out” there now whereas when I was in school the only black people there were me and my siblings. Things like getting black hair done and accessing Afro-Caribbean food is quite easy to do from Crawley now. There are a range of schools to chose from - my siblings and I all went to local comprehensives in Crawley and between us there’s an accountant, a doctor and 2 civil servants.

Everywhere you go there will be places people tell you to avoid and I’m sure from living in London which whilst has been very gentrified over the years you know that in the nicest of areas there can be spots that you should avoid so I think the best thing you can do is maybe take a trip to Crawley / Haywards Heath / Burgess Hill yourself and make up your own mind.

I’ve not lived in Crawley for nearly over 20 years now but have family and friends there so return regularly throughout the year. If diversity and non village vibes is what you’re looking for then I would say that’s the best place out of the places you’ve named above. Crawley has an added bonus of being closer and easier to get to on the train to London as assume you may still want to visit London and also being a stones throw from Gatwick airport for holidays.

Happy to be direct messaged if you want to discuss further although I’m not 100% how that’s done/ if possible on here :)

I second Reigate, it's a pretty town and good links to London. Doesn't feel backwards. If you're thinking of private, Reigate Grammar School is amazing, my girls love it there and it's become well known for its diversity.