Need Advice Please - Moving from abroad in middle of school year

[xaj]

I have 2 sons who are currently 2 and 4 and we will be moving to London for my job in between Dec-April at which time the boys will be 3 and 5.

I'd love any help/insight/advice on understanding the reception and primary school system and public vs private options for boys in London.

Here are my main questions:

-If you move close to a state school that accepts students from that area do you automatically get a place there? (I have my eye on Fox Primary in Kensington)

-Is it even possible to get my sons into a private school (tuition based) if I didn't register them at birth? (I'm looking at Hill House, Connaught House, St James, Redcliffe, Eaton House, The Vale, Kensington Gardens, St Nicholas Prep, Hawkesdown House, Notting Hill Prep, and Wetherby)

We currently live in Chicago and have dual nationality (Belgian and American) I grew up in the US and am familiar with the private and public school systems here (and I did attend UCL for university so am familiar with London and the University system in the UK) while my husband attended Catholic schools in Belgium.

We hadn't anticipated moving to London - so seeing some of the private schools who say we need to have signed up for a place at birth seems a little too late.

We'll most likely be living near Kensington Church St in London which is postcode W8.

I see that I can register for next year's admissions to state schools as of Aug 23 but since we won't have a local address yet, I'd have to imagine we'd be at the end of the list.

Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!

--If you move close to a state school that accepts students from that area do you automatically get a place there? (I have my eye on Fox Primary in Kensington)----

No, you are not automatically entitled to a place. They will offer a place if there is one available, but if the school is full, you are out of luck. If the school is oversubscribed (there are more applicants than places), then there will likely be a waiting list. The rules for the waiting list may be different from the main admissions period.

--Is it even possible to get my sons into a private school (tuition based) if I didn't register them at birth? (I'm looking at Hill House, Connaught House, St James, Redcliffe, Eaton House, The Vale, Kensington Gardens, St Nicholas Prep, Hawkesdown House, Notting Hill Prep, and Wetherby)----

You can try private schools. They are in charge of their own admissions, so there are no hard and fast rules. The same logic applies - you can only get a place if there is one available. There may be entrance tests, but these are pretty simple for younger children. An advantage of opting for an independent school is that you will not have to have a local address until you actually join the school.

Deadline for main admissions to state schools is usually around end of October in the academic year before they start school. If you are not living in the country at that date you can't apply. You would need to apply as soon as you have an address in the area under the late applications rules. Usually this puts you at the end of the list after all those who applied by the deadline, but I think some Local Authorities have special rules for people moving into the area which may put you further up the list. All the different LAs have their own admission rules so I would look this up on the local council website for the area you are looking at.

All private schools are different. Some admit purely on position in waiting list so you really need to register at birth for the popular ones. Some have assessment tests and, as long as you put their name down before the deadline for registering for the tests (usually only a few months before the assessment) they have an equal chance with everyone. Yet others operate a lottery system. The only way to find out is to speak to the schools direct. As MmeR says, you do not have to actually living in the area until your Dcs start there. They do not have catchment areas, but it would not be a good idea to send your DCs to a school which is a really long journey away.

You could put your DCs down on the waiting lists of local state schools and wait for occasional vacancies, while sending them to a local private school in the meantime. Bear in mind that most private schools require a terms notice before you take them out or you end up paying another terms fees.

You will need to approach each private school separately, but bear in mind that there is a lot of movement in and out of London and occasional places are not that hard to come by. You have Hill House on your list, and as that is a fairly international school it has a lot of comings and goings and is used to dealing with relocating children. It doesn't select on academic ability at that age. Uniform is a weird colour, though.

I think you could pay an agency to contact local state and private schools to see if they have a place and what you need to do. Gabbitas used to offer this service, I think. They can advise you on your best options. That might be less stressful than worrying about it from a distance.

Thank you all for your quick and thorough response. I hadn't thought of private first until a place opens up at the local school, that's a good idea.

Thanks also for the suggestion of using an agency. I'll reach out to Gabbitas - does anyone else have any recommendations for agencies or consultants who can help with this?

Look at the Good Schools Guide: they have various services that might help you. Also reviews of a selection of both private and state schools (with contact info, and some idea of price for former).

Do check out the local council website - they usually have sections on people moving from abroad and 'in-year admissions' - call them for advice, also they advice to call the school as some have their own policies. Good luck!

Thanks All! What makes this more difficult is my company can't currently confirm whether I'll be moving in Dec, Jan, Feb or April which complicates things further. Let's hope they sort themselves out soon. :0)

Does your company offer a relocation package? Do whatever you can to make them give you one which includes a consultant to help with finding schools. (There is a lot of research showing that not making the families happy is what makes overseas posting fail, and costs companies a lot.)

They do offer a relocation package I'll have to see if they include that as one of the services that gets included.

Hi ,
My son is due to start at Hill House in two weeks, age 4. They are an international school so very used to dealing with people arriving from abroad. Also seem to not have a waiting list and are very good at fitting kids in, making room for them. VERY unlike alot of other private schools that require you to register at the childs birth, etc.
There are no entrance tests for your son age 4. Very popular with Americans and Belgians too probably. I doubt you actually need an agency as you only need to contact each school individually to enquire about spaces. To get advice on what the schools are like you have Mumsnet! And various school reviews websites.
For state schools you'll need to be living in the area before you can apply I think, and, if it's a good school, then it'll be hard to get into though worth a try once you're here. You could phone the local education authority for Kensington and Chelsea to enquire though.
I bet Hill House are ok about holding a place for your son if you explain you're not sure if it'll be Dec, Jan, Feb or April; they are used to this sort of thing. Any other questions let me know

Thanks bobbuild - one of the challenges I see for Hill House, which is our first choice is that they require a walk-through before leaving an application. Do you think there is any flexibility on that? It would be an expensive trip to fly out just to do a walk-through :0)

The catchment area for Fox is miniscule and it is the most oversubscribed school in Kensington & Chelsea so will have long waiting lists. What that means is that even if a place comes up in the middle of the year, you would have to be living closer to the school than the family at the top of the waiting list.

If you're prepared to wait a while, then you might get a place further up the school - as others have said, there is a lot of movement in and out of London and in the upper years of primary there's usually a lot more lee-way.

We moved back to London from the US in the July before ds1 was due to start reception - it was a nightmare to find a place (and we didn't find something suitable until halfway through the year) so I understand how difficult the uncertainty can be.

Do you know how long the placement in London will be?

xaj: ring them up and see what they can do for you. They are not so unreasonable as to expect you to fork out for a trip just to see them, but they do like to eyeball prospective parents, and it would mmuch better for you to see, rather than just read about, the place before making the financial commitment (does the vibe feel right? Are you really OK with a rabbit warren of buildings?)

You could try asking for a taster day at the school on arrival in UK, which could translate into a place if mutually agreable. Don't know if Hill House does this routinely, but my DCs school does, so it's not unreasonable to ask for.

State may not be as hard as you may think as there is a steady drift of families out of central London, but wise to have a few alternatives and speak to the school secretary as well as the relevent Council.

For church schools it might help if you come with a baptism certificate and perhaps a priest reference.

The benefit of phoning round private schools is that it can tell you a lot about how welcoming and helpful the school is. Someone will have a place. The schools are quite different and though you will need to be a bit flexible, you want some sort of match, eg sporty or academic, with your children. Some of these schools are very academic and focussed on the major public schools, so tough if your child is not. Others have virtually no outdoor space, again tough if your children are active.

Worth pushing St Nicholas up your list as the new head has a strong reputation.

Hi
I did the walk through as I live in London but had no idea they insisted on it. I imagine you could talk them out of it though if you explain circumstances and tell them you've heard such good things about the school that you're sure of your choice without a walk through, blah, blah blah, etc. I would have thought that as a lot of the kids are diplomatic etc that they'd come accross ths quite often?

It may not be suitable to your situation, but you should be aware that school is not compulsory in the UK. You could choose not to delegate to a school the education of your 5yo (the 3yo does not legally have to be being educated).

London has many groups of home educators with activities that you could join in.

Thanks for all of the advice. As my husband and I both have jobs - and I'm moving for my job, homeschooling isn't the best option for us.

I think as it stands we'll try and get him into Hill House and take a closer look at St Nicholas and move into the catchment area in Kensington so that we'll have the proximity covered for the waitlist.

Who knows, maybe our 2 yr old will get into Fox Primary first then that would put our 4 soon to be 5 yr old into the sibling waitlist :0)