Where about to move to (in surrey or kent)

[sea74]

at the moment we live less than 5 ninutes from east croydon. We moved here before we had kids, just to start putting our feet in the property ladder. Now my eldest son will start school in sept 12 and we are really reconsidering where to move to, considering good primary and secondary.
We would like to stay close to london, i dont care about house...i always say that for good schools i would live also in a flat. I just want a very decent area, connected to london (we both work there and we like to be close enough to pop on a train in the weeked and go to oxford street or to the museums). We have seen beckenham but i dont know how schools are. Some people say bromley? Orpington?
In surrey kingston (maybe we could afford a garage!!! Ahahah), farnham, waltom on thames but that it is not an easy trip to london....
Do u have any recommendation for a place where basically grow up two kids, without need to move every 4 years?

Ashford is very well-connected to London now, with the high-speed train. 37 mins to St Pancras.

And are schools good in ashford?

Kent has the 11+, Surrey on the whole doesn't.

Most of the areas you mention are fairly expensive and I imagine there is a lot of competition for the best schools, but am sure others will roll up with more detail.

Ashford has a mix if schools from what I can tell - some good, some bad. It is expanding rapidly, though, so I wonder if the LEA is keeping up with expected growth in capacity - would be worth checking because if not there will be a timebomb in a few years...

BTW, central Ashford itself is a bit shite, but the surrounding villages are lovely.

Mummytime...sorry...i didnt study here in uk as i am italian so i am not sure. When you say 11+, do u mean secondary? If so, do you mean surrey doesnt have scondary schools???
I must have misunderstood...

11+ si the grammar school entrance exam. Kent has a two tier academically selective system at 11, most od Surrey doesn't but has comprehensive secondaries.

Kent has grammar schools and comprehensive schools. Some of the schools in/around Ashford are good, some are a bit crap, same as anywhere really.

So if you are humble enough to think there is any chance your offspring not passing at 11 (and they may only take the top 10% to pass the exam) then in an 11+ area you need to be careful about what the alternatives to Grammars are like. In a comprehensive area, if you live close enough/are the right religion then your child should get in (it is also better for late developers, and kids who underachieve).

iirc you need to be in your new house by January to apply for Sept 2012 admissions. Sounds a way ahead but with the practicalities of moving may not be.

So when will it be my deadline to enroll my son to school?

Deadline to apply as part of the general admissions process I think is mid January now in Surrey (used to be October half term), not sure about Kent. You need to keepo an eye on their council websites as at the moment Surrey still refers only to 2011/12 admissions but presumably this wil change before September. If you move after the deadline you may be treated as a late application and only receive an offer after the initial admissions are confirmed. Again the procedure and relevant dates are explained on the websites.

How far do you want to move? Bromley has some very good secondary schools - the best Comps are the Langley Park Schools (one for boys, one for girls). You could move to the catchment for Unicorn or Oak Lodge primaries whilst making sure you are within range of Langley.

Do you not fancy moving further south in Croydon? What about Greenvale primary - it's supposed to be good? Atwood and Gresham in Sanderstead are very good and both feed into Riddlesdown for secondary.

What about secondary catholic schools in these areas? Any good names?

There is a Catholic secondary in Canterbury (pretty sure there's a bus from Ashford) called St Anselm's. It seems to have a very good reputation.

Thanks, but canterbury is really too far. Any other???

Most areas would have access to one - Croydon does for example. If you google Catholic secondary schools in Kent it will bring up several including Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone, Bexley, Chatham etc, in Surrey Leatherhead, Woking, Guildford, Redhill (C of E and RC) ... No guarantee your dc would get in though.

Why not lizs?

I grew up in Sevenoaks in Kent which should fit the bill. My best friend lives in Beckenham which would also fit the bill (probably even better than sevenoaks and nearer london). SIL grew up in Beckenham, state school there are excellent by all accounts. Sevenoaks but trickier as if fail 11+ there are fewer good options

Places can be very competitive, at both primary and secondary level. If a school has more applications than places in a given year then someone will be disappointed. Entry criteria to determine the prioirty order of allocations can vary from one school to another. Some may require attendance at particular parish(certified by the priest) , others mroe general proof (ie baptised RC) , some give priority to siblings of those already attending, catchment area or distance of house from school cna be taken into accoutn and so on.

Sevenoaks has good primary and secondary Catholic schools afaik.

Thanks to everyone so far...
Re:catholic schools. We are catholic and kids were baptised when they were 3 months old. Now we go to a church but i wouldnt mind going to another one linked to a school.
So does cathment area count also for secondary???

Can do , you'd need to check how places are allocated at each school. Many religious based schools opt out of direct LA control so can determine their own priorities for admissions.

I have friends whose children go here, 2 are into grammars now at secondary and the third is still there. They have been very pleased with it.

The problem with good sought after non religious comprehensive schools are they usually have a tight catchment area . I was told for 2010 enterance langley park school in Bromley's catchement was 0.9 mile radius and this could change year on year. So no guarantee your dc will get in unless the live next door to the school !

If you are CAtholic I would look at St John the Baptist in Woking and St Peter's Guildford. As far as I know all the catholic primaries in the relevant areas feed into them. In fact in Guildford you can live on the cheaper north side, and send your kids to St Joseph's then to ST Peters.