Would you move house for better schools?

[ChocolatEtVin]

We're strongly considering moving house to an area with better secondary schools and I was just wondering if anyone had done it? We're in London and being in an area with good schools is of high importance as, if your local schools isn't good you don't stand much of a chance getting in anywhere else! Has anyone who moved for this reason regretted it? Would anyone else do so?

The thing is we have 5 DCs, live in an area with either good girls schools, one good coed which we actually have a chance of getting into (but in reality wouldn't) and no good boys schools. The problem is though that we have four DSs!

Send the DSs down the coal mine to pay for private for your DD?

We moved from London to Kent specifically for grammar schools. DC1 got in easily and is enjoying it and doing really well, so no regrets there.

I do miss London quite a lot personally though. And I worry for DC2 (much younger) who is much more outgoing and has interests that would really benefit from the social and cultural stimulation of London. The thing about London is that even if the area where you live has shortcomings, the population density and cultural intensity is such that you're not far from somewhere that can supply the things you don't have. It's a bit different when you have to make an expensive 2 hour train journey to get those things.

Schools are important though, and if you don't have the money to either (a) go private, or (b) buy a house in a good cathment area, then grammars are about the only other way of ensuring a worthwhile experience for academically able DCs.

With five DCs, I imagine (a) is likely impossible for you, and even (b) pretty hard. I know you said you didn't want to hothouse, but I would maybe consider buying somewhere in outer London that has access to grammars and some decent comps as well, plus reasonable transport links so that journeys in are doable for other things, and for when they get older. Then even if some of them don't end up at ideal schools, you've got quite a few bases covered for however they develop.

It does my head in trying to consider the talents and interests of both my DCs, and then work consideration for both DW and myself. It gets so that there's nowhere you can go that's OK for every consideration. I can't imagine what it would be like with five.

I think moving to a grammar school area would be a big risk. After the twins (who are ten) our next oldest DC is only five so we really don't know what sort of school they would need. I also like the idea of them all going to the same school and if we could get the twins into a good, coed school now it would solve a lot of future problems. It really is so hard!

I moved out of a grammar school area when DS was 9yrs. I would think it especially dodgy if you have twins-I know a pair where one got a grammar school place and one didn't.

I moved out of a grammar school area when DS was 9yrs. I would think it especially dodgy if you have twins-I know a pair where one got a grammar school place and one didn't.

It didn't stop me marketing my house as 'in the grammar school catchment area' as this seems to be a good thing by many. Interestingly the people who bought it had a DS who failed, they went to appeal and even got a solicitor on the case and still didn't get a place.

I've done it twice. The first time to ensure dd got into the local outstanding primary, we visited it and thought it would be great. After two years we moved again in part because I wasn't happy with the school at all once she started. Dd1 was one of those quiet well behaved children who was largely left to get on with it while the teacher concentrated on the badly behaved or more vocal children. We then moved out of London altogether and in terms of schooling we didn't look back, but in every other way regretted leaving London.

Both schools are over-subscribed, but the catchment area for APS is larger and takes in areas which are more affordable than the Fortismere catchment area.

Look at somewhere like one of the Surrey towns, be careful as some have great schools, others not necessarily great. But they are much better places for independent teens to be, and you can still commute into London quickly. And they tend to be Comprehensives (with very few Grammars).

Hmm, looks like moving out of London might have to be a possibility :(

What, roughly, is your budget for a house, Chocolat?
Presumably you need plenty of space - 4 bed?

we're considering this, but for primaries. One of the only reasons I'm still happy to be renting is that we can up sticks and do this.

Thing is, the decent local primary has a tiny catchment. The furthest away 2011 non-sibling place given was 0.24km

I would definitely move to get my DD into a school. In fact, DH and I are already talking about moving for secondary even though DD is 9mo! Our local primary is outstanding and a feeder school to the secondary we want to get into, but we are just outside the secondary catchment. It might be expensive but you are paying into the equity of a very marketable house. Like exoticfruits says, the houses in the catchment are all marketed as being in the 'xyz catchment'.

We did. The school DD was lined up for if she didn't get a Grammar place (which she didn't) closed down the year she transferred - had been getting a 7% GSCE A-C pass rate

It merged with another, not much better school, and we moved round the corner, over a county boundary, and she went to a lovely comp and did very well.

We are thinking just now as dd is due to go to secondary (sen) and the ones here are rubbish. DS1 is in primary and ds2 is still toddling.

We were looking at Essex. It seems affordable, has a lovely special school and seems to have some decent secondary as well as grammer schools. Specifically Benfleet and Brentwood seem affordable with goodish schools and the grammers at southend and easy commute to london.

Or is everyone going to be laughing up their sleeve at me???

Surrey has lovely comps but too expensive. kent lovely grammers but no 'plan B' and not much in the way of special schools.
Closer to London areas (Richmond, Kingston etc) too expensive as we want 4 bedrooms and decent living space.

Haven't really looked at Bucks or Herts.

I was going to suggest Fortismere and then saw your post

i think I may live in your current area (or somewhere v similar!), but I have 3 dds, so hope to get into the girls' school. we moved areas to get them into this school, so to answer your original question, yes, I would move to get into good secondary schools.

I would absolutely love for them to go to Fortismere but the catchment is so tiny and expensive! However I feel that the more liberal approach would be better than the disiplined environment of the academies.

I would move into the catchment but rent for a while, and then buy nearby when you can. i know some people think that might be morally reprehensible, but you would be staying in the area, just not in the 100m catchment (or whatever it is).

I have to say I remember about 30 years ago a neighbour moved to Welwyn Garden City from our very working class area, just to get her deaf son into the "right" school. Its not new or uncommon.

I just moved for secondary schools though my boys only 7 and 4 (a good opportunity came up), school wise is a no brainer but I miss my old area in every other aspect and hoping to move back once the schools are sorted.

We will need to move in a few years or send our kids to private schools - our local primary is fantastic but the secondary is definitely not! I am a secondary teacher and think the school environment you are in as a teenager is so important.

So sorry did not realized this thread was 3 years old. But I hope there are still parents worrying what to do with the schools and house move. Noggie good to hear from you. I keep worrying that I chose a worse house for a better school but the comments like yours help me to stay focused while I count months until I can sell up and move to my old area

I could really do with some advice, we are relocating to London. We can move anywhere so I would like to try to move somewhere with a very good academic secondary school. I have two boys in Year 7 and Year 5. I don't really know where to start. Our budget for house will be £650k max. Grateful for recommendations from thoes that this has worked out for!

Usually I wouldn't because schools change and one year a school could be ofsted outstanding and at the next inspection it could be under requires improvement.

I would move if I felt that the schools in the area had a long history of under achievement or if they had lots of problems with disruptive behaviour. I would also move if I lived in a grammar area, it's such a gamble as to whether your kids will pass and I don't support the ethos behind grammar schools.

We have family who moved house to be in the catchment of Langley Park School for Boys near Beckenham. It is a very popular school so has a small catchment area. 83% A*-C including Maths & English at GCSE & rated outstanding by Ofsted. They have been very pleased with the school so far. It is a comprehensive but used to be a grammar school & still seems to have a grammar school ethos. The sport at the school is excellent. The transport links into London are good too.

bananadrama ha! What a coincidence! I moved precisely to be in a catchment for Langley Boys!