Looking for London suburbs with good state schools

[Usworkingmom]

My husband and I are considering a move to London from the US with my company from the states. We would both be working in central London but want to find a commutable suburb with good state schools for our children ages 10 (boy) and 8 (girl). The company will not pay for schools so the American schools are out of the question. Our kids go to amazing state schools here in the US and private schools combined with the cost of living in London is out of the question. We also have a big rambunctous dog that makes the thought of living in a tiny flat unbearable! any ideas on lovely suburbs that are within 40 minutes of London with great non fee paying schools? It seems from reading threads on Mumsnet that most people do private/independent schools beyond primary no matter where they are living - that is unless their children are bright enough to get in to selective grammar schools.

Teddington

And you have Bushy Park for the dog

There are plenty of lovely leafy london boroughs, and super places in the commuter belt, with greenery and fab state schools and a great quality of life.

A big question is how much do you have to spend and how big does the house / garden need to be as that will dictate what you can/can't do.

Don't worry though most children in UK attend state schools and majority of them are fine / great / excellent

The schools not the children!

Children are all excellent obv

If you want to look at Bromley, you will need to register for grammars this spring/summer. Look at London borough of Bromley, London borough of Bexley and Kent county council websites. Testing will be in the Autumn.

The grammar for Bromley (boys) is St Olaves. It's a super selective. Likewise for Kent, you would only get super selectives within commuting distance. Depending on where you live, and how well your son does, you may get one of the Bexley Grammars. However, if you do like the look of Bromley, there is a very good boys comprehensive school, called Ravenswood. A very good mixed comprehensive is Darrick Wood. You would have to live quite close to these to get into them.

For your DD, the Bromley girls grammar is Newstead Wood. It's a fantastic school (DD1 is there.) but it is a super selective. Bullers Wood is a very good girls comprehensive, but it could be a bit tricky getting a house close enough to both Bullers Wood and Ravenswood.

In Beckenham (part of Bromley) there is Langley Boys and Langley Girls. The boys school is better, but the girls is good to 16 yrs, after which your DD could move, or maybe you will be back home?

Again, there are good primary schools, but you need to live near them to get a place. Are you religious, at all? If you are, eg Roman Catholic, you may have a chance of getting casual places at a faith school. Check the admissions criteria, as you may want to get proof of church membership from your current church. There are also good CofE schools.

Clare House in Beckenham is good, as are Bickley primary and Scotts Park in Bickley, and Edgebury in Chislehurst. However, you need to live practically next door to get into any of these.

So, if you do choose Bromley, research exactly where you want to live, really well, if you are hoping for a state school.

The commute is important, cutting out the tube (and ideally buses too, fares have gone up) and just doing rail and walking saves a lot of money and stress - tube is hideous (used it for years), buses and traffic not nice at peak times either.

That work location gives you lots of commuting options. Outside london in home counties will be cheaper for housing and more green space etc. Different rail lines have significantly different prices for season tickets (st albans line one of the priciest). Some places have residential areas within walking distance from the station, whereas others (eg guildford) don't, which adds to the commute.

After identifying promising commutable areas and checking out housing on rightmove , I would look into the top comprehensive schools on league tables (dept for education publishes these, bbc website has them in a better format) using GCSE and A-level results, also think there's a report from the sutton trust that lists the top comprehensives in terms of number of pupils going to good universities. Then would look on the relevant councils' websites for admissions reports on distance for getting in, and rent a house or flat very very close to the school!

Selectives would be a challenge as others have said. Forget the "superselectives" in sutton, kingston etc, v v hard to get in, even for v bright DC (mostly v bright DC apply and only a small proportion get in). There is local info on grammars on the eleven plus forum website, gives a sense of the challenges if you do go for selective grammars.

I agree with you dozer that walking at both ends with a train in the middle is the best way of doing it.

I used to live in Ickenham/Ruislip area. Some amazing schools and on the "edge" of London so easy to escape too.

Guildford has plenty of residential areas close to the train! I live in one, and we're not even the closest, they'd be about 5-10 minutes easy walk.

Sorry mummytime, think when looked there - and lots of other places -everything that was within walking distance was out of our price range.

In and around london the most commutable places are also the most expensive, bah!

The commute to St Albans is not one hour but thirty minutes!

OP when looking at commutes don't forget to factor in time to and from the station and waiting etc.

The "headline" commute can often be doubled by a drive / bus to teh station in heavy traffic for eg.

Buckinghamshire (the Chalfonts mentioned above etc, Amersham etc) is popular for academic day schools like Henriette Barnet. I suspect if you buy a house ni Amersham it woudl be cheaper instead to live nearer into London and pay schools though. We do have in effect a school fee within house prices near good state schools so it is not a simple equation. Most children don't get into good selective state schools as they are not clever enough which is nother consideration and in the private sector too.

Our 5 go/went to private schools always and don't forget only 7% of UK chidlren go to fee paying schools. So it is not the case that most people go to private schools at all.

It depends on your price bracket.

Some serious misinformation here.

@ thirdhill - atford Boys/Girls are not comps, they are semi-selective, and to get a distance place you have to live more or less on top of them - not nice esp in case of the girls' school as central Watford is not very pleasant.

Xenia - no way you could travel from Bucks to HBS - no-one at the school travels that kind of distance.

b&b surely the OP if interested will have spotted that sibling policy which includes the boys' school overrides distance, for Watford girls? Isn't Watford boys near public transport and a very nice country park?

yes, b. I was thinking of Dr Challoners I think in Bucks and muddling up with Henrietta B (as I've never used the state system)

Watford grammar by the way is a comprehensive school despite its title although better than some.

What about Croydon?

Both Barnet and Enfield have very good links to central London and very good secondary schools (non selective). Hertford has excellent non selective secondaries and has two stations, one goes into Liverpool Street and one to Kings Cross/Moorgate.

Ive heard good things about Hertford schools, I think its really expensive though?

No, Xenia, Watford Boys and girls are not comps - they are semi selective - 25% on academic ability, 10% on music, 10% on distance, the rest siblings and any left over again, distance. By the time you've taken into account the 35% who got in by exam and the approx same number who are siblings and probably equivalently bright, you are only looking at a fairly small proprtion of 'random' ability who get in on distance.

thirdhill - yes, the area round the boys' school is nicer than round the girls' school. But you'll have t live v v close to get a place, as the cross-sibling rule is being reintrduced.

The tube from Watfrd into Chancery Lane woould take a long time and cost a lot - suspect Bromley or SE london would be more convenient for OP.

Greenford, ruislip on central line, beautiful green, yet easy easy access to central London via central line and A40

Oh, and Xenia, Watford Girls and Boys are more than 'better than some'. The Girls school got the top rsults at GCSE and A Level at any state schol in Herts - better than many private schools, despite having only 35% entrance on exams.

East herts 30 mins to Totten hale underground and prett much anywhere .Good schools primary and senior infact some of our senior schools out performed and rank higher than private

b rightness i live few miles from Hertford ( same county but differeent towns) and our schools are very good

www.hockerill.herts.sch.uk/