Help - where to live in Surrey ??

[JoGehani]

Hi all,

A bit about me... new to mumsnet and expecting my first in September!! :o
Me and DH both work in Canary Wharf and live very close to work. But now with a baby on the way, we would like to move away - somewhere with great schools.

We have been looking into Surrey, but very confused about where in Surrey :(
We cannot be very far away as we are used to a very short commute to work (20 mins!!) and a drastic change would be a shock to our system... Anything that gets us into London Bridge or Waterloo in 30 mins or less would be perfect...

What are your thoughts on Cheam, Surbiton and Twickenham??
I have read some good reviews on mumsnet about schools in Surbiton, but when we went for a drive around Surbiton we didn?t really like any of the areas... So where do you live if you want to send your kids to Surbiton schools...
I?m open to both private and state schools...
Also, we would be looking to rent at first and then buy sometime next year once we're sure of the area... we would be looking to rent (and eventually buy) a 3 bed house...

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me :)

Cheers,
Jo.

I agree Essex cheaper and you'll have more spare cash.

Schools are variable with increasing pressure of places. The places with the excellent schools are obviously far more expensive, esp if you want a fast train to London, moreso if it needs to be walking distance from the station.

Waves at captain - I think we live in the same place. Oh look - another plane!

400k is not going to buy you a mansion but hardly prices you out of Surrey either, there is still plently of areas.

What type of area do you want OP?

Do you want village, town, busy, quiet, rural, semi rural?

Actually. I would urge you not to just stick to Surrey- why not Tonbridge in Kent for instance? More house for your money and gets you to LB in 30 minutes. We may move ourselves.

If you really want Surrey it is do able but you will probaly have a titchy house

Hi

Where I live near Woking (v quick train to Waterloo), you could easily get a nice 3 or 4 bed house for £400k. There are nice areas that are cheaper, Surrey is not all really expensive. Merrow/Burpham area of Guildford shouldn't be out of your price range either (good schools). There are lots of private schools round here too

Kent or essex would be quicker and easier commutes, and have many more state grammar secondaries, in surrey the only state grammars are "super-selective". We looked for similar property in similar price bracket, and schools etc and found a clear trade-off between commuting time and size of house, we chose the longer commute (but with no tube since IME tube is horrendous, especially when pregnant) but finding it v hard.

Hertfordshire is as near too.
Welwyn Garden to Kings Cross is 20 mins.

St Albans is expensive but you would get a 3 bed semi in Welwyn for £400K or perhaps a detached house in villges like Codicote, and slightly further out nearer Stevenage.

Good selection of private schools in N herts- Kingshott, St Chris, St Francis for girls, Sherrardswood- state schools not great though at sec. level.

We have also been looking at Kent, but I'm not so confussed about where to live in Kent as I am about Surrey... :)
I do agree that Kent seems to have many more state grammars....

If you have no problems affording private education, then I would suggest Croydon - although this became part of the Greater London area back in the '60s, it is still essentially Surrey, and gets more picturesque the further south you go (Purley, Kenley, Reedham etc). You could get a 3 bedroom house within 10 minutes walk to East Croydon station for anything from £230k upwards, leaving you with plenty change left over to do it up. Alternatively, go for a property within a 5 minute walk of a tram stop, then hop on the tram to East Croydon Station.

East Croydon station has direct trains to London Bridge (15 minutes) of which there are about 8-10 an hour. There are also similarly numbered trains to London Victoria (16 minutes), Clapham Junction (10 minutes) and Gatwick Airport (15-20 minutes). You have the option of West Croydon station which has the Overground to Canada Water (25 minutes) with an easier change for the Jubilee line to Canary Wharf (one stop away) (I also work in Canary Wharf and travel there using this route - there's a lot to be said about always getting a seat). East Croydon station also has the tram (25 minutes to Wimbledon).

Alternatively, you can travel from the more picturesque parts (Purley station to London Bridge is 23 - 27 minutes; Sanderstead/Coulsdon South to London Bridge is 27 - 35 minutes direct or with a quick change at East Croydon station).

Primary schools
State schools
It's not great unless you live in

• the Park Hill/South Croydon area (Park Hill Primary, St Peters Primary - which despite its name is not a religious school); or
• Sanderstead/East Purley (Ridgeway, Atwood and Gresham primaries).

If you are religious, there's always

• Regina Coeli (Catholic) (South Croydon/Purley)
• Margaret Roper (Catholic) (Purley)
• Christ Church (CofE) (Purley)

Private schools
(for girls)

• Cumnor House
• Croydon High

(for boys)

• Cumnor House
• Elmhurst

(mixed)

• Royal Russell
• St Davids

Secondary Schools
State
This is where you run into problems unless you are religious or go private. Mixed, you have Archbishop Tenison (CofE). Girls, you have Coloma Convent (Catholic).

Private
More choice of good schools.
For boys (Whitgift, Trinity).
For girls (Old Palace of John Whitgift, Croydon High)
Mixed (Royal Russell)

Failing that, your child/ren will be older by then and can travel to school alone - this opens up a lot of London to you and all the choices that brings with it (there are kids in Croydon who commute to Westminster, St Pauls etc).

Grammar
There's Wallington for girls and Wallington for boys (though IIRC, these have no set catchment so there is intense competition for places from kids all across south London).

Poor Croydon gets a bad rep a lot of the time but you really can't beat it transport-wise with reasonable property prices to boot.

Arnacles makes some good points.

The problem with Kent is what if you DC doesn't get into a grammar? Surrey is comprehensive, and has some that perform amazingly well for all their pupils.
So I'd start by do you want a great comp or prefer grammar? Then try to make sure you are where there are good schools. But of course be prepared to. Be flexible as things change.

A new primary is being built in Esher which will ease the pressure on Esher Church Primary (which I think is outstanding) and Claygate which has Ofsted good. Both lovely schools. Esher - very academic. Claygate very musical and arty. Both have fab grounds - own swimming pools and playing fields. Both in catchments for Ofsted outstanding secondaries (esher High and Hinchley wood.

The money you have would get you a tiny but pretty period terraced cottage in Claygate or a larger 1950s semi about 10-15 mins walk from the station and shops.

look here

arnacles grammars for boys you also have Wilsons and Sutton?

Have you thought about New Malden <a class="break-all" href="//?www.findaproperty.com/houses-for-sale/new-malden.surrey/3-or-more-beds.houses?" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">minprice=350000&maxprice=450000 here for houses possibilities. Good train links into Waterloo, nice little town between Kingston and Wimbledon. The girls secondary school is great and the boys is rapidly improving. I believe the primaries are good as well.

Oh and they have grammars for both sexes in Kingston which is not far,.

We are in a similar price bracket to you. Our house is smallish. Box room and 2 good sized rooms, two small reception rooms and a galley kitchen.DH commutes to the city in about 45 minutes. Yes I could move out to a bigger house but it would be more time and money spent on the train and the advantages of London being on my doorstep as it were would not be there.

The grammars in kingston are "super selective", v v hard to get in.

Hello JoGhehani

Hope you and the bump are doing well. Just wondering how your search is going ?

:)

I second listeringarnacles advice. Purley (south of croydon) is great for faster trains to London Bridge or Victoria, there are loads of lovely green spaces nearby, and a giant tesco as well if not having to trek far for your shopping appeals. There are also loads of baby/toddler groups at local churches and an excellent library that really helped to keep me sane by getting me out of the house everyday when first plunged into the alien world of motherhood.

You really shouldn't have a problem getting a nice house for your budget, and if you can afford private schools then you won't have to worry about secondary eductation either.