Moving to London from Australia

[GroovyOne]

Hubby's company would like us to move to London in 2014.
If we did, we would likely arrive so the kiddies can start the new school year in Sep 2014.

In Sep 2014 or kids will be:
Daughter- 11 years old - going into year 7 (which from what Im reading will make it tough for her to get in somewhere, but we'll do it).
Son1 - 9 - year 6
Son2 - 6 - year 2
Son3 - 4 - prep (or whatever it's called).

The company will pay for schooling and housing.
I understand that the most expensive doesn't always mean the best....
Our kids are quite sporty.

If anyone has an tips on schools and areas to love, that would be fab!! ??
I am researching and researching, but there are so many options!!

I have heard back from the Harrodian via email.
We will register all four children, do the testing for DS who's 9, and cross fingers that spaces come up for all 4.

Thanks grovel.
Lamb looks lovely, but is simply too far out :(
Thank you though :)

I mean Lambrook!
(such a shame there isn't 'edit').

Anyone have any feedback on Newton prep...?

I think this time last year, many people would have advised you not to touch Newton Prep with a barge pole.

But, a new head started in September and one of the deputy heads was replaced and the change in the school is remarkable already.

The outflow of families appears to have ceased, but the consequences of all those voting with their feet under the old head mean there are vacancies in many year groups.

Seriously good facilities for inner London.

I'm with Carlton here. My DC were at the school when the last head came in and to say we found him difficult was an understatement. Friends with younger DC still in the school say the new Head is refreshing, straightforward, and experienced. The facilities are fab and there are some very good teachers. Newton always used to have a bit more of an arty feel than some other schools perhaps reflecting the core catchment which is Battersea/Clapham Old Town, as well as Chelsea.

I think I suggested it in my first post. It is a good Plan B as there are likely to be spaces in key year groups and I assume they are still keen to boost numbers in Yr's 7 & 8. It is quite a big busy school, which should do well by the more academic children as well as cater for those who are not aiming for the most competitive 13+ schools.

It is easy to get to by train from quite a lot of SW London but not particularly close to a Tube.

Thank you everyone.
I must say, the whole thing is giving me a headache.
I cannot see a clear 'winner' on where to live and what schools to send our kids to.

We may need a relocation consultant!

If anyone has any recommendations, feel free to let me know.

xxx

Hi groovy, you could try www.gabbitas.co.uk/SchoolsPlacement.aspx in regard to finding best schools for your children and decide where to live accordingly.

Is there no relocation agent as part of your DH's package?

All the areas you are looking at and have been suggested are great places to live. None are too far from Central London, so wherever you choose you are bound to have a great lifestyle. Your main issue is going to be finding schools with a place for your children. This is where the schools placement service might be able to help...

You might want to try some of the more academic prep schjols too though like Colet Court, Westminster Under School which are head and shoulders above the Harrodian and also perhaps consider living in St Albans or other bits of Herts and then consider schools like Haberdashers Boys which has a prep and gets some of the best exam results in the country and there is a next site Haberdashers girls. That will only work if the children are very bright.

As a (half) aussie mum who boarded in England I can relate to the Australian need for decent sports facilities (many of the best academic schools are in central london and simply don't have the grounds/space- I sigh with envy as I think of the swimming pool/pitches at Cranbrook/Scotts in the middle of Sydney), the English acceptance of strange uniforms, academic rigour and stuffiness (I'm stereotyping, things have changed, but there are still some elements of that left). Groovy the schools with the best sports are the once with the most land, which tend to be outside london (or on the outskirts - like dulwich). Have you looked at Dulwhich College (starts age 3 for pre-prep) and Alleyn's (ditto)? They both operate school buses there from Fulham. As for securing places, yes its hard, yes you're late in the game, but in my experience (I've got my boys into some of the top schools in Sydney, Brussels & London with ridiculously late notice each time) personal contact always helps: just turn up and knock on a few doors & beg.

In that case for sport my suggestion of Haberdashers -very academic but lots of grounds and sport www.habsboys.org.uk/ might work :-

"The school’s excellent sports facilities include 7 Rugby and/or Football pitches, 2 all-weather Hockey pitches (one floodlit) which become 18 tennis courts in the summer, 3 Grass Cricket squares, 3 artificial Cricket wickets (plus grass and artificial Cricket nets), the Solai Indoor Cricket Centre, a double size Sports Hall, Indoor Swimming Pool, Gymnasium, Fitness Suite, 400metre grass running track with synthetic sprint track and jump/throw areas, and a Shooting Range. Having secured planning permission we are also about to build a state of the art new indoor sports complex, which will complement our sports hall space and upgrade some of our current facilities. This will include a 25 metre 8 lane Swimming Pool, Fitness Suite, Gymnasium, Squash Courts, Multi-Use Space, Climbing Wall, Conference Room, School Shop and Café."

Dulwich prep also good and a bit easier to get into than schools like Haberdashers and St Paul's although certainly not very easy and a good academic all round school.

Dulwich Prep and the Junior School of Dulwich College are two different schools.

It is the latter which uses the 70 or so acres of sports pitches that belong to the College.

If the schools you like aren't that sporty .There are lots of clubs for different sports, Rugby clubs, swimming ,cricket etc and its. good way of integrating into a local area.

Hubby tells me that we will be in London for 2 years and then moving down south after 2 years probably, so the move is kind of temporary I guess.

By 'down south' do you mean in the UK or back in Oz?

It's going to be a bit of a wrench, particularly for your oldest, to move again after 2 years. Have you considered boarding (assuming you are in the UK)?

Thanks all. Shall check out the schools you have mentioned above.
By 'down south' I mean Southampton or somewhere like that.
DoMyBest. I agree. It is not impossible. That's why I want to get my butt over there, check the schools out and make it happen!

Dulwich prep has a lot of its own sports grounds though.

I'm a kiwi and dh is Australian, we've been here for a while and ds is 9. PM me if you want a run down on Dulwich schools. It would be helpful to know which schools your children are at now in order to identify the corresponding demographic. West London and wandsworth have lots of bankers, dulwich has more lawyers and cfos (. :). I'm allowed to generalise. )

I can also fill you in on the junior rugby and cricket clubs in dulwich and wandsworth if it helps! And some of the football clubs....

Think about the Falcons School for Boys. They have a Pre-Prep in Chiswick (Nursery to Year 2) and then a Prep in Richmond (Year 3 - Year 8). Both great schools under the same headmaster. The Pre-Prep will prepare boys for the 7+ exams for the very academic schools (Colet Court, Kings Wimbledon etc) if you want to go down that route. At the Prep they will prepare for 11+ or Common Entrance.

2 years will be getting into a difficult time to move your oldest, and it could be hard getting him into a school unless it has, and he is in time for, 13+ entry. If you are going for 13+ entry then a nicePrep for all three would be the best. But you will need to start looking for a 13+ school pretty much straight away! and some will have closed their lists/ have done pre-selection tests.

What about moving somewhere like Winchester where DH could commute to both London and Southampton?

"We may need a relocation consultant!"

No, you need a schools consulant - is there any other one than Gabbitas?

I don't think you stand a chance of finding 4 places for September in one or two good schools that fit your needs on your own. Even schools that usually have spaces in most years (and you have to ask yourself why) are going to be difficult for the 11 year old in September. You could try the Hall (Wimbledon) - is this the one you mentioned or was that the other Hall which is a traditional 8-13 boys prep school in Hampstead? If it was the Wimbledon one you will find that not every former family was as happy there as the one you know.

The alternative would be a co-ed prep with a pre-prep where your daughter could stay for two years - these often have spaces at 11+ because of leavers. You would probably have to be out in the leafy suburbs (Danes Hill in Cobham comes to mind - you will find lots of nice places for expats to rent there) or beyond though.

The potential move to "somewhere like Southampton" is intriguing - what do you think Southampton is like?

Good schools guide do also have some school search consultants here.

Thanks all.

Making good progress with schools so far.

Cross fingers I may be able to pull something off..... Time will tell.

Southampton move would be to relocation of company office to accommodate FIFO workers.
Mining industry.

Groovy one - haven't read the whole thread, but look at Thomas's battersea or fulham. Co-ed school that would take all four kids and help your oldest DD navigate senior school choices.
Pm me if you need anymore tips . Best of luck.

Thank you moggy. I am checking them out now and shall e-mail them shortly.
xx

Hate to say it but there were a spate of articles recently about the best value commuter "hotspots" around London, and Southampton came up high on the lists.

This is one of them

metro.co.uk/2014/01/17/does-the-cost-of-commuting-negate-the-savings-of-living-out-of-london-4265409/

If the move to the UK is likely to be long term and so your kids will need to integrate fully in the UK education system rather than simply focus on having a good wider learning experience for two years, you might look along the train line between London and Southampton and identify somewhere with fast links to both. Then live near the station!

I would not like to commute from Southampton daily, though somewhere half way would be considered absolutely reasonable. Places like Southampton however would work if you were travelling a lot and have some scope to work from home, so were only expecting to make the journey on average a couple of times a week.