Moving to south east

[Sheelasha]

Hi ,My husband's got a job in East Croydon and I was looking for a best secondary schools and sixth form schools in and around the area. I did look at Reigate as its one of the nice places but house prices are very high. Redhill was another alternative due to direct trains to London. Can anyone please suggest best secondary and sixth form schools within 5 to 10 miles approx from Redhill or Reigate. Can anyone advise on the nice places to live in Redhill and the best schools . I looked at Dorking as well but again house prices very expensive. I would like to live in a small town or village. Any good suggestions most welcome. Thanks in advance

St Bedes Redhill (but you would need a religious connection), Reigate School , Reigate 6th Form College, Ashcombe School Dorking ? What type of housing do you prefer/require as areas vary widely. Have you visited the area ? A number of villages between Reigate and Dorking have flooded recently. Oxted may be a slightly cheaper alternative to Reigate with similar train connections.

Thanks for your suggestions.I researched on St Bedes which looks like a pretty good secondary school ,unfortunately I am not a catholic.I don't know the area and will plan to visit Oxted. Is Oxted flooded as well?looking for a semi or end terraced prop.Looking to find a property closer to the catchment area of the secondary school. Can you suggest any nice safe places in Redhill where I could trust my children to go out on their own safely. I will look at Dorking again closely.
Someone suggested Leatherhead.Are there good schools in Leatherhead,I wonder how the train connections to central london are from Leatherhead. Even small towns with good schools is fine as I am currently residing in a village . Its so nice everyone knows everybody and its very safe. Could you please suggest villages or Towns where there is no danger of flooding.I looking to rent initially but the rents are exhorbitant in south east almost like paying half your mortgage!!!.But I will have to do that anyway before settling down.Any suggestion very much appreciated. Thanks you.

Further south down the Brighton line - Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill? About 40 mins to east Croydon, maybe quicker. Are you looking for private schools as there are lots in this area. And house prices probably cheaper than Surrey.

I cannot afford private schools ,just state secondary schools for my 11 year old and 16 year old. Do you mean it would take 40mins drive to east croydon or is it 40min by train? .The neighbourhood is very important to me,the children could probaby get onto the bus to a good secondary school within a mile or 2.
Does Haywards Heath have any good secondary schools which are state run?
I am saddened by the fact the flooding has destroyed so many lives already and I am in the process of moving over to south east. I need to find somewhere safe from flooding as well now!
cheers for your feedback.

Epsom? Rosebery (girls) and Glyn (boys) have very good reputations.
Redhill wouldn't be my favourite place to live; Dorking, Reigate and Oxted much nicer. Best senior school in Leatherhead is probably St Andrew's Catholic School but they take non-catholics too I believe. Howard of Effingham School a few miles outside Leatherhead is well regarded but getting further away from East Croydon.

It seems all the good schools are a bit away from East Croydon. East Croydon I have heard is not a good place to live. I have got boys so a mixed secondary or only boys seconday school is fine with me. I will look up Epsom .

There are 4 things that I need to research . 1. Good Secondary schools 2. Safe neighbourhood 3. resonable house prices 4. commutability to East Croydon.

I think its going to be a very difficult combination to nail down. !!
Its good to know St Andrew's do take non-catholic. I will research on this school that you have suggested.

Someone suggested Brighton would be better . That again a different area that needs to be looked into with respect to all the above factors. I checked on trains from Brighton to E .Croydon, its about a hour. So it could be another possiblity for researching I think.
Thank you !

Hi

I live in South Croydon. I would suggest you look at the Kenley /Sanderstead areas for a place at Riddlesdown college or look at Oxted School. imo... These are the best state options around here and are both well regarded schools. My dd is at Riddlesdown

I would not look at Redhill. You are left with the Warwick as unless you are Catholic St Bedes is pretty much impossible to get into. Reigate is an option but Reigate is expensive and if you can afford to live in Reigate you can probably afford private schools .Okay maybe it's not that bad!

Now if you interested, another nice option in this area is RAAS is Merstham. which is a stunning state boarding/day school but you really have to live on their doorstep to get in (they do charge fees but very low).

I also have a friend in Crawley whose dc's are at Oriel. They are very happy with the school.

South Croydon/Surrey borders is a perfectly safe area ... but then I'm from Africa maybe I'm easier to please. Seriously is not dangerous.

Saying that..I would not want my teenage boys hanging around West Croydon station

Hi OP,

St Bedes is a non denominational Christian school NOT catholic. You might need a Christian connection but this can be c of e, Methodist etc.

The Warwick has a pretty undeservedly bad reputation as they have some very good commuted staff.

Reigate school is very good and parts of earlswood/St. John's are within the catchment area and still on the east croydon line.

Committed not commuted, sorry, tiny iPhone keyboard combined with auto correct!

30 mins by train from HH to EC, more like 40 mins from the villages further south. HH is a town but there are lots of good-sized villages in the area: Cuckfield, Lindfield, Balcombe, Hassocks, Hurstpierpoint, Scaynes Hill. I don't know the secondaries in this area very well (only just started with primaries!) but hear good things about Warden Park in Cuckfield, St Paul's in Burgess Hill and Downlands in Hassocks.

Lots of people move into the area from Brighton for the better schools.

No problems with flooding here as it's hilly and rivers are minor. A couple of roads were a bit flooded last week (flash floods - subsided quite quickly) but didn't affect houses.

Well my children studied in a catholic primary school . I really wonder if that might help get them a place at St Bedes. The website for St Bedes very immpressive. I was impressed with Oxted school as well,but the property prices in oxted put me off. I will have to also look for a job myself which means there should be more job opportunities available or I will also have to hop onto a train to E Croydon.
This means I have to make sure the neighbourhood is safe for my children. Tough choice to make.
I will have to call up and speak to the school and find out if they have any chances to study at Oxted secondary or St Bedes . Iam looking into St Andrews Secondary School which is also a very good suggestion . I will have to look at the property prices in leatherhead.

any suggestions on Surbiton anyone? area wise and secondary schools pls?

Redhill isn't especially rough, certainly not as variable as Croydon. You needn't worry about your dc safety in majority of residential areas and most kids use public transport or walk to school. Agree St Bedes is not Catholic , places are allocated catholic/ Cof E with a handful for non religious affinity. Oxted hasn't flooded although the train line northwards did have a landslip. Property prices there range from modest to expensive, again no real "bad" areas just distance from station to consider. Hurst Green is a village on the outskirts which could prove a bit cheaper and has a station.

Surbiton is a very pleasant urban area just outside Kingston upon Thames (great shops); it looks very safe and very expensive!

Haywards Heath & Burgess Hill are towns next to each other and have good secondary schools so you won't have any worries on that count. We looked atbmoving here before we had DCs but decided to stay in the same town after all. Burgess Hill is slightly cheaper, but Haywards Heath has more trains to London per hour. Hassocks is also a lovely place to live. Houses are also cheaper down here than in Reigate/Redhill/Leatherhead.

I'm curious as to where you are moving from , since you seem preoccupied with safety of the neighbourhood and good schools. What is your benchmark ? Living further down the Brighton line may be an option but obviously increases commuting costs and time into East Croydon. EC to Redhill is 15-20 mins , EC to Haywards Heath 30-40.

You could think about Horsham where the state secondaries are excellent. Lots of trains to East Croydon, some slow, others around 30 mins. I'm not sure what your budget it is, but house prices are very reasonable. Great town with a superb park, theatre, etc. Has been massively improving over the past few years in terms of excellent restaurants and shops. House prices haven't quite caught up with the improvement, but John Lewis is coming to town so they probably will in the next few years.

Hi. St Andrews Leatherhead is a v good school. As is Howard of Effingham. Oxted also has a good reputation. Is your 11 year old year 6 or year 7 as would expect he will be harder to find a place for of the two. State 6th form places are generally a little easier to manage in terms of admissions.

East Grinstead? About 35 mins to East Croydon and end of the line, so you always get a seat in the morning. Surrounded by beautiful villages and countryside (the Weald, Ashdown Forest, not so very far from the South Downs). Two big comprehensive schools, nothing wrong with either of them. One recently went from good to requires improvement, but appears to be improving as required and exam results bounced back after one year of lower than expected results in English coinciding with the nationwide fiasco over English GCSE results (which triggered the Ofsted inspection). The other comprehensive still graded outstanding from its 2010 Ofsted. Both schools have new headteachers this year.

Thanks everyone. I live in a small village in the west Midlands. Its just a big move nearer to London. Hubby currently going to rent out settle in and then we should move. I just checked on train costs from Redhill to East Croydon comes to £155/month. Just in a jeopardy thinking of the cost of living . I will check on East Grinstead it sounds very nice. Thanks everyone with the suggestions. Every place has a good and a bad side always. Can never say a place would be 100% perfect. I will be very happy if I can get my children into good schools and then a lovely place called home.

Hi I have been visiting E Croydon every weekend now. I visited Purley which is only 3miles from E.C ,very nice,but not sure about the schools.Visited Addiscombe not very sure about the place. A nice gentlemen informed me that Sutton borough is the best for schools.Visited Wallington liked the place . House prices well priced. Any feedback on Wallington please as I have just found a single room rental for my hubby for now. The only bus going to E croydon station is the 410 but good frequency. I wonder how far West croydon station is from East Croydon station -walking distance. Any ideas anyone please.Also could anyone help with suggestions on places near Wallington which is less dearer house price wise.

West croydon. Um no. Not there. Don't do that. Dodgy with a capital D. From what I am led to believe. South Croydon is better. Wallington is quite nice. Steer clear of Roundshaw. Beddington is ok. What about south of Selsdon tere's a nice village of Farleigh and Warlingham which is nice and Warlingham school is good. You don't want Addiscombe.

Carlshalton is ok and ?carlshalton Beeches. Also caterham is nice.