Oxford or Cambridge?

[antoniagreece]

Hello mums! Just signed up on the net. I am a mom of 2 children - aged 8 and 6. We will be moving to England during summer 2018 and here lies the question. We have places in the Dragon school in Oxford and in St. John's school in Cambridge. With no preference in any of the 2 cities, (we will do the move based on the school we choose), which one shall we choose? We have visited both of them obviously and we equally like them. Please, any comments and any experiences shared are most welcome!
Thank you all!!

Well I live in Cambridge so you can probably guess what I am going to say. Even though it is ages away you might want to consider where they will move to post year 8 as your decider.

Both have direct trains into London although arguably it is easier to get into the City from Cambridge. However Cambridge itself is miles out from everywhere else and Oxford more central to other places in the UK.

They are very different cities. I wouldn't make a decision like this based just on a school. Is this a permanent move (as far as you know)?

Strange that of all the places with good schools in England you are considering only Oxford and Cambridge. Cambridge as a city is my preference but I think you need to be considering more than just the school to decide where you live.

I'd go for Oxford (but I spent a very miserable year of my life in Cambridge, and I'm sure you wouldn't have the same).
Oxford "feels" more connected, has two trainlines to London, and the "OXford Tube" coach service which runs all night. Cambridge is flater, has a great outdoor swimming pool, and feels more remote (IMHO).

And I wonder why you choose these two cities?

I agree; they’re 2 quite random cities to pick. Where will you be working?

I've lived in both for several years and chose to make my permanent home in or around Oxford. Much more cosmopolitan and diverse city, prettier countryside and easier connections to south-west holiday areas. Some excellent independent senior schools as well (though I do not know Cambridge from that point of view): MCS, OHS, SHSK, Abingdon, Headington.

I would have thought you would choose a school based on where you want to live/will be working / and so on.
Strange first post.

Having lived in both places, I know that Oxford feels more like a city than Cambridge. They are both very pretty places with easy access to the countryside but Cambridge is more slap-bang in the countryside whereas Oxford is better connected to London I feel. Not sure about trains (it's been a while) but you can drive to Oxford in about an hour from most parts of London.

They are both wonderful places. They are both quite idyllic in their own way but Oxford feels a little more urban and "real" whereas Cambridge I felt was quite rarefied.

But what's bringing you to the UK that you can pick and choose in this way?

I don't know Cambridge well but I love Oxford. It also depends on what kind of secondary you have in mind for your kids and how long you'll be staying in the UK. The dragon is decent all around choice but does have boarding and all that goes with it. This can be a positive or a negative depending on how you see it.

I went to university in Oxford and I love it but also know it well enough to see its flaws. I also now have friends who live there as non-students and can see it's actually not a great city for family life. The very central area which is lovely for tourists and students but there are vast sprawling suburbs which are pretty grim.

If you can afford to live very close to the dragon school in the park town area then you would be OK (prices start at c £700,000 for a v small 3 bed. Larger houses £2-3million) or Summertown (£1-2m) then you'd be OK.

If you aren't in a position to buy houses in those price ranges then I think Cambridge is better structured for being a nice place to live for a greater proportion of the city.

Oxford is a fantastic place to be a teenager, I think. It is more of a real city, and small enough to be manageable, without being a tiny protected bubble. There are lots of great things for younger kids too.

OP if your question is about those two particular schools I would start a new thread asking for information about those two schools in the title. I have a lot of out-of-date, second hand info about the Dragon, but there will be plenty of parents from both schools on here to tell you more. I would really recommend a new thread though.

In my opinion, the Dragon is a relatively creative, well-rounded school, good for all abilities, with some excellent teaching, and some great extra-curricular opportunities. I particularly liked the fact that kids are encouraged to be quite independent and that health and safety isn't out of control, as it is in a lot of schools. My impression, from watching my neighbour's 4 kids go through it, is that it is VERY full of rich over-privileged kids (lots of poor little rich kids boarding too). There seemed to be a bit of bullying, and definitely a feeling that being at the Dragon makes you better than everyone else. So not my cup of tea, but it might well be yours...

One of my godsons is just coming to an end of his time at the Dragon. He’d been to another famous prep school before it. It’s done really well for him. He’s a nice, balanced young man who has had a brilliant choice of secondary schools to go on to. Mind you, his parents are very grounded.

I am not saying that everyone at the Dragon is unbalanced. The kids I know are absolutely lovely, just that the culture is a bit full of the uber rich for my taste.

It has to do mainly with the school not the city.

But the city is the school. To an extent. Neither you nor your children will be living in isolation from whichever town you choose. And you will not personally be at their school all day, surely?

There are so many other aspects to consider ...

Have you chosen these cities because you believe your children will end up at the universities afterwards? Apologies if I'm being patronising, I can't tell from your posts if you're British or not. Living or attending schools in those cities has no bearing on higher education. In fact, most teens at school in Oxford want to get as far away as possible after A'levels!

That’s a good point actually! Total anecdata but I’m not sure I’ve ever known an undergrad at either Oxford or Cambridge who was actually from the relevant city!

I’m sure the OP has more sensible reasons than that for choosing where to move to ...

I think you need to ask yourself a few questions independent of the school issue. What sort of lifestyle do you want for you and the kids? Both cities are expensive to buy in. What is your budget? Do you want to live in the city or in a town/village nearby. How important is access to London and airports - especially if your DH is going to be in Saudi? Oxford is significantly closer to Heathrow and that could make a real difference. Will you be working?
I don't know Cambridge, but central Oxford is very busy with tourists especially in the summer and I think it is a bigger city than Cambridge.

And now I’m imagining the sort of lifestyle that would allow one never, ever to set foot in the city in which one lived ...

That's a good point about airport links. Oxford has a very good bus service direct to the airport

Oxford is a fab city with really good transport links into London with two stations and two coach services than run very frequently and both Gatwick and Heathrow are easy on the airport coach. It does get hideously crowded in the summer at peak tourist season (I tend to avoid it then or else I can be heard grumbling around the city centre).

If you like shopping, then the new Westgate centre is quite nice.

You'd have to consider where you'd live because getting from one side to the other in rush hour/school times is hellish so budget allowing as near as possible to the school but it's as said above a pricey area.

what did you like about these two schools that ruled out all other cities?
Do you want to live in a village or a city?
What secondary schools are you looking at?
What is your housing budget?
So many questions...

I don't think the OP is coming back.

She's started another very similar thread asking which of the 2 schools to choose. I have politely suggested she comes back over here.

mateysmum I suggested starting a thread about the 2 schools, since that was what she wanted to talk about. People on here are just wondering about how odd her thought process is, and not talking about the schools at all.