best areas outside of London to raise kids with good schools?

[mrart]

Hi everyone,
I'm completely new to this site, I'm so glad I found it. I am doing research on moving our family to London with my work, which is in Soho. We have one son who is 7, and I literally don't know anything yet about the school systems, or the best neighbourhoods to raise kids outside of London. We will need to live outside of London and commute in (Piccadilly station) and we're hoping to get a commute that is not too long! We also have a large dog, so will need somewhere where there is enough space for a dog, parks to walk to, etc. Can you help me narrow down some suburbs that are great for kids, have good state schools, and aren't too expensive? Ideally it would be somewhere cute, with a main street with shops, coffee shops, etc., lovely neighbourhood feel. Any suggestions in where I should research? Thank you!

Not cheap & not on the Piccadilly line, but my suggestion would be the borough of Richmond, which includes Twickenham, Barnes, St. Margarets, Sheen, Kew and Teddington, as well as Richmond. They are all beautiful & on the Thames and the schools are among the best in the country. My commute into the City takes an hour/hour and ten so I’d imagine it would be about 45 mins / an hour to Soho, taking the District line to Hammersmith (15 mins) then switching to the Piccadilly. Good luck!

What's your budget? You will get some good responses I'm sure when people know what you have to spend.

Agree with @CampariSpritz but add Putney. Also on that line. Has more than its fair share of excellent schools both state and private. If you want the state schools though, make sure you choose a house that's practically in the playground.

It completely depends on your budget, and what you mean by a commute that's "not that long". The areas mentioned so far are lovely, but very pricey and not exactly outside London.

We’re looking to rent first since we don’t know how long we'll be there. I’d say rent no more than £3000/month. is that possible for a place for 3 people and a dog?

Oh, and by a commute that’s “not long” I’m thinking under an hour. We don’t need to be in London proper if the commute in by train is doable.

Beaconsfield is lovely. So is Gerrards Cross and Chalfont St Peter or any of the surrounding villages.

From beaconsfield or Gerrards Cross it's under 40mins to Marylebone by train then bakerloo line from there.

If you wanted Greater London Ruislip or Eastcote are pretty nice in places and are on the Piccadilly line.

Berkhamsted in Hertfordshire. Mainline into Euston takes 35 mins. Straight onto Northern Line to Leicester Square which is a 5 minute walk to Piccadilly Circus. You can get door to door in less than an hour.

Great High Street with a Waitrose and lots of coffee shops, pubs and restaurants. Ashridge Estate and a canal on your doorstep for doggy walks.

All primary schools are rated good or outstanding. The secondary school is rated good and many children in the town go to Chesham Grammar or the grammars in Aylesbury even though they are outside the borough and catchment area.

Your budget would get you a great house.

Thanks all. Should I factor in private school? Or are the state schools outside of London good?

Berkhamsted has Berkhamsted School which is highly sought after as well as numerous prep schools (Chesham Prep, The Beacon, Beechwood Park, Lockers Park, York House, Westbrook Hay) and great independent secondary schools (Berkhamsted, St Albans, Haberdashers, St Columba’s, Aldenham)

I honestly think it comes down to what meets the needs of both your child and you. Berko has great state schools yet many still send their children to private. That is a whole other topic of conversation!

Your school question is location specific,look at ofsted for ratings and then research catchment area
Private if you can afford it,otherwise research schools & catchment area

Kent. There's a fast train line int paddington (40 mins) or Stratford (30 mins) and lots of villages with outstanding schools.

Piccadilly Circus is on the line for KIng's Cross St Pancras. You can commute there from Cambridge and Bedford to the North and from Brighton and Ashford to the South and South East. Green Park station is also on'y 5 minutes walk away, and that is on the Jubilee line, which includes London Bridge and Waterloo. London Bridge serves a lot of Kent and Sussex. Waterloo serves Surrey. That gives you a lot of choice of locations - suburban, commuter towns and rural.

Harpenden is a direct train to Kings Cross. It has great schools (tiny catchment areas though so pick the school before you pick the house).

Kent. Sevenoaks is only 35 mins into London - Tonbridge about 10 mins more. You can go into Charing Cross and then it's a lovely walk up to Soho in about 10 mins (no need for Tube). You'd need to be aware of and happy with the grammar system if you're going to be staying in Kent until secondary though. Primaries not an issue, there are tons of great state and private options (you do need to research catchments though). Sevenoaks is a lovely town, with all the things you're looking for (Knole Park particularly lovely for walking) - but it's super-expensive, due to its proximity to London. Probably still cheaper than London though. Tonbridge is not quite so leafy, also cheaper. Tunbridge Wells is lovely but would probably tip your commute over an hour. If you want a village instead of a town, there are tons around all three towns.

Of schools outside of London are good. The same as some schools in London aren’t good. The all ofsteded to the same rules.

On that budget, it would be worth also looking in Balham and Tooting areas, some of the schools are very good, and there's plenty of dog walking space on the Common. Lots of families in the area.

It would be a Northern Line commute though, but as Leicester Square station is so close to Soho and Piccadilly Circus, I don't think that should be an issue

Commute to Victoria then Tube to Green Park? Purley/Coulsdon/Banstead?

Look at Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, commute into Fenchurch Street and tube across.

If you are wanting a State School, then you need to be in West Leigh catchment or Our Lady of Lourdes. For a private school, the St Michael's.

Good quality of life, with lots to do for families.

Hither Green, SE London. Great transport links, not as expensive as SW London by far. Good state primaries - not sure about secondaries (I am more SE 😉). Couple acquaintances just moved there recently for transport/ schools and housing stock/ prices. Another friend there has 3 kids, and they went private for primary and then had a good spread of grammars and indies the choose from, as catchment for some and good transport for non catchment SS.

Good luck!

even as a biased SE Londoner, I'm not sure I could claim that hither Green has great transport links? It's on train lines sure but it doesn't have any underground/DLR links that other parts of South London have?

Piccadilly Circus is so central that you have every choice? Go up the Jubilee Line to West Hampstead/Swiss Cottage? Go down the district line to Wimbledon or Richmond? Or get the overground out to SE London/Kent?

You have to prioritise what you want in the living space vs journey time debate really? And any area will be able to offer some good state schools and some good independent schools - it'll be luck of the draw in either sector as to what is available for a 7 year old?

I second @CampariSpritz @jellycat1 and I would add Chiswick too for that budget. The change in Hammersmith to the Piccadilly line takes no time, so you are very well connected along the District line and should get to Soho in less than one hour from Kew onwards.

£3150 a month Acton (On Picc line) semi detached house www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-72411641.html

Or a bit further out £3000 a month www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-73849829.html, Eastcote on Picc line is about 0.5 miles away.

Most landlords will not allow any pets however so you might find it easier to hand the dog to a relative and instead rent a flat in Soho itself!

Berkshire. Ascot, Virginia Water, Staines etc

I second @todayiwin's comment about Berkshire. There are great links into London and lots of green areas.