Moving to Oxfordshire and schools

[escapingthesmog]

Cross posting from the Oxford forum, which seems quite quiet to get responses:

Hi all, first-time poster, be gentle smile Sorry in advance for a long post!

Me and DH are expecting twin boys and have made a decision to leave London so our kids can grow in a lovelier place with more access to nature (which we also love).

Although we both went to university in the city (12+ years ago now), we don't really know Oxfordshire or the area as a whole.

We are both in our early/mid 30s and have been lucky enough to have done well professionally so do have ~£1.6m to spend after selling our London place.

We'd love to get your views on where we should think about buying and what areas may be nice.

• We don't mind more rural settings, but would be nice to be closer to a village/town for ammenities and seeing people!
• We would be heading into London 3, max 4 times/week, so a way to get into London (train?) would be good
• Driving distance to one of the better/academic independent pre-preps would be great (we really only know of the Dragon, Summer Fields - any more suggestions would be great!)
• How far is too far to drive young boys to school? We were thinking around 35 mins would be ok?
• Wouldn't mind being within decent driving distance to Oxford for a nice dinner or a play once in a while.

Lastly, is it difficult to make new friends in the area? We are friendly and easy-going, but we don't really know anyone else in Oxfordshire and are leaving behind good friends in London. We are excited to build our new life somewhere new!

Thanks so much for reading all this! Would love to hear your views, suggestions and critiques.

• E

The problem with Oxford is the traffic. 35 minutes in pre lockdown traffic only gets you 300 yards around the corner. Not exaggerating, I am driving my ds to CCCS, coming from south of Abingdon and about 30 minutes is what it takes me most mornings from coming off the A39 along old Abingdon Road to Christ Church (less than 4 miles). A nice area for your budget would be Bagley Wood. About 5 miles from city centre but on a bad morning can take 1 hour to the station. That's why DH doesn't want to move to Oxfordshire. We live just south of the Oxfordshire boarder in Berkshire so can use trains from Newbury or Reading to London and avoid the traffic. Even Didcot Parkway can be a bit of a nuisance traffic wise. If you want schools in Oxford and almost daily commuting to London, I would look at somewhere in walking distance of schools.

I would second concerns re Oxford re traffic. I would look at the larger villages South of Oxford, particularly those on the main line in to Paddington. Good prep schools within easy traffic free drive (Abingdon , Moulsford, St Andrews). If you then want academic secondaries the boys can use public transport or school transport in to Abingdon, Oxford or Reading. 30 minute drive or train back in to Oxford for social life outside of rush hour traffic.

To combine school run and travel to the station in under 1 hour, hou best embrace cycling. If you look at the city side of Bagley Wood (Boars Hill, Kennington) there are lovely green walks/cycle paths to CCCS and from there it's not far to the station. For MCS you could look to live somewhere near Iffley fields; your budget should stretch to a family home in Summertown, so easy access to Dragon and Summerfields. East and North Oxford also would give cycling access to New College Prep. I just heard from our parent rep that Oxford is installing a new bus gate making it impossible to go from north to south of Oxford city directly, so all school runs by car from north to south or vice versa have to be done now via the ring road (think M25 but much slower traffic), so it becomes even more important to choose school and house together. But if you want a more country lifestyle you could look at the countryside south of Oxford and even Abingdon, between Newbury and Reading. It's 30 min into Oxford outside of rush hour and you have loads of schools to choose from: Cheam, Brockhurst, Abingdon prep, St Andrew's, Elstree, Horris Hill, Moulseford, Thorngrove, St Gabriels, The Manor, Chandlings. Many of those have school transport. It's easy and cheaper parking at small village stations like Theal or Thatcham, and you hopefully soon get cross rail.

I would definitely look at Summertown with that much money to spend. With young children (any age, really) the closer you can get to school the better and you have lots of options from there. You have so many amenities including theatre and restaurants on your doorstep too.

A half hour drive to school is the maximum I would contemplate, and I'd much prefer a non car commute - both because of traffic and the very considerable issue of wrangling two children into the car when you are against the clock. It's perfectly doable, but it's a stress twice daily that I'd do without if I possibly could.

There are some nice streets in Marston/New Marston and Headington where you might get more house for your money than Summertown, the accommodation mix is substantial. The walking and cycling route into town is across the water meadows so sometimes it feels like the best compromise between town and country (I grew up in serious suburbia). Agree that for Oxford schools cycling is the best if locations permit, my son was at NCS and we almost always took him by bike from the start. I have seen all sorts of combinations of family bikes, tag alongs and trailers. On this side of Oxford it is a longer journey to the station, but easier to get out to the east and the coach stops. Worth a look.

Thame would be worth a look. Excellent schools, lovely market town with lots to do. Plus decent train service from Haddenham.

Have a look at St Hugh's Prep near Farringdon. It's full of families who have moved out of London, so you would probably find you make friends easily. The school has a nursery too so you could join the school community from an early age with the boys.

Not great for train links, but possibly worth a glance into the area.

I will repeat the other warnings regarding city centre/ring road traffic in rush hours.

Boars Hill, and Cumnor, are nice, as are most places south of Oxford.

If you looked south, then you'd have easier driving to schools, and you could access Oxford in the evenings ok. Trains to London would be from Didcot. (45mins to Paddington).

Oxford Parkway is a good train line into London too. So maybe look North of Oxford too. Fewer schools that way though.

Chipping Norton is nice, but further out.

If I were you I'd be looking around Brackley area. Decent prep schools like Winchester House and Beachborough, plus other smaller ones in nearby Banbury. Buses/ trains give access to both Oxford and Warwick senior day schools for the future. Direct trains to London from Banbury and Bicester.

St Hugh's would be my pick of Oxfordshire schools - many of the parents have moved out of London and so making friends would be easy - one friend described it as like a country club :) Many parents still do commute back into London - Didcot is 30mins away and Oxford Parkway the same.

Bagley Wood & Boars Hill Area are lovely places to live, private but close to towns. Only a 5/10 minute drive to Oxford.
Chandlings Prep school is only a 5 minute drive and has wonderful grounds which the children are constantly out in. They also have a lovely nursery. A real mix of lovely friendly parents too.

Wallingford??
You could hit Moulsford school easily from there. It's a lovely market town with lots going on.