Commuter towns with good prep schools outside London?

[JenXG]

Hi, we are looking to move to the south following the birth of DS but a bit struggling with finding the right place. Basically, we are looking for a town having really good prep schools and ideally a lively and busy-ish town centre but still within commutable distance from London.

The main reason for relocating is to give DS (4mo) a best possible start in life. So having access to really good prep schools and a good range of activities for kids is most important for us.

We are currently living in a small village outside Edinburgh. I have to say I'm not quite enjoying it. Going anywhere (e.g. favourite coffee shop, a decent hairdresser, gym) requires a minimun 20 mins drive to start with which is a bit of a pain. So we are not looking at small villages this time.

Both of us will likely go to employers' London offices so need to commute to the City but not on a daily basis (once or twice a week i expect). I'd say 1hr or slightly longer if train less busy is good enough for us.

We have looked at Guildford but the prep schools are a bit limited. We liked Lanesborough initially but then realised its site a bit cramped and worried it could not offer a wide enough range of activities fo DS. Also it's selective. We are not sure if DS could get into it. There doesn't seem to have many good options to fall back to.

Also looked at Sevenoaks in Kent. Both DH and I quite like the Sevenoaks School as it offers IB (potential for overseas uni) and the facilities look fab. The Sevenoaks Prep is one of the feeding prep which is non-selective and seems quite nurturing from past parents' comments. There are some other good preps too. But my only problem with it is the town centre looks a bit too quiet / lack of good shops & restuarants for my like. I'm also worried if we want to take DS out on weekends we'd end up going to London as Sevenoaks doesn't seem to offer a wide enough variety.

We are not looking at London as we don't want to downsize too much. And I've heard schools in London are usually very competitive even at early years which is not something we want DS to go through when he's so young.

It'd be helpful if we could travel to the towns and get a bit feel of living there ourselves. But with a 4mo and covid it's not possible at the moment.

Are there any other place we should look at? Or does such a place even exist? I feel like we are heading to a deadend and need a fresheye to give some advice. Any comments would be really appreciated!

TIA.

What about Chelmsford or Bishops Stortford ?

Cambridge has at least 4 excellent prep schools and its 45mins on the train into London. Lovely place to live, although not huge, and from personal experience a great place to grow up.

Hi Thanks. Yes we've been to Cambridge a couple of times and really loved it! But i've heard schools in Cambridge are a bit pressing like in London and you are supposed to do tuitions outside school. Is that true?

Thanks. I've not heard of either. I haven't been to many places of the country. Will have a look at them now!

Winchester?

Berkhampstead ; Berkhamsted school, Lockers Park, Westbrook Hay, Abbots Hill, Chesham school, York House. Move closer into London, Rickmansworth for example and the choice gets greater.

Tunbridge Wells? Lots of private schools, easy reach to sevenoaks schools too, far more going on.

Winchester ?

Milton Keynes - most areas are within catchment of both the Buckinghamshire and Aylesbury grammar schools, as well as several really good Buckinghamshire private schools.

Bedford

Leicestershire is pretty good if you don’t want to worry about grammars / privates. Oadby / Market Harborough has consistantly good schools but North Leicester is also good.

Brentwood? Shenfield? There are a good few preps and I think Ursuline prep got the times best prep of the year this year. If your circumstances change all of the primary state schools are good too.

Bedford.

laxton Junior school has all the qualities you're looking for. Oundle might be a bit quiet but lots of people live in Peterborough and commute.

Newbury has Horris Hill, St. Gabriel's, Downe House, Brockhurst and Cheam, with Pangbourne, Marlborough and Winchester all fairly close.

Easy commute to Paddington.

Windsor- lots of amazing preps in the area and a lively town. Access to Reading which is great for kids' activities.

As you are looking so far forward.. think about the travel you might end up doing for your DC's activities. We are on a National circuit now and I'm very glad we don't live in a far corner of the country. Canterbury, for example, is lovely, but it would be such a pain in the backside every time training/ match was in Manchester (for example).

Bishops Stortford

Tunbridge Wells has some good prep schools - Holmewood House, Rosehill - and Tonbridge school is very good for secondary (although good grammars too). London is about 50 minutes (Cannon St/London Bridge).

Another vote for Berkhamsted

Oxford? A bit further on the train to London but so much going on, reactants, cafes, bars, theatres and lots of prep schools. I know a lot of people who commute Oxford to London.

I don’t know much about the high street in Seven Oaks but DH grew up there and really enjoyed it, he went to a prep school and then a grammar but his siblings went to a mixture of grammar and private. Seemed like there were lots for them to do and lots of like minded families about.

I wouldn’t move so far out as Oxford and Cambridge if you have a young child / children... besides those locations north bring you into Kings Cross or Euston etc and you still have to get across town to your office. Look at the mainline stations close to your office and work out locations from there.

Absolutely agree re Tunbridge Wells. Really buzzy, beautiful parks, easy commute, fabulous preps, independents and of course the grammars on the schools front

Beaconsfield/Amersham? We’re only 25 mins from London on the train.

@JenXG there is a range of preps which means some are more pressured
Than others. Having said that I have worked at one of the more pressured one and I don't think most of the kids have tutors. They did stop some kids progressing up to the next stage occasionally. But there are a few indies that are not at all selective too so a real range

Oxford: great prep schools (though you may need to put your DC down for the Dragon now if you want that). Good town centre. Train links to Paddington or Marylebone: 1hr or less to London.

I think you are coming at this from the wrong angle OP.

Basically, what's your budget for housing?

There is going to be a huge difference between a small town/ village nr Edinburgh and a town or village in the commuter belt in the south.

Come back and say if you can afford £500K or £1M or whatever, plus around £10K pa for a school (assuming you don't have another child) and we can help. :)

Also, there are some very good state schools in the SE so why set your heart on a private prep school?

Woking has more good prep schools than you can shake a stick at. Whole range of housing levels and areas around it. Semi-rural feel and 25 mins by train to Waterloo. I can recommend an absolutely excellent co-ed prep if you want to DM me.

Canterbury or surrounding villages?