Moving to an area with good schools- how to??

[oremstango]

We are looking to move neighbourhoods and I am trying to understand the best way to check out schools in an area before doing this. My son isn't school age yet so feel very clueless.

What's the best way to understand catchment areas and how schools are in terms of performance and resources? Thank you!

The relevant Local Education Authority website is the first stop. do bear in mind that catchments don't apply everywhere nor are they fixed year in, year out, so you could move inside the current one but be outside by the time you apply, or your year group may have a large number of siblings who take priority in the allocation of places, limiting availabilty even within the catchment. You can look at sites such as Up My Street for local info and Ofsted , League Tables etc (which even so only tell part of a story and are time specific) are available online via BBC website or direct on Govt sites. However as regards resources there is no substitute for visiting a school . hth

Do you know, I really don't know if its possible anymore - there are so many variables. Not least of which is the siblings only problem which occurs in some years. Sorry - that's not very helpful, is it!

The best way IMO to check out schools is to ask parents of children there. Can you appear at the schools' gates a few times and get chatting?