Moving during school admission. Surrey

[Ethny]

Hi!

We are currently in Richmond. My kid should start school Sept 2023 but she is a summer child. Most definitely we will get a place in the nearest incredible school. But we are renting now but most probably starting from this winter we will have an opportunity to buy our first own house (yay!). Unfortunately not in the particular area we are now in. We are considering Teddington, Kingston, Guildford, other Surrey towns.

Teddington would be the easiest option for sure as we will be able to commute to the current school as we are waiting for some local places.
But what are our options if we move further away? Try to apply to independent school while waiting for places in state schools? We can try it for a year.. But not sure there would be a place. Or possibly postpone reception till 2024 when she turns 5? I know that is not popular but it could be possible...

If you have any relevant experience or just any thoughts please share. It makes me so anxious

The birth rate is dropping so you should be fine moving and then applying for for a state school place. The private Prep schools are completely empty for Reception this Sept, I'm hearing classes of 4 or 6 children so you can wait for a private reception place at the last minute in 2023.

@hockeygrass Wow, we applied for one independent school in Richmond several months ago (have no idea why we did that, state schools are great here, I was just pressured by some other mums) and it has long waiting list

The Private school reception waiting lists often disappear when the state school places are released in April.

@hockeygrass Oh! That makes sense

@hockeygrass where are you in the country? Independent schools where I am definitely don’t have empty reception classes - I work in one in Hampshire and we are full for this September.

I'm in SW London - Twickenham, Esher, Cobham. It's partly because families moved out of London during the pandemic to places like Hampshire.
Even a major schools group with a thriving boys and girls prep is down in admissions in every year group this September.

Oh wow @hockeygrass that really surprises me. My school has definitely benefited from the Covid London exodus but I assumed all the schools in your area would still be thriving. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the recession - I just can’t see as many people choosing independent right from the start.

The state schools are very strong in several boroughs and the private secondary day schools are very keen to take from the state sector at age 11 and with the disappearance of 13 plus and decline of interest in boarding it's tough for the middling preps esp age 4-7.

@Hettythechicken how would you proceed with the move during admissions? It is clear that I would need to contact all nearest schools but assuming there is no place in the good school nearby. Is it worth it to wait till she turns 5?

@Ethny I’m afraid I have no idea about state places. For independent in my area I would be visiting them all now and possibly registering with a couple. It’s really difficult when you don’t know exactly where you’ll be! I wouldn’t postpone until your child is 5 unless there’s other good reasons to do that. Also, at that age children are fairly flexible so it wouldn’t be a disaster if you have to change school if the initial option doesn’t work out.

Following up on this post as we're in a similar situation, albeit moving from overseas to the Guildford area. DDs are 7 & 4, we are considering both private and state schools.

@Ethny How did you go about finding a place at a state school? We will likely move towards the end of the year, registered the girls with a private school as a back up, but would happily send them to a great local state primary instead.