Areas with excellent non-selective secondary schools in England?

[dzara]

Dear all,

I will be relocating to England in a couple of months and I am already panicking because all the information about schools in daunting. As this is usually one of the main criteria for narrowing down options, I would be grateful if you could point me to areas which:

• are within 1:30 h max travel to London by train
• have a good selection of non selective secondary schools
• give me the option of transferring to a grammar school in sixth form if GCSE scores allow obviously

I would prefer not to drive if possible unless it's unavoidable. So good public transport links would be a huge advantage as well as access to shops and amenities. Easy access to countryside would be lovely too.

That's it, not too hard to please am I! 😂

Many thanks!

I'm in the same area as @PettsWoodParadise.

If £1200 pcm is your max budget for renting a 2 bed, there is nothing available for that at all currently here.

That poster is correct that we have a largely non-selective system in Bromley, but what's on offer is very much affected by the presence of selective schools in the boroughs/counties around the borders. Use of private schools is also higher than the UK average. Harris Academies run quite a few of the schools (primary and secondary).

Public transport is good but the ULEZ zone will cover us from the end of August which will push up car costs/costs generally. Although I am hoping it will boost ZipCar availability.

You could maybe look at Tonbridge in Kent? Lots of schools there (some selective but some not), 40 min train to London, rents in your budget and quite a few new build flats (avoid the flood plain if possible though!)

Just FYI about 25% of the kids in Kent go to grammars so the majority don't.

In places like Bromley and Bexley it's even lower. Maybe 5%?

Thame Oxfordshire. Don't be put off by size of Lord Williams Comprehensive School, it's very well organised. Has a large Sixth form or some transfer to bucks grammar schools for Sixth form.
Nice town.

@Phineyj
I could stretch my budget to 1500 pounds for the right area (i.e. which allows savings on transport and car expenses for example).

What does 'flood plain' mean? And why are new builds not popular in the UK by the way?

Cheers Frankley, I did visit Oxford long ago, the countryside was stunning.

If you haven’t got a job yet, what sector is it? Many of us have a job search criteria of not London. Plenty of places in the Uak that aren’t London. Don’t discount Bristol or Birmingham. As I have said upthread, I’m in Hampshire and both DH and I have non London jobs. I would consider London maybe once a month at most.

The thing is @dzara - if you end up an hour out of London somewhere like say Swindon, Milton Keynes or Bedford (in order to afford a home) then you aren't going to be on the doorstep of London anymore for socialising and it's not cheap to keep popping in. - apart from the days you commute in- I can't help but think you might be more sensible renting further out and looking for a job that is WFH or local. I don't know what you do, so say you are a teacher or nurse- it's not going to be WFH! However lots of local jobs in those professions. If it's office based work there is a lot of WFH these days anyway - so you don't necessarily need to be quite so close in to London- nor have those huge commuter costs. Do you have friends still in London? Is that what draws you there? I love London (but live in Bath) however london and the immediate areas tends to only work these days if you are young and single and can flat share, can buy a shared ownership or have 2 incomes and are high earning or have bought there many yearsago. We have areas around here where you can just about get a nice house for £1200 - 1350 bath, Chippenham, keynsham , Trowbridge etc - and they are all non selective, all are on the train - but you would in reality need a local job or work from home,

Cheers for the info PettsWoodParadise. I thought Kent was totally grammar.

Commute time into London from Cambridge main station is about one hour, and the schools are good (though no grammar option). However prices would be over your budget - my late MIL’s 3-bed townhouse in a good location was being let out at £1700 per month until it was sold last year and I can only imagine prices have gone up in the current climate.

If you move a bit further out you’ll get more for your money and easy train access to London via Ely, Cambridge North or even Whittlesford.

an illustration of how poor the trains are for the weekend, if staying close to London is for socialising. From South Hampshire, it’s cheaper to drive to Richmond and take the train with a family of four in the weekend. It’s eye wateringly expensive for a family to get on the train. And that’s if it runs at all. And when I say Richmond it’s 2-3 stations in that area of London. Often the Piccadilly or district line aren’t running between there and Zone 1 either.

What you say is true @Crikeyalmighty I was single back in the days I lived in London, might not like living in it so much as a family 😬

No, it doesn't because you haven't considered Bedfordshire.

Kent is totally grammar, but Orpington, Petts Wood, Bromley are not Kent (despite the addresses and postcodes indicating otherwise). They are in the London Borough of Bromley.

@Piggywaspushed
Oh yeah you're right! I did have the impression I forgot some.

Sussex is not selective, nor most of Surrey. Although even £1500 won't go far. Not sure why you think new builds are not popular? They attract a premium price and developments likely to slow as economy bites and interest rates rise. If you are in a good position you may be able to get a discount.

Have a look at something like this @dzara if you would rather stay in Greater London (they are in zones still) they do have selective schools in this area, but also have outstanding rated state schools. Slightly over your budget but not massively so.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137761325

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/138094832

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/138114293

We must be almost neighbours. I'm a long way off schools as DD is still a toddler, but I didn't realise Riddlesdown was considered a good school, I've seen a few negative things on Facebook. Do you think Sutton would be an option if living in Kenley? I have no idea how it all works!

@dzara if you want a better home, I would seriously rethink the work perspective too. Areas like Bristol and Bath will give you that London kind of vibe (and plenty for young families too) as would places like Hastings or Oxford (I did find a few in budget there too or slightly over) - all of these would have significant commute costs though so work better with a local job or WFH - even these areas though are top of your budget for anything 2 bed or more!! But you would probably get something slightly better

Although it may also depend what work you are hoping to get. Not all organisations will offer hybrid working.

None of Surrey is selective. The grammar schools that some people think are in Surrey are all in London. Much of Surrey also doesn’t have school sixth forms but does have (excellent) colleges for post-GCSE education.

@BCCoach am aware, some of Surrey addresses are actually within London boroughs, hence confusion, and some "grammars" are selective private schools. About half of secondaries in East Surrey have sixth forms.

Just checked the actual figure. 31% of Kent secondary age students in grammars. So the large majority are in non selective (allowing for some in private).

I’ve never understood this confusion (as a lifelong resident of Surrey). There are no Surrey addresses in London. Any home that is in a London borough is, by definition, in London.

The boundary change (when Kingston etc became part of London) was 58 years ago and yet still some people in SW London insist they live in Surrey.

Exactly - Kingston, Sutton, Coulsdon , Wallington etc even Croydon are still often referred to as Surrey addresses just like Bromley was in Kent!

It confuses this non Londoner too. I went to Hampton Court Palace the other day and it has a Surrey address on the website. (Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey, KT8 9AU). I’m fairly sure it’s in a London borough because the website talks about the ULEZ zones. Also the bus stops all have TFL logos.