Haslemere as a place to live!

[WonderMum22]

Hi! We are a family of five currently living overseas, but planning to buy our home within 6-12 months and after visiting many places, we decided that Haslemere could be a lovely place to settle in.

I previously lived in London but that was years ago and we don’t have any relatives or friends in the area so it’s all very exciting and a bit scary! I have a few questions and would love to hear from you 💛

On the school front, I’d love to hear about the schools your LO go to. My youngest will be starting Y2 and we were thinking of having him in the local state school we will be the closest to, they all sound good.

We were thinking of sending our eldest children who would be starting Y9 and Y6 then to one of the local private schools - because it’s a tricky age and I really want a gentle nurturing environment for them to go back to. We then hope that they would all go to Godalming college or Bowhunt college as they have such an outstanding reputation.

Would love to hear your views!

On the health front, just wanted to check how easy it is to register/ visit a family GP and to have dental care? Do you wait for a long time to have an appointment?

Our youngest has some respiratory issues. In case of an emergency, do you drive to the A&E department of the Guildford Royal Surrey County Hospital? Is it easy for children to be seen and how are the waiting times?

On the social side of things, I’d love to know what you do at week-ends and whether mums end up being the taxi for their children, driving from one playdate to another or to the various activities they have!

Thank you 😃

We settled in Haslemere after moving from London. Still here 30 years later and still love it!
Our kids have long since left school so our experience of the local schools (state and private) isn't current and I can only speak generally. But yes, Godalming and Bohunt both have a good 6th Form reputation. Lots of choice in private schools all with their own vibe.

Haslemere Health Centre provides good NHS healthcare. A routine appointment with a GP is currently taking about 3 weeks which sadly is not unusual in the UK at the moment. For emergencies the nearest A&E is the Royal Surrey in Guildford. No idea how they prioritise children or what their wait times are but generally several hours is the norm in the UK at the moment.

There is a Minor Injuries Unit attached to the Health Centre in Haslemere which is open every day (although not at night). It can't deal with serious stuff (the clue is in the name!) but is an excellent local service for patching up cuts, burns, broken bones. It doesn't deal with breathing difficulties though.

The countryside is glorious so lots of outdoor activities - walking, cycling, riding. There are a couple of leisure centres so swimming, gym, sports facilities. Plenty of rugby, football and cricket going on if the local paper the Haslemere Herald is anything to go by. Sailing at Frensham Pond and down on the coast.
There are dance classes of all kinds, Scouts, am drama, two local cinemas, a farmer's market.

Yes to being a taxi for several years but I guess that's the same anywhere unless you're in a city with good public transport and the kids are old enough to get themselves around. If you can buy somewhere close enough to the station for the kids to walk to catch the train to Godalming/Bohunt/one of the Guildford schools you will be forever grateful! And when they are teenagers they take the train to Guildford for shopping, meeting friends, nights out.

Oh, forgot dental care. Again in common with most of the UK, there are no NHS dentists left. There are excellent local private dentists but you have to pay accordingly.

GU27 pretty much has it covered but just to add a few things.

On health, the private dentists will see children on the NHS if their parents are regular private patients.

My most recent visit to A&E at the Royal Surrey (15 months ago) was impressive. We turned up at about 10pm just after Christmas and my (adult) daughter was out within 4 hours, having had a variety of scans, x-rays and blood tests. Obviously I don't know how typical that is.

On education, I am also out of date, but if you are looking for independent, you will have a huge amount of choice within 15 miles, including Charterhouse (Godalming), the academically selective single-sex day schools in Guildford, and more liberal/progressive options (Frensham Heights and Bedales) as well as the Royal in Haslemere itself.

If music is your thing, the Haslemere Musical Society has an orchestra and choir and there are a number of smaller choirs and ensembles locally. There is also an excellent music school just up the road in Hindhead, which provides individual instrumental lessons as well as having various children's choirs and orchestras.

I agree with GU27 that it's an advantage to live within walking distance of the station!

It’s great to hear that you are still living in Haslemere after 30 years! I had a very good feeling walking in the town despite the heavy rain! I am confident that we will be happy there. Thank you for sharing your experience and taking the time to respond to my post 🩷

Thank you so much for responding and sharing your feedback!

I hope we won’t have many A&E trips but it’s good to know that you had a recent good experience at the hospital.

My daughter loves singing and they all recently started playing an instrument so they will be very pleased with all these options.

thank you 🩷

Good luck with the move @WonderMum22! It's a great place to live. We feel very lucky to be here.

Thank you! Very happy to hear. It’s a huge move for us and a lot of planning but we feel confident that this a lovely place for a home 😍

Echoing the others above, but Haslemere is a lovely place to live with lots of great countryside around to explore. The state schools are excellent, but it may be tricky to find a place in year 2. If you want a local private school for year 6 and 9 that's fairly nurturing, St Edmund's would fit the bill. The Royal is another option but they recently closed their junior school with very little notice, not sure what that means for your year 6. Other than that you might be looking further afield towards the Guildford schools, or King Edward's Witley or Churcher's in Petersfield. Routine appointments at the Health Centre take a long time, but they fit children and emergencies in very quickly and it's brilliant having the Minor Injuries in the town. Royal Surrey Hospital is pretty quick up the A3 too.

Thank you so much for your feedback. Great to hear that children can be prioritised. They don’t get sick that often but when they do, we usually need help quickly!

For the schools, we are looking at various options and happy to go private initially if we can’t get a place for our Y2 in a great nearby state school.

As you have mentioned both St Edmund’s and Churcher’s, could I possibly pick your brains on these two? They both have excellent academic results, amazing pastoral care and one goes all the way through (which is lovely!) but the other also gives an opportunity to go to Godalming College, which can be good to prepare for independent learning before Uni.

In terms of commute, do you think it’s acceptable for them to commute from Haslemere to Churcher’s? Or would the commute take a toll on their well being? Where we currently live, it’s a 10min drive to a co-ed school 3-18, so an idyllic set up (which I know can’t be replicated!). Living in Petersfield just for the school is not my preference. A bit too far for husband and for me, as we are most likely going to have to commute to London at least three times a week.

Thank you again for taking the time to respond 🩷

@WonderMum22 , just some general points about schools in Surrey etc, dc travel miles for private secondary school, you can tell from the Churchers school bus map routes how far dc travel. Your dc's best friends could end up living in Guildford and Portsmouth etc. RGS and Tormead in Guildford are on the train line and take dc from Greater London and Surrey, basically anywhere that is up to 1 hour on the train from Guildford.
Secondly it's a lot for your dc to move to the U.K. and take GCSEs and then move to a sixth form college, you should consider an all through option for GCSEs and a levels otherwise you are just going to get to the end of year 10 and have to start choosing a level subjects and applying to 6th forms.
Finally if you move to the secondary education section of MN and put the ages your dc will be in Sept 24 MN can advise on private schools that may have space as you have to take an entrance exam for all private secondary school places etc even if it's not for a year 7 place. Plus after the start of year 9 it becomes harder to get a place because of GCSEs options etc.

Plenty of kids from Haslemere commute to Churchers so it's doable. Be aware that their junior and senior schools on different sites though. Probably best to contact schools you're interested in once your plans are firmed up, see if they have any places available and then look round if you can. There are also good local preps such as Amesbury and Highfield & Brookham, although they obviously wouldn't be an option for your eldest.

Yes, you are totally correct about the ease of the all the way through option. I’ll bear this in mind. I’ve read all about exams and dates and we’ve done some homework on this already so I feel comfortable on that side, though it’s been a steep learning curve!

The commute from Haslemere to Churcher's senior school on the train to Petersfield is totally doable and lots of kids do. As pointed out above their Junior school is on the edge of Liphook, a 5-10 minute drive/one stop on the train from Haslemere.

St Ed's is great but doesn't have the longstanding academic reputation that Churcher's has. It expanded from a traditional prep school to offer GCSEs relatively recently. The numbers have gone from strength to strength but when choosing to stay on for GSCEs there are numerous independent secondary schools with established results records to attract the academic student.

I'm sure you will have taken on board from your research that Godalming College is huge. Pros and cons to that and, if you have the choice, only you can know whether or not that will suit your DC.

Hello. I know this was posted some time ago, but I find myself in the same situation as you (sadly without a husband). My husband and I separated, and we are still living abroad (last 14 years), but I'll have to return to the UK alone with three kids. I was also thinking of Haslemere and Woolmer Hill. My kids (would go into year 8 and 9 next year. What is your experience? Did the kids settle in the school? Did you make friends, Im terrified of becoming a totally friendless mad cat lady... pls let me know your thoughts if you have time. Thank you

Hi! We have not yet moved back to the UK, but Haslemere is still an option for us. We also visited Godalming, Petersfield etc. and all liked them. I’m sure that with school aged children you’ll meet lots of mums but I know how you feel, a new adventure can be daunting… good luck and I hope you all settle well!