American family of five moving to London, need to figure out schools

[Shmercil]

Hello, this is my first post here so I'm sorry if this isn't the correct forum. A fellow American gave me this site name and told me to ask here. My husband and I have three children, age 5, 4 and 2. The older two are in American kindergarten and pre-k and the youngest is in a part time preschool. We have the opportunity to move to London for his work and are considering it but extremely worried about navigating school placements. We would prefer to live in central London as he will be commuting daily. Does anyone have any suggestions about where I should start? Any lists I should research? Our kids are currently in a very small, hippy touchy feely catholic school which they love. Our middle child and only boy is quite shy, our oldest is very outgoing and friendly but anxious.

I realize we are late to be thinking about next Fall and I don't expect to just waltz into a school. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated, thank you so much.

Paying? Or state?

If you are going to live in central London you need to ask what the budget is for housing costs?

Also have you looked into costings for nursery here?

We would be looking for paying schools.

Hello and welcome.
Where’s the office? You might be better off in a Zone 2 or 3 family area on a direct tube line to where he will be working.
Yes. State or Private?
Our schools start the Sept after turning 4 generally.
Budget for housing and school/nursery?
It’s 04:45 in the UK so replies will pick up in a few hours!

Thank you for responding. Yes I'm about to go to sleep so hopefully no one thinks I disappeared!

We'll be looking at private schools. I've heard it's very difficult to be assigned to a school nearby and I would like to prioritize walkability and my kids being in school together as they're very close and will adjust better if they're together. His office will be very close to the Aldgate station.

Our housing budget is £8k a month though we could stretch that a bit. My kids are definitely going to share a room.

Another factor is that my parents will be moving with us though not living with us. My father is British but hasn't lived in the UK since he left after childhood.

There’s also a fb page named American Expats in London. Might be helpful? Best of luck with the move!

I strongly advise you to employ a central London based relocation agent to help with this. They will find you a property and advise on schools and many other things connected with the move. You obviously have plenty of money and it will be of tremendous help to you.

This is very helpful thank you. We are also counting on his (American) employer to provide some help but as you can imagine things are a bit...chaotic at the moment.

Aldgate is basically city of London.

You don't want to live too close to there as it is very much a working district only and empties out at evenings and weekends.

I agree with others that a relocation consultant is probably in order.

Another vote for move a bit further out. Outside central London, London is like a series of villages.

It's 30 years since I lived there but I think the 'village' analogy holds. So I lived in Finchley. It's not a posh area, it is also not an undesirable place either.

I could walk to local shops, two (smallish) supermarkets, restaurants, cafes, a couple of pubs, a park and I was on the Northern line and a bus route in to central London. My neighbour could walk her daughter to school easily.

Is your budget just for accommodation or does that include nursery / school? Is this intended as a permanent move or temporary? I'm just thinking about schools. There is an American school in London.

If it is only for a year or two then it probably doesn't matter which system they are in as they can change easily at that age.

Others with more knowledge and more recent experience will, I am sure, be along later.

It would be unusual for a family of 5 in London to live in Aldgate area. Most families live on the outskirts of London and commute in. There are better facilities for families in the suburbs such as lovely nurseries and clubs for children in holidays and weekends and you’ll be able to rent a property with a garden and a bit more space. We have a similar family (in age and size) to you and I work in the City (husband in Mayfair) and we commute in from Richmond on the train and then I take the W&C line to Bank and walk to work. It’s quite a long commute but for us it’s worth it as we live in a lovely leafy neighbourhood with great schools and all the fun clubs for the kids at the weekend. Aldgate is pretty accessible so you could look at the North London and East London equivalent areas although all have different vibes and a relocation agent would be able to tell you about them.

If you want your kids to go to school close to the City, you'd be looking at St Paul's Cathedral or Charterhouse Square. If you're willing to commute (not long, like 30-45 mins) I'd consider Dulwic, Hampstead, Highgate, Clapham, Chelsea or Kensington for good schools (last two you'll get less for your budget but still something).

Just as a counterpoint, I would say you're well placed with your budget to rent on the Barbican estate in the City, and it's an amazingly family-friendly place to live, though quite a specific type of life. I dont know much about primary schools around there but St Paul's Cathedral School is walkable or more likely a short bus ride from the estate, and that's a great school in itself. If your agent suggests that as an option I'd certainly take a look.

You could look at Islington. Angel tube station. It’s a vibrant area with lots of families. It has some very expensive housing within your budget but also social housing, so typical London everyone living together. It’s very urban and so much to do. Lots of good schools and nurseries that would be walkable for primary and for secondary there are top performing London day schools a short commute away. Most London secondary school kids commute on public transport tube/bus which is safe and can be social.
Also it’s a really quick commute for Aldgate.

Negatives are that most housing in London will be cramped, lots of extended Victorian terraces but they work fine and your budget is good.

Have a look at Wanstead. East London village. Very green; loads of parks. Great high street: Gail’s, Ginger Pig etc. On 2 branches of Central line. Your DH could walk from Liverpool Street (be careful when looking at London tube map) or make quick change at Mile End (literally you cross the platform). Plenty of private schools and nurseries in that area; St Aubyns might appeal, or there’s Forest, Bancroft. There’s a Catholic state primary school in Wanstead, and a very nice CoE primary.

Wanstead is also 10 mins from M25/M11 junction, and 25 mins from Stansted, so has great connections.

For that sort of budget you could rent something lovely in SW London - Fulham, even parts of Kensington. I would strongly suggest you pick a home based on the area that you like rather than being super close to the city. I’m not in London anymore but work d for years near Bank station and always lived near High St Ken, Fulham or Sloane Square. All a very easy commute. London is wonderful - enjoy! Oh and avoid Islington at all costs - it’s expensive but you are never far from a violent crime in my experience!

Dulwich. Greenwich, Blackheath on the south side of London but good train/ overground connections, very family friendly, lovely parks and lots of good private schools..

I agree with these areas as being good options to look at given you have young children and a decent budget.

This website may be helpful but a schools consultant would be a good idea:-

https://www.londonpreprep.com/schools/

Have a look at the London park Schools. Areas for you might include Hampstead or Barnes or St John’s Wood. Good luck .

Wouldn’t you want them to go to the American school in London so that when you return to the states they transition well back into the education system there? How long are you thinking you’ll stay? They’re all very little at the moment so going to a British curriculum school may not matter too much….

There is The American School in St John's Wood, London NW8 where many Americans send their children. It is a good area to live in and ''central'' London.

Will you need your children to follow the American curriculum? (Because it's quite different to the English one)
There are a few international schools:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ACSInternationall_Schools

ACS Cobham is easy to commute to central London and in a very nice part of London indeed

Based solely on school description, what about King Alfred's??? That part of north London (Hampstead and environs) has some lovely areas to live in and you won't be short of fellow Americans. But agree with others about engaging a relocation consultant.

Hi @Shmercil exciting!

So sounds like you /DH work for a firm that is used to relocating workers and their families.
I would absolutely get them to do all the grunt work. I would start talking to families that have made the move already that can recommend areas of London that are good for commuting to the office - you tend to find that they congregate around certain areas. This should probably be your shortlist for locations.

My advice would be narrow down the areas you would consider to move to, then see if there are any good schools near there. If there aren't, move on to the next area. Going for private schools should be more flexible than the state options.
Good luck

Probably too far out for you but I would look at St Christopher’s in the Park or St Edmunds in Hertfordshire. Based on what you’ve said you want from a school.

Is it being a private catholic school the top priority? Or are you happy for it to be not catholic but a slightly hippy vibe as you say? City of London school is not a hippy vibe.