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.

I was going to suggest ASC Cobbam but I’m not sure if cobham will be your area. It’s very suburban and more of a getting in a car culture than walking everywhere.

however with 3 kids personally I wouldn’t want to be too central.

areas that are still in London that seem like they might suit you…
Stoke Newington
Alexandra Palace
Highgate
Wanstead
Hammersmith
Richmond (already suggested but you might find it too leafy. Check the American school)
Blackheath
Greenwich
Dulwich/Herne Hill
Islington

walkable private school with space for all 3 is a challenge wherever you go.

To add to what others have said, in the UK, particularly London, it's absolutely normal to commute on the Tube or other public transport. It's not common to commute by car to central London, no matter your social status, which is possibly seen a bit differently in eg New York.

Basically London is a city made up of loads of different villages, each with their own style /vibe - you need to pick a shortlist of 'villages' which your company and families that have previously made the move should be able to help you with.

Do you know how long your posting will be? A few years? Longer?

Im fact I would be inclined to start with the school and work backwards.
if you want to follow American curriculum that probably limits you to Cobham Richmond or St John’s Wood. All lovely areas but very different.
If you want a fee paying school recreating the “hippy vibe” then it probably won’t be religious and a lot of London fee paying schools are more results driven/hot house culture so you will need to choose carefully to find a match for your ethos. The Gower in Islington might but I’m not very familiar with it.

@Anotherschoolholiday yes, surely that would be part of the information in the relocation package? Or part of the advice from other families
Eg. If you are planning to return to the US in the near to mid term and will need to keep your DC in the US curriculum, these are the schools we would recommend.....

People are going to throw a lot of places and areas you've not heard of on this thread and I think you might end up more confused.

You need to think logically. What is most important to you..schools? (how long are you planning to be in Uk, transition back to US system, mix of nursery and primary logistics, other expats. Commute time ( what is ideal, what environment do you want to be in, is close to a park essential).

Focus on one thing at a time and the areas will become more obvious.

Join Facebook groups with people that have actually done this. It will help to know yourself what your priorities and red lines are before you start planning with and relocate people.

Exciting!

I would look in the Hampstead / Belsize Park / St John’s Wood / Primrose Hill area of North London. All are very family friendly areas (next to each other) with a large number of independent prep schools. There literally seems to be one on every road!!!! A lot of children in the area walk to school and live close by.

King Alfred’s School is probably the most chilled vibe (think Calhoun / Avenues in NYC). The rest are more traditional preps but they all have very different vibes. Some are very academically focussed, others a lot more rounded and relaxed. There are Catholic schools, Church of England schools and those for all faiths and none.

They almost all have uniform which may or may not include blazers and hats!! You also have the American school nearby if that’s what you want. As a result there are lots of other Americans around - don’t underestimate the culture shock of moving - having people to talk to about it is very helpful.

The commute to Aldgate is good with direct tube from Finchley Road or a quick connection at Kings Cross.

Are you sure you need private (fee paying) schools? I only say that because schools in London are better than the UK average and London is losing a lot of children at the moment due to affordability issues, meaning you may be able to access a very good primary school that would previously have been oversubscribed.

As PP said definitely look for a consultant to help you. Central London does have access to good few private small schools that may be options.
Charterhouse square, Dallington, northbridge house, Devonshire house, Trevor Roberts to name a few that would be in the Camden or Islington areas. For that budget you'd get a nice house, access to nice parks etc. Commutes to central London for work would be very short and easy.

I would also suggest Islington or Highgate, you can rent a stunning house for that price, Aldgate isn’t really a great place to be over the weekend with children it’s geared up for working people or 20 somethings without kids

You should be fine with that budget. The terrible things you have heard about how difficult it is to get school places are (a) all about the state-funded (free) places and (b) relate to the "bulge" years for children that are now teenagers. For the yeargroups your children are in, there are way fewer children than there are school places available and most schools, both state and private, are scrabbling to attract enough children to keep them viable. I agree with PP that you should be getting your employer to fund a relocation consultant to help you identify the best options.

Sign up to the Goodschoolsguide website to get reviews and info on all plausible schools.

When we moved to London with primary age kids, we found Hampstead/ West Hampstead was the best location for having lots of options for schools and also a decent commute to the city. And you'd definitely find plenty of similar families in the area.

I also think identify a school (get a consultant to help with this) and then choose one of the areas nearby as there are so many different places that you would settle in, probably very happily. King Alfred's is a good call if you don't go the US school route.

^^ That... if you can afford it. Friend worked there 33 years ago. You could probably get places if you applied soon & I would definitely look to try to live in walking or at least bus distance from the school. Your spouse can commute the busy tube lines daily.

I assume OP knows that driving daily in London is stress she could live without?

I realize we are late to be thinking about next Fall and I don't expect to just waltz into a school.

If you are looking at a private/public school (fee paying) rather than a state school, you should be fine.

I would choose around Turnham green tube station. I admit I don't know about the schools anymore

I would start with an educational consultant (like the woman who runs the PrePrep blog that was shared above), get them to find a school in a suburb that has a direct line to the city (you definitely do not want to live in Aldgate, i would look at Zone 2 or somewhere near Chelsea), and then find somewhere to live around there. But definitely start with the school.

Ask in a Two Fat Expats FB group as well.

We live in Zone 2 but I have no specific recommendations for primaries because it depends on how long you going to stay here in the first place.

In diverse areas a lot of middle class British families in London choose (free) Church of England schools for primary and private for secondary. Catholic schools are mostly chosen by Europeans.

Lots of good advice on the thread! Agree that St John's Wood / Belsize Park / Hampstead would be ideal. These are pricey areas but you have a good budget. You will meet lots of fellow American families in this area as well as English and other international families. Commuting links are good. You absolutely don't want to live near Aldgate, as others have mentioned it is not a good residential area for families.
You have the choice of the American school or numerous local prep schools in this area. If you need help with an educational consultant to guide you on choices and the process then I recommend Mum in the Woods, who is very knowledgable about North London schools. mumsinthewoodeducation.com/home/
Best of luck with the move!

Regents Park Hi OP, you should seriously look are the area around Regents Park. It's very central with lots of green space. We moved here almost 20 years ago and my children love it. The area has some great schools both private and state. It's a fantastic place to live and I don't doubt that your parents would love it.

Hampstead/ St Johns Wood are also great places to live.

I would explore Dulwich Village in Southwark first if walkability and a good family area is your preference as there are a lot of private and state schools and the accomodation stock is lovely at your price point. The nearest tube is North Dulwich and it’s on the boundary of zone 2/3 but very accessible to both London Bridge and Canary Wharf. Lots of nurseries too for the youngest. It actually feels like living in Zone 1 here if you don’t ever intens to go into Central on weekends as you get all the amenities.

Great advice above

you won’t want to live near aldgate but some great options within commuting distance (probably by tube)

i’d look at Hampstead/Highgate/Belsize Park area but also south of the river

Islington is closer and probably worth looking at too

Northbridge Housewww.northbridgehouse.com/preparatory-school-regents-park-welcome/www.northbridgehouse.com/preparatory-school-regents-park-welcome/

If you do consider Regents Park, you might want to have a look at the prep school my children attended. It was a great school for all four of them.

Plenty of families live in the Barbican and quite often I have seen ads for vacancies in the local state primaries. Personally I think the gardens/arts centre/ cinema/ above ground walking routes/ play ground etc make it a really good place for families but I appreciate it isn't to everyone's taste.

For Aldgate I don't think I'd go very far west as schlepping across London isn't much fun. But near Angel tube could work (lots of restaurants and shops in the area), and you could afford a 4 bed terraced house on a nice street in the Barnsbury Conservation Area. Friends who lived in that area used Charterhouse Square school.

Cobham has an American school and lots of Americans