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 think you might like Dallington school
https://dallingtonschool.co.uk/school-life/life-after-dallington/

(It's not my cup of tea, but it sounds very like the school your children are currently at).
King Alfred is larger with beautiful grounds
www.kingalfred.org.uk/

Otherwise, West Hampstead is a nice area to live in, but there isn't a really a similar school nearby.

I agree re Dallington. You would know when you saw it whether it was for you.

I would look at Richmond in West London, which with your budget will be quite doable. Lots of good schools and large expat community. Lovely park and green areas and trains in to London plus you will be on the District Underground line.

Have a look at this school https://dallingtonschool.co.uk. It't very small, no uniform, friendly staff. You could then live in Angel for example. All very walkable.

Sorry, just saw it was already recommended. Both my kids went there for a few years and loved it.

Not sure if mentioned, but I'd consider Chiswick as well. District line directly to the city / aldgate and don't know why, but there seems to be a few American families here. Budget wise, you'd get a beautiful house. My next door house is a rental property - beautiful 5 bedroom house which a family is renting short term while they renovate their house (I think 7k per month) - a few minutes walk to the tube, the high street etc.

If your husband would be working near Aldgate, that’s also very close to Liverpool Street station, which opens up a lot of commuting options.

Loads of American families at Newton Prep - close also to American Embassy. And the area around Battersea Park or Clapham Common is great and a very easy commute to Aldwych.

@Shmercil

An organisation which might be of interest to you, OP, is the American Women's Club of London. They hold interesting events in the London area.

What's more, they have a private Facebook page for members. That's somewhere where you are very likely to come across women from the US who have children at school in London.

I wonder whether you would be eligible to join, given that you will be in London next year. It's worth enquiring.

https://www.awclondon.org/join-us