Area with good schools that actually feels like London?

202 replies

PancakeCloud · 09/05/2026 17:41

I’m very much a city person, I like busy areas, I’ve lived in zone 2 for most of my life. I like having cafes, shops and bars around and feeling well connected to the rest of London.

I’m now in the position of being in a too small flat with small children and trying to work out where I can move to that still feels like London but has decent state primaries and secondaries for a girl and a boy. I’d prefer non-selective, non-grammar schools as I hate the idea of having to tutor primary school kids.

Does an area like this actually exist?? I suspect not but thought I’d ask anyway just in case…

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MeridaBrave · 21/05/2026 14:12

Loads of good schools in zone 3/4 NW London eg Archer Christ College Compton etc

Marbles321 · 22/05/2026 08:43

Araminta1003 · 16/05/2026 07:29

As kids get older, community feel and after school clubs and parks/activities and friends are more important than “schools”. Especially settling in an enclave where their friends do not keep moving with high churn in their primary class. This is why Zone 2,3, 4 can be better for kids anyway.
I would buy a house in an area you can afford like Norwood or Streatham. Chances are there will then be families like yourselves that you will all gel with.
Most primaries are good in London. As regards secondaries, the ones to avoid are the very strict ones, but other than that a lot of people now make do and use a few tutors for GCSEs, if need be. By Sixth Form, a YP can typically go to lots of different Sixth Forms with good grades in hand - and that is academically the important stage.

A child’s education is broad and includes the social side very much, experiences day to day and locally, been taken to the cultural experiences different parts of London have to offer.
For example, Telegraph Hill. Goldsmiths used to run a lot of music and you have Trinity in nearby Greenwich too. Crystal Palace/Penge etc also vibrant stuff like this. Walthamstow as well these days. It usually all dependent on who lives there at the time.

Agree with this! The importance of a solid community where kids and families stay and support eachother is just as important as a "top" school, perhaps more so. Your kids are far more than just academic results. Zones 3-5 in London are a great place to raise kids, and lots of zone 3 still feels very London, particularly in South.

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