Schools in Woodford and South Woodford

[ibird]

Hello mums - please helpppppppp!!!
I have a 7 month old and currently living in Newham. Having had a dreadful experience in Newham General Hospital we have decided to move out of here and we are currently looking for a property in South Woodford/Woodford area. I have heard that there are excellent state schools there + houses are more affordable than in other parts of London. For the past 2 weeks I have been looking at houses in areas near good schools and my problem is that there are more houses available in Woodford Green, but the schools in South Woodford seems better (at least according to Ofsted). Is this correct?
Ray Lodge and Wells primaries are the nearest to the houses we have been looking at, but they have mixed reports. Does anyone know anything about these schools or any others in Woodford? Also, is the area safe and family friendly? Any info would be very much appreciated!

Thank you in advance :-)

xxx

First off schools in redbridge are very very oversubscribed as all the schools are very popular but also because redbridge has a growing population!! I.e people moving in just for the schools! My advice to you would be to contact the LEA and get info about those schools before buying a house in the area as you may not get the school of your preference! (sorry I work for the borough and school appeals is a MASSIVE issue)

To be honest I would have thought that the house prices in Woodford and South Woodford would be more expensive than Newham. I live in South Woodford and confirm that, in general, prices in Woodford Green are more expensive than in South Woodford. S W is good for supermarkets, tube station and has a proper post office. Shops in the Woodford area are not as useful.

I have friends whose children went to Wells and they were very happy with it. One of the children had special needs and the school was apparently excellent for him.

Neither area is particularly great for parks or swimming pools but there are lots of bits of forest around which are fun (but need a parent). SW has a decent Odeon with easy parking. Both areas are pretty safe.

I have lived in SW for 22 years and brought my children up here.

Hope that helps.

I've lived in South Woodford for 19 yrs and have two school aged children. Agree with the previous poster re house prices - like everywhere, you pay to be in a good catchment area and this is especially noteworthy if you are looking at religious schools which I'm more familiar with. The borough has two grammer schools if dc ends up to be very bright . There has definitely been a large increase in the local population which has been reflected in the oversubscription to schools - not helped too by the recession and people choosing state over primary education. The state secondaries are all pretty good, especially when compared with others in the country. I've never experienced any problems living in the area. Wanstead and SW are both good for shops/supermarkets, nice swimming pool not far away in Chingford.