Moving to London: House location for a young family

[ridinghigh]

Hi all, we will be moving to London from the Mideast in the first week of September 2012. Our kids are 4 and 7. The biggest worry right now is the house location. It should broadly be based on the following factors:

1. Not more than 20-30 mins commute from Paddington Station, which dh's office is close to (Kingdom Street).
2. There should ideally be very good state schools nearby.
3. Rental budget around GBP 1,500-2000 p.m. (we plan to rent for 6-12 months after which intend to buy).

Would greatly appreciate any inputs on the location. From some of the threads, I have gathered Ealing fits the above criteria. Any other locations you could guide us to, as the choice one sees online is just overwhelming. Thanks.

I agree with the car issue - the schools are packed to the rafters with pupils and every car at drop off/pick up is a nuisance/hazard. Having said that, the bus service is pretty good and will get you close to any school in Ealing.

Really look closely at schools and their catchment areas. You need to get as close as possible.

Re; the school I was talking about - it was Fielding primary. I'd rather not give the house details if that's ok as I don't want to be outed. We also looked at similar ones close to Little Ealing as well (not outstanding at its last Ofsted but a lovely school)

Mine are at Little Ealing, even though it's gone up to 3 form entry you still have to live in spitting distance to get in, so catchments can be deceiving. Little Ealing has been oversubscribed within catchment for years, and still is, even with the extra form. Despite applying late, as we'd just moved to the area, my DS got a place because someone helpfully emigrated to Australia.

Ah, MothershipG - as it turned out we moved just before applying and bought a house in Little Ealing catchment and that's where mine ended up going! I love, love, love the school though wish it had a uniform

reel & mothership, could you please give your respective months and date of applying to Little Ealing, and when u ended up securing the place. this would be very helpful in determining whether i should stick to the base plan of applying in september '12 to the Ealing In-Year Admissions Team, or come a month earlier in August for a week's leave, to secure a house and apply to schools in that week, and come back again in september to settle. Just to refresh, we are seeking Reception and Yr 3 places for our kids.

i guess most of u were right about mobility in ealing schools. i am now seriously considering the Northfields/south ealing area, grateful to all of you for helping me narrow it down. pitshanger also looks interesting.

OP- I am sure the others will be along shortly with more specific Ealing advice, but just to say that August or September is unlikely to make much of a difference in most of London for a reception place. Those will have been allocated based on applications with a deadline of around December/January 2012. Either way you are effectively applying 'in year'. I wouldn't worry too much about pushing it forward a week or two unless it happens to be convenient for other reasons.

Youlllaugh is right, you've missed the first round of applications so now you're applying for in year admission. So when you apply will make less of a difference than your address.

Your position on waiting lists is not determined by first come, first served but by how close you are to school.

When we moved to Ealing during my DS's reception year our house is quite close to school so we jumped ahead of anyone else on the waiting list whose homes were further away or out of catchment.

So initially the LEA will offer you places where ever there are vacancies (did you look at that link I sent you?) which may be no where near where you live and may put your children in different schools. You can then put your children on the waiting lists for the school you wanted and will be offered a place there when one becomes available and if you are top of the list.

I would talk to the admissions team here
The application process for entry in September 2012 is now closed. The closing date was 15 January 2012.

If your child requires a school place for September 2012 and you have not completed an application, please contact the primary schools admissions team via the details on the right hand side of this page.

Primary and junior school admissions
Tel: (020) 8825 5511 (9am-12pm)

I had talked to the admissions team post my last note, and they too advised to apply in september, as the kids need to be physically present as well.

Putney is a quick commute to Paddington (by Ldn standards) and has good schools. You might get a grubby three bed for just over £2K a month. To give you an idea we are paying £1350 pcm for a nice one bed with garden right next to the station. However, 2 beds were available for £1500, they were just tiny.

2k a month rental in Ealing
large 'project' house in Ealing to buy 800k

You do need to be living on the doorstep of Little Ealing to secure places at the moment - it is a lovely school however! There does seem to be a lot of rental property down that part of Ealing though, so you might be able to rent very very close to the school.

Yep Ealing Schools are a nightmare if you live in the wrong spot, like me. My best place on a waiting list is 56th place and that is at a distance of 0.6. This year the last place offered to a Little Ealing child was 0.276 one of only a few schools in Ealing that did not take any children from out of catchement.

I would suggest as close as you possibly can to a school of your choice to stand a chance if you are seriously thinking of Ealing.

That said, you can always go private as there are many private options in Ealing: Notting Hill & Ealing, Avenue House, St. Benedict's, St. Augustine's Priory, Clifton Lodge, Durston House and Harvington School. There is also a French School in Hanwell and a Stage school in Acton.

4goingon, thanks, that is excellent advise, always good to know the on-the-ground situation.
the only inconvenience i see of having a house near the top schools (Little Ealing, Fielding, Oaklands) is that they are quite a bus ride to the Ealing station, adds about 20 mins to the office commute. Schools like Grange, St Johns, Drayton Green, and Montpelier are closer to the station. Would you recommend any of these schools?

Montpelier is an Outstanding school and it is the school we are 56th place on the waiting list for. I check their in year availability regularly and they never have spaces...kids just don't move from that school once they get in. Parents would rather continue their child at the school if they move and drive them. I know a few who do this.

Grange is a very large school that is improving I believe. St. John's has had it's issues, it has gone from a satisfactory school to a good school in recent years. It serves a lot of children that live on the Green Man council estate behind it so there can be a lot of movement. I don't know about Drayton Green.

Hobbayne Primary school is another Hanwell school and rated excellent by Ofsted. Housing is a bit less expensive in Hanwell and if you are close to the train station there is a direct train to Paddington.

If you are close to Oaklands (Hanwell) there is the overground direct train service to Paddington so no buses required. Little Ealing or Fielding don't always require a bus. A tube (Piccadilly line) can be taken from South Ealing or Northfields to Hammersmith and then change to a Circle line to Paddington.

thanks, i may have to put Hobbayne on top of my preferences, considering that it offers the shortest commute to paddington overall (compared to Fielding, Montpelier and Little Ealing). Also, seems less competitive to get in compared to the other three. Any views on North Ealing primary?

Do any of you think the area around Hobbayne in Hanwell is a beautiful and family-friendly place to live in? I understand that there are bits and pieces areas in Hanwell. Just dont want to be in a position later of having to regret not moving into the Northfields/South Ealing area. Our budget is quite flexible, so the price factor is less important. We are thinking long-term for atleast the next 5 years or more. Any particular catchment streets you recommend near Hobbayne?

Looking at the vacancies in the Ealing and Hanwell area, there is one single vacancy in Reception at St Mark's school and no vacancies in Year 3 for your 7 year old (assuming it's the year you are looking for), no vacancies in any school year at Hobbayne primary....refer to MotherShipG's post.

Just looking on google maps, St Mark's primary is as near to Hanwell train station a Hobbayne primary and it's the ONLY school in this area of Ealing with a vacancy for your 4 year old, if you look on St Mark's website, you'll also find that there are currently 45 places in Year3 for September 2012, whereas there school is expanding it's upper primary years with the addition of new classrooms and in September 2013, there will be 60 places for the same age group, meaning if you already have a 4 year old in the school in September 2012, then if you live within catchment and your 7 year old goes to another school from September 2012-13, that child will stand a good chance of a place when the school year intake increases from 45 to 60. Now you just need to get on the phone to Ealing LEA and ask where you need to live to get that sole place available at St Mark's in Reception class, then deal with the 7 year old's place later.... well that's what I'd do if I was absolutely certain I wanted to live in that area of Ealing.

This house is 200m to Hanwell train station, 400m to St Mark's school which is also the nearest non religious primary so surely in the catchment area, £1700 per month and there's another at the same price for rent on the same road.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-to-rent/property-37895033.html

Just because you are able to see the in-year admissions spaces in the borough is not entirely what you should base possibility of entry on. I strongly believe the most important factor is how long a waiting list is for a particular school and how quickly those waiting lists move. Schools that have lots of open spaces for in-year admissions are not often the best schools or areas...sad but true.

The places in schools that have very long waiting lists rarely get published because they move so quickly.

North Ealing is another highly sought after school but the waiting list is a long one there. We are 88th on the waiting list for North Ealing. However there is more movement at North Ealing than at Montpelier for example. Although I do know someone that moved within the borough from West Twyford catchment to North Ealing catchment and still sits on the North Ealing waiting list at 0.50 distance, just because of the year groups she needs.

I don't think you will have a very good chance of getting into one of the very popular schools...unless you literally move next door and get yourself at the very top of the waiting list. I would suggest a property closer to one of the bigger less popular primaries with more movement (Grange), find a property next door to a school or seriously consider private.

4goingon14 makes good points... start with Grange and get on waiting lists for L.Ealing perhaps?

Get a fold out map. Mark on all the train and tube stations the travel time that the TFL website gives to Paddington are work destination, perhaps also the frequency of that transport method, up to your maximum tolerable commute time.

Mark on the same map all the schools near those train and tube stations, annotate with any vacancies for the school years you are after plus any info you get off Ealing admissions team about how near you need to live from these schools to get you within a realistic chance of getting a school place in September. Mark on the map also the schools that Ealing schools team could offer you places in straightaway at the beginning of September, you may just find a school you don't ultimately want but near enough to commute to. You are really going to have to be realistic about chasing the "best" schools, especially when you are looking for 2 school places. Don't base solely on OFSTED reports judging a school as "satisfactory" for example, especially a report from 2 or 3 years ago. Go and look at the schools for yourself.

Mark on the same map all the properties within your price range which are available. Rightmove is great, it even shows you where the nearest schools are to properties and gives you links to their ofsted reports and KS2 results.

Something might have to compromise, getting an ideal commute time, 2 school places and somewhere to live in budget is hard to get at such short notice.

sage advice, thanks all. grange as a start, followed by little ealing, sounds like a realistic and doable base plan. perhaps a property in the middle of the two (to leave us with a chance at little ealing at some stage)?

how would you recommend the place around grange from a family-friendly point of view? i see the south ealing park there. how about nearby shops, groceries, cafes. hope off-street parking is usually available there. is proximity to univ. of west london campus a bother?

By and large Ealing is very family friendly.

South Ealing park isn't a proper park, just a little bit of open space but you are 5 mins from Lammas and Walpole, both a good size with swings etc.

All the parking around there is busy but it is controlled and restricted to residents only.

Plenty of cafés and you're only a 10 min walk from Ealing town centre with all it's shops and restaurants. I've no idea if the campus is a problem, no one I know has mentioned it?

You might get more for your money if you look around Wimbledon? Direct line (District) to paddington, about half an hour, possibly a bit less, but if you look in the South Park Gardens area you'd only be 5 minutes from the station.

Lots of good Primaries, state and independent, but you need to check very carefully your exact location as catchments are very small.

I'd say that a 20 minute commute, total
Is unrealistic in London unless you have megabucks. I'd widen your area a bit. I'd agree with the poster unthread who said pretty much all London commutes take an hour. I've lived all over Lobdon in the last sixteen years, and worked all over. It's always an hour. London has it's very own space time continuum...

HTH and best of luck with primary admissions... Afraid I can see you going private...!

db
xx