Moving to Worcester - HELP!

[Beksy]

I am being relocated to Worcester (City Centre) with work and would love to hear from other mums about which are the best schools and area for a young family. My daughter is in Year 1 and my son has just started pre-school so will be looking for a nursery for him soon. Ideally I'd like to be within a short drive/ bike ride of the city centre so I can do the school run on my way to work and don't have to waste precious time stiiting in city centre traffic and money on parking! We are a mixed race family so would also appreciate any info about diversity especially regarding the primary schools. Thanks in advance.

Hi. I don't live there any more but used to for years.

I think you need to start by finding out which schools have a space for your DD in Year 1 as schools with the best reputation may already have a waiting list.
Also, as always, it is more expensive to live in the catchment area of a 'good' school. Rents and house prices will be a lot cheaper near the Fairfield Community Primary school which spend time on special measures and had a name change to try to improve its image.

It is also worth finding out which secondary school you would be in the catchment for - the catholic high school on the south side of the city (Timberdine Avenue) gets excellent results but you would need to live close to get in. Primary School down the road from there is Cherry Orchard or Redhill just round the corner.

North of the city up the Ombersley Road is good. Northwick Manor Primary has a good reputation and not too far from town.

Most of the west side of the city, called 'St John's', is good apart perhaps from estate called Dines Green. Pitmaston Primary is also considered good, I believe.

Good luck in your new job and with the move.

Hi, I live in Worcester on the west side, all of the primary schools this side have a good reputation (except for Dines Green) and if you want one with a more village feel then Rushwick and Powick are within easy reach. The High School, Christopher Whitehead, is very good as well. It achieved an outstanding ofsted (last year I think).

I have a son in Y1 and he goes to the biggest of the primary schools (3 forms per year) this side of the city and is doing well. He also attended the nursery/preschool attached to the school. DS1 also attended, achieved level 5's in his SATs and passed the entrance exam to get into a good local independent school.

I dont know a great deal about the schools in other parts of the city except for hearing good things about Claines and Northwick.

HTH and if I can help with any other info please ask.

Oh, meant to say that all the Catholic primary schools in Worcester will feed into the Catholic High school. So you don't necessarily have to live near to the school.

Just wanted to say hello, and good luck with the relocation. I don't live in Worcester (though not far) and my ds is at school in Claines

Stanley Road Primary School is near enough in city centre and is very diverse - lots of different nationalities would feed onto either Nunnery Wood High Sch and Blessed Edward Oldcorne RC High Sch both of which are good.

I'll second St John's. It's a lovely friendly area with good schools and plenty of other facilities. A really short walk to the city centre. My son (2) goes to a fab nursery this side of the river too. PM me if you want details. I moved to Worcester 5 years ago and think it's a lovely place to live and a great place to bring up kids.

Hi, I 2nd what Lukewarm says about stanley road school. My friend is head of early years there, shes a brillian tteacher and they hav an excellent emphasis on diversity. The area for catchment is bath road/ronkswood/wylds lane. I lived in ronkswood and it was ok but very close to a large rough council estate. Bath road would be preferble.

I can recommend sunnyside nursery in barbourne which is very close to town.

I would give a third vote for Stanley Road primary school. Stanley Road itself and the Fort Royal Area has some decent housing and is less than 10 minutes walk from both the school and the city centre. Ronkswood is best avoided if you can afford. Bath Road is also a good bet however is pricier, some roads suffer with traffic noise and is further both from town and the school.

Personally, I would opt to be on the city side of the river as the traffic can be a nightmare across the bridge and if the city floods, the bridge has been impassable by anything other than army trucks for extended periods in the past.

Worth looking into which areas of the city flood (near Pitchcroft / Diglis and also Kempsey ) and avoiding these too. Surprisingly some of the new housing on Diglis seems to be built on the floodplain!

oops did mean to say that St Johns is lovely and has a villagey feel but the city side of town might be a better option for you if you are working there due to traffic, etc.