Move to Reigate

[Gormella]

Hi All,

Thinking of moving to Reigate as Hubby needs a mainline to London and we like the area having visited recently. We have a daughter aged 2 who we will look at schools for in due course. I read that there are no catchment areas as such in Reigate/Redhill but postcodes and proximity must count somewhat.

I wonder if anyone could give me an insight into good family friendly areas to live. And possibly which parts to avoid (if any)!

I read some posts a while back claiming that there were issues with the overcrowding of local schools. Is this still the case?

Any thoughts, however brief, would be appreciated! :)

Wray Common is rather lovely, if expensive. Most of the really nice bits of Reigate are north of the railway station. Having said that, the area around Cockshot Hill is good too.

You could also consider Dorking and Horsham, both have direct trains to London Victoria.

Try the villages of betchworth, brockham and Leigh. Great village school and easy to Reigate and dorking.

Also try Tadworth! Walton-on-the-hill. Lovely villages and a great nursery/ prep school on your doorstep, Chinthurst (they also have a school bus to Reigate!).

The trouble with Leigh is no railway station. And Betchworth station is out of the village without a direct connection to London.

Ooh, how about Chipstead?

If you're willing to move a bit further away try East Grinstead or Haywards Heath. Even Brighton is commutable, only 90 minutes from Victoria.

Oh all your comments are great, thanks everyone! Really appreciate it!

I'm actually going to Betchworth for a course soon so I'll have a nosey around there! love Dorking too but think it may be a bit pricey. Will take a good look at all the areas you mention.

:0)

I live in Reigate but actually really like Dorking. I think from what I have seen that house prices are lower and it has a swimming pool that Reigate lacks, as well as lots of classes for babies/ toddlers, nice chains of restaurants, lovely new library, good shopping and more independent shops than Reigate.

Dorking also has a lot less of the buggy brigade which I can't decide if it is a good or a bad thing. Pizza Express is certainly a lot less crowded in Dorking but I like living somewhere where there are a lot of families with small children as it means there is a really nice community for my children.

Places in Reigate which are popular for families and near to good school are Nutley Lane/ Yorke Road/ Somers Road (although pricey) and Holmesdale Road/ Doods Road/ Deerings Road and areas around St Marys Road / Glovers Lane/ Blackborough Road.

Schools do not have catchments but admissions are based on proximity where no other criteria come into play (check admissions policies for schools of interest - in central Reigate they are mainly Wray Common, Holmesdale and the Parish unless you want to go private). Figures for admissions for the previous year are published on the Surrey CC website and should give you an idea of how near you need to be to the schools to be in with a chance.

Hi Gormella, I have 3 children currently going through Reigate schools and have lived here for about 7 years. It is a great place to live if you have children - the park is stunning and I feel there is plenty to do with young children. The outlying villages like Brockham and Betchworth are very pretty but as your children get older, there's alot to be said for them having some independance and being able to walk in to town, to the park, school, friends houses etc. which they can easily do in Reigate. It seems like a long way off but believe me it comes around all too quickly.
There is alot of pressure on school places - I would definitely recommend visiting the local infant/primary schools to get a gut instinct about them even though your daughter is only young. You really do need to be living very close to your preferred school to stand a good chance of getting a place.
Good Luck!

Dorking is wonderful for families with a great choice of schools too!

I live in between Reigate and Redhill, there is a fab swimming pool just outside Redhill which is only a mile from Reigate which has just been completely refurbished.

We're off Hatchlands road and there are some lovely Victorian roads around us, with pretty Victorian houses. I actually prefer where we are to central Reigate because Redhill is a direct line in to London (not sure how regular the trains from Reigate are) and it's a great line. Fast to East Croydon and then Clapham Junction and Victoria, it's less than 30 mins on the fast train.

From where we are, most children go to Wray common or Earlswood schools. DS got in to St John's which is lovely, but we only got in because there was a bulge class this year, so unless you were living just off Redhill Common (lots of lovely houses there too) I think in subsequent years you wouldn't get in if you lived where we live.

I have friends in Dorking and agree its lovely but the traffic problems really put me off. The one way system drives me crazy and it always seems so congested. Not that Redhill is without it's problems, but the one way system is being scrapped fairly soon as part of the massive redevelopment of the town centre (long over due IMO).

oh yes! Reigate is lovely, and so are all the mummies here as well!! I couldn't imagine me and the twins living anywhere else if I'm completely honest with you...