moving to surrey

[Lavinia13]

Hi,

we will be moving to surrey shortly from st albans and could really do with some advice re which town to consider. have 2 boys 8 and 7. will be working in Chertsey, but don't want to live there. was thinking of west byfleet, Walton, addlestone and Virginia water. any suggestions or thoughts about these places? what about woking? have no idea re surrey so some advice would be really helpful :-)

Your biggest decision will be schools. The best state schools within easy commuting distance of Chertsey are Heathside in Weybridge, Charters in Sunningdale near Ascot, and Fullbrook in New Haw near W Byfleet. I live in this area and I know it well, so am happy to help. If your children won't be in state schools then it's easier - and it's down to what you need/ want: ie rural, village, town, and what sort of town. Towns and demographics vary massively in this area. If you've come from St Albans you might be happiest in Weybridge but it's a bit footballers wives for me... Also expensive.

There's also Windsor which is fabulous but I don't know the schools there.

I went to Fullbrook School and lived in New Haw. Lovely area and brilliant school. I have family who live all over but I always preferred New Haw and woodham area. Good luck with your move.

Thanks Hillary25 and Mojavewonderer ... I was also thinking of addlestone / w byfleet area. am not thinking of independent schools at the moment...maybe for secondary for boys. I know its a long shot but would you know anything about new haw junior school, says outstanding on Ofsted, but word of mouth is so much more valuable

Yes I have friends with children at New Haw Junior. It's a good school; they're very happy there. Mixed demographic as it's quite a big school covering different types of area, but my friends DD is in yr 4 and doing well.

Bits of Addlestone are in catchment for Fullbrook, other bits are in catchment for Heathside, but a lot of Addlestone children get allocated Jubilee, which has had some problems over the years. The house prices will reflect this. Addlestone is one of the most economically deprived towns in Surrey, but I rather like it.

If I was moving to the area again, I'd look at New Haw/Woodham/West Byfleet as the house prices are reasonable [unlike Ascot / Windsor / Weybridge] and the schools are good enough.

[PS It's a pretty crap area for boys' independent schools. The strongest academically are miles away - Hampton and RGS Guildford - although there's also St George's in Weybridge - actually Addlestone - which is mixed catholic independent. Then you have St James's in Ashford, Halliford in Shepperton, and I can't really think of other close-ish ones.]

New Haw is a nice school. Worth calling to see if there's a waiting list as you'll be in year admission.

Commuting round here is hard. I wouldn't do it from Woking.
It's hard to advise without knowing your budget.
Blimey, if I had enough I, like Hilary, would love to buy in Weybridge/Ascot/Windsor.

Hi there,

I can highly recommend Weybridge. We live there and we love it. We've been here for four years and are very settled as we've been fortunate to meet a lot of people who moved out from SW London just like us to have families. The schools (both state and private) are fantastic, and you've got really easy access to London, airports and 1hr to the coast. The only downside is that houses are expensive and you can certainly get more for your money in other places.

Just to let you know if you are ever looking for things to do with your 2-yr-old, we've set up a new company called Dotty & Jack's www.dottyandjacks.co.uk which is a Family member's Club in Weybridge, Walton and Cobham offering brilliant classes as beautiful local locations. It's a great way to meet other local mums and have fun at the same time.

Good luck with your move!

Laura

Hi Laura

Please could you contact us directly at [email protected] regarding advertising your member's club.

I'm afraid you are unable to use this forum for direct advertising.

Thank you!

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