Relocating from SW London to Bath area

[Newhallcatz]

Hoping that I can get some local advice. Looking to move to the Bath area with three children (7, 4 and 1) - husband will commute to Swindon and I will look for local work in the law. It would be great to get a steer as to good areas to live in which have a community feel and where we would fit in as well as areas accessible to the M4. Ideally we would like to be in a village location but somewhere accessible to the city as DH will also be travelling to London with work. BTW does anybody commute from Bath to London for work or is it total madness??

We are a very down to earth grounded family who are looking for a better standard of living out of London. We are also looking at both state and private schools - ideally we would like to send our children to the private sector but welcome to look at everything. 7 year old son is on the academic side and think younger boy (currently in reception) seems to be similar in many ways. We are going to look at KES and the Paragon and welcome any views about the types of families who go there as looking for like minded grounded people. Thanks in advance for any answers!

Sorry, only got a few minutes spare before the computer conks out and can't find the power lead, so won't be a long post, but but but - I'm a lawyer and when we first moved to Bath (8 years ago) I was on mat leave from my job at a City firm. For some mad reason I went back afterwards, and commuted daily for the next 10 months, until going on mat leave with my second child

It was not particularly fun, but it was do-able - and there were certainly a lot of people whom I saw on the same train day in day out, so clearly not a completely off the wall option. The train is 1.5 hours to Paddington, and the service was averagely reliable. Often fine on the way in and more likely to be delayed on the way home, which was frustrating. If it was going to go wrong, it would generally go wrong around Reading - a lot of work is being done to the railway there, though, which presumably should improve matters.

Coming home, I used to get the 18.00 from Paddington, and it was always a massive scrum for the train, with people literally sprinting down the platform. Larges numbers of people used to get off at Reading, though, so if I ever ended up without a seat, I could usually get one at that point.

So, do-able, but not (in my view) a long-term option - was quite knackering, especially once I'd added on travel to/from the station at either end. It made for a very long day, on top of a very demanding job with long hours (which they wouldn't let me do part-time). Am now a lawyer (part-time!) in Bristol, which is a considerably more civilised environment generally, and a much more palatable commute (10 minutes on train) .

Computer running on empty, HTH. Was actually quite long in the end!

Thank you both so much for your posts and sorry it has taken me so long to reply!!! Really helpful advice at the start of our journey. I am thinking of possibly commuting to London a couple of days a week if a part time PSL role works out but a long way to go there. Have you had experience of local schools that you would recommend? Currently looking at the Paragon and KES and going to visit both next week. Any recommendations although I appreciate that everybody's experiences are different and it comes down to a personal choice?? Is family life in Bath worth the move? Thanks again

I think you can't really go far wrong with schools in Bath, tbh - it's generally a factor in why many people move here from London.

2 of mine are at St Stephen's (youngest is only 3) which we are very happy with, but you seem to be looking at private schools - although I went to KES myself (was fine, perfectly nice, one or two fab teachers in particular, but otherwise not a school I'd rave about) I don't know much about the preps in Bath, although I know Paragon has a great reputation with a very child-centred head.

As for family life in Bath - we really enjoy it, there are so many families here and the facilities and resources are generally good. Lovely countryside within easy reach. Pretty buildings in town, and lots of nice little towns and villages to explore nearby. Put it nearer the coast and it would be even better Mind you, it can be a bit claustrophobic and everyone seems to know everyone else's business - but not in a nasty way, it's just that Bath is really quite small. And it is a bit of a naice middle class bubble - but it is a lovely bubble, and as long as you know you're in one, I think that's fine

really useful website you might like is bath mums. the lady who runs it is really helpful and friendly.

We are also moving to Bath soon. What would you all advise if you want a non religious school in bath? They all seem tied to a church in a way that isn't the case so much in London.

Hi, I live in lower swainswick with 7 and nearly 1 year old, is right on edge of larkhall which is lovely village but right in the centre of town (village in a town which is perfect for everything really but we are set back enough for tonnes of wildlife and beautiful countryside and views)and all the schools are brilliant. Would definately advise anyone to move here.

Good luck

Movingwithkids

If Private, I think the schools LIKE you to follow the religion but they also like your money. King Edwards (KES) and (I think) Royal High are non denominational

If State then you stand very little chance of getting into the local CofE or Catholic school if you don't go to church (though this might possibly change once the council stops subsidising school transport - somehow I doubt it).
I don't think this is a problem after junior school, though.

if you follow this link, the council publishes its admission criteria for all the state schools.

www.bathnes.gov.uk/services/schools-colleges-and-learning/admissions-schools/admissions-booklets
If you go to the table on page 80, you'll be able to see which schools are massively oversubscribed versus those that are less popular.

My daughter had a great time at Widcombe Infants, incidentally.

Almost all the primaries are CofE. With the exception of Bathwick St Mary's and St Stephens I don't think church attendance gives any advantage when it comes to admissions at all.

For secondary, the one CofE is undersubscribed. RC schools are different matter.

If you moved to the eastern side (Bathford, Batheaston etc) it would be easier to drive to Chippenham and get the train to London from there. Works for me,anyway.