Moving to Blackbird Leys with 9 year old

[tomasito]

Hi, we're looking to move to Oxford this summer and have a 9 year old girl. The most affordable areas include Blackbird Leys but I gather it's also got a bit of a reputation. I've looked at the reports on the schools in the area and the Oxford Academy seems to be the main secondary there, and I hear conflicting things about it. According to Ofsted it's a failing school, but I've spoken to people who know the area and they say it's not that bad.
However there are quite a few primaries and secondaries in the area that have been flagged as failing by Ofsted.
My question is, are the schools in Blackbird Leys so bad as to justify ruling out moving there? Any experiences with the schools in the area? And do you think things are improving there?

We're also looking at Headington and Marston, which are a bit more expensive but it seems that they have good schools.

You're right that Blackbird Leys has a reputation: it's an area with lots of socioeconomic deprivation, and the schools have more than their fair share of kids from troubled homes or with social and behavioral problems. That's not to write it off - but most people with a choice tend to opt for the other areas so BL has a high concentration of people who had no choice but live there. Both the other areas you mentioned are very nice and your choice of schools would be better if you have a child for whom schooling will be important.

I would avoid Blackbird Leys if I could. As the previous poster said, there is a lot of deprivation concentrated in that part of Oxford, and that has a knock-on effect on the schools. In your position I would choose Headington or Marston.

As for the Oxford Academy, it has had a history of problems - it was closed down in 2008 for poor performance and then reopened as an Academy under its current name. But they are still the worst performing secondary school in Oxfordshire. Maybe it will improve, but if I were moving to Oxford and education was a priority, I would definitely prefer to live elsewhere.