aldryngton or radstock or hawthorns

[sinam123]

Hi all,
I had a quick question. We are planning to buy a house and we were thinking of buying one in a good school area. Either early or Wokingham. We were looking at aldryngton in earley and hawthorns in Wokingham. Houses near aldryngton hardly come by and are very expensive and we can't afford it. Hawthorns area is much more affordable for us. Or we could just push the idea of buying a house and rent a place near aldryngton. Do you think aldryngton is worth doing this? Or should be settle for a hawthorns or even a radstock in earley? My DS will be starting school in sept 2017.
Any advice is much appreciated.
Thanks

Hi Sinam123,
Afraid being on the other side of Reading I've not much experience of these schools first hand other than hearing they're fantastic. If they're anything like the schools over in Caversham which are also highly rated then it may be a very competitive minefield for you. On this side of town, you need to live as close as you can to the school you like, rented or purchased. But bear in mind if you rent, get first child in to the school then move slightly further afield after you can't guarantee any siblings will be able to get in to that school. This link gives a nice breakdown of how the admissions for each school worked and how many spaces each level of criteria received, if you've not seen it. Hope that helps a little and that someone who knows the schools better will come along! www.reading.gov.uk/documents/education/admissions/27685/CommunitySchooltable2014-.pdf

Aldryngton is very academic, the kind that sends homework home in the first weeks of reception. I'm not sure I would advocate that for all young children. Have you visited it?