Hampton- any advice appreciated.

[Mumintraining85]

Hello. I am new to mumsnet and was hoping to get some advice on 'good' areas, as we are in the process of moving.

We had been focusing our search in Kingston-upon-Thames, but the property market there has gone crazy. We started to look in November last year and in that time we have seen houses go up in excess of 150k! We have lost out on multiple houses, despite offering silly amounts over the asking price, and have also been quite badly stung by unscrupulous estate agents.

Because of all these negative experiences, and the fact that we have simply been priced out of the market, we decided to broaden our search area. We looked in New Malden, but the houses were still quite pricey and I didn't really warm to the area.

So we decided to go further out and look in Hampton and Hampton Hill. We saw a couple of houses that were way in budget, but in the 'North Hampton' area, which doesn't seem to be very desirable? Again, I don't want to offend anyone, so apologies if this post comes across as snobbish. But I heard that the areas around Bishops Grove and Dean Road can be a bit troublesome? I know that Buckingham School would be the nearest primary school for that area too, and I wasn't inspired by their OFSTED report, or the behaviour of some of the children when I was walking past. But of course, all schools are going to have an element of that.

Anyway, we saw a lovely house come on in Hampton Village. It is a small Victorian house, but has potential to loft convert, and to be honest, area is really key for us, as are the schools. Hampton Infants would be our nearest school, which seems to be very well regarded- but Hampton Primary less so? We were feeling really positive about it, and then I googled the area earlier on today and found a thread on a different site that said the Bloxham Road area is awful? This is right off of the road we were looking at. We did have a drive around, and I have to admit, it wasn't the best, but at the same time, it was hardly a ghetto! Just a few young kids hanging around and smoking etc.

So now I am feeling really confused. We are moving areas to give our little one a better start in life as we currently live in something of a 'troubled' area. I bought our current house when I was 19 as a single person and it was only ever meant to be a stop gap until I could afford the jump to Teddington (how naive I was!). It is a lovely house and we have made a lot of money on it, now we want to use that money to invest in a good future for our little one by moving to a nice area with good educational and social opportunities, so it has to be the right move.

Any advice would be gratefully received, and again, I apologise if I have said anything out of line. I know what a sensitive topic it can be.

I would look at your long term plan . If you move to Hampton secondary education at the moment problematic however that could change in time .
Hampton infant and the junior school now in a federation with the same head teacher so very well regarded and very oversubscribed .
Have you looked in Hampton wick / north Teddington Fulwell end a bit cheaper than central Teddington
Twickenham also now cheaper than Teddington
Whitton again cheaper but need to look at school catchment areas in detail .

Thank you both for taking the time to reply. I did mean Nurserylands and around the Dean Road estate. I believe there is a travellers site on Bishops Grove too? Sorry for not being PC by mentioning that!

The house we have seen is in a lovely road consisting of all private Victorian houses. It is very close to the station and all the village shops, I am just worried about the Bloxham Crescent area now. It was actually a thread on here from 6 years ago where I came across the comments about it. The estate agents tried to show us a house in Broome Road, but I discounted it as it was clearly ex-council- even though they tried to tell me it wasn't! Again, I hope I don't sound like an awful snob, there are obviously lots of plus points to ex-council houses- the space in particular, but it just wasn't for us.

We love Hampton Hill, but unfortunately, we are stuck in an awkward price bracket. A flat in that area would be below budget, but a house would be about 50k over our maximum budget. There doesn't seem to be anything in between. I really don't want to move into a flat, and as we have pets, I believe there can be problems with the leasehold allowing them in the building. Plus we plan to expand our family in a year or so. Hampton Wick is also over budget, even more expensive than Kingston.

Again, I hope I don't sound awful, but I am really not keen on Whitton and neither is my partner. It is too close to Hounslow for my liking, and the undesirable parts of Isleworth.

You're right about the secondary schools being a worry though, I know that Hampton Academy is not very well regarded at all. Although, I understand that most secondary schools in the borough aren't particularly popular with residents, with the exception of Teddington and Orleans, I understand that a lot of parents go private? We are Catholic, so there may be a few more options available to us as an alternative to Hampton Academy- like Kings College in Wimbledon, or the new catholic school in Twickenham. But like you said, things may change by then (it is 10 years away!) but these are things that I worry about.

The main factor behind our move is to be in a better school catchment area, as the schools where we are now are abysmal- classes with 98% ESOL, high staff turn over, social issues etc. So it is encouraging to hear that Hampton Infants and Juniors are so popular, but I do also believe the social factors are equally as important. Are there many problems with young people in the Hampton Village area? Hanging around and making nuisances of themselves?

Sorry to ask so many questions!

I don't think you have much to worry about with a house at the station end of Hampton or about Hampton Infants & Juniors. Hampton North or Nurserylands is a bit cut off - a long way from the station and only a couple of bus routes so it is cheaper. I know people who have moved there and are quite happy though, including some with children at Buckingham school. Unless you are buying a house right next door to people who are very anti-social I don't think you should worry about a few children hanging about. There isn't much to do in Hampton if you are a teenager!

Thank you for your input. I agree, there isn't much for teenagers to do in Hampton at all. When I was younger I spent many a weekend just wandering around Lower Sunbury completely aimlessly as there was never anything for us to do. I didn't really want my son to grow up somewhere as dull as that, but I think perhaps there are a few more things for teenagers to do in Hampton as it is close to Bushy Park and Kingston. I hope so anyway!

I have to say, as we drove into Hampton I did notice the divide between North Hampton and Hampton Village, and this is is also clearly reflected in the house prices. But Hampton Village as a whole does seem very nice.

Does anyone know much about the Bloxham Crescent area? Like I said before, it didn't seem too bad, but I always get sucked in by bad reports!

Have you considered Ham? It's close to Kingston, but cheaper, although as you say, house prices have gone crazy everywhere in the last 6 months (although some are starting to get reduced again since the new mortgage rules kicked in).

You say ' I understand that most secondary schools in the borough aren't particularly popular with residents, with the exception of Teddington and Orleans', but that hasn't been true for a number of years. Demand has just about exceeded capacity this year, and if we don't get Turing House for Twickenham next year there will be many left without a place. Waldegrave Girls is as popular as ever. Grey Court in Ham is phenomenally successful now with an Outstanding report, brilliant results and a long waiting list. All three of the Ham primaries are 'good' and are nice, small community schools feeding in to Grey Court.

King's College School Wimbledon is not a Catholic School, it is an independent school which it is highly competitive to get into. I think you are thinking of Wimbledon College /Ursuline. State Catholic Schools are also very selective but on faith, you have to meet stringent admissions criteria, even so I don't know of any Catholics as far out as Hampton/Ham/Richmond travelling to the Wimbledon Schools. I think the usual alternative would be St Paul's in Sunbury or St Marks in Hounslow. A few get through the extremely selective criteria plus lottery to oratory. At the moment you can get into the new Catholic School in Twickenham if you are not quite Catholic enough to get into other schools but with increasing pressure on school places that is likely to change, and I think you will have to assume baptism by 6 months and a reference from the priest arising from documented weekly church attendance over many years and quite possibly a record of service to the Parish will be a minimum.

As muminlondon rightly highlights the good secondary schools in the borough are highly oversubscribed and many parents who do not get a place feel forced, rather than prefer to go private or move, it is a source of considerable parental anxiety. However in ten years time it is to be hoped that the issues affecting Hampton and Twickenham Academies, which were taken over by a Swedish sponsor which is clearly taking time to adjust it's unique educational approach to the needs of it's pupils, parents and OFSTED but even so there are parents happy with their child's experience there. It is clearly an approach that works for some children, and above all a school needs to be right for your child, and it's reputation amongst the mother's mafia tends to provide very poor quality evidence compared with going and seeing for yourself and talking to current parents and pupils. It seems Turing will be sited beneficially for Hampton parents, though that is very much in the air. The new school at Egerton Road (Richmond College site) should also be an option which may stretch to parts of Hampton.

I know people living in all areas of Hampton and Hanwell quite happily, indeed like the strong sense of community, especially if you are active members of the Catholic Parishes. I think possibly the same advice, go and see, talk to the neighbours, and perhaps attend the local churches and ask for advice, applies.

You might also consider the outer reaches of Twickenham where the prices are more reasonable, west of the green, lots of Victorian cottages just off the green in the £400- 500k range. Trafalgar is good but you would need to check the catchment. There is a lot of snobbery about venturing across the A316 into Whitton but again I know people who are very happy living there and there are plenty of family houses in that price range. Chase Bridge Primary is good, Nelson requires improvement but has a good leadership team. Very like Hampton in the feel of it's High Street etc.

By the way re the kids hanging around, they are likely to be from the private schools as well as state and it is not an indicator of a "rough" area at all. Richmond Green, Wimbledon Common, Marble Hill, Bushy Park are all venues for teenagers from all backgrounds, the "cool kids", to meet up and drink. Those cans and bottles of soft drinks are full of cheap vodka. I personally wouldn't allow it but plenty of parents do whether they live in Nursery lands or Richmond Hill.

Agree with Heathclif. In Teddington you can get teens hanging about. You can everywhere.

Hi Mumintraining85 - did you move to Hampton in the end? I'm in the same boat as you asking the same questions exactly 4 years later

Also interested in this thread, though I know the original post is from ages ago! Like Early40s, asking similar questions.
My husband and I (plus little one) have been looking in Hampton and Hampton Hill, though we're expanding further northwards as well, due to the dearth of new housing stock coming onto the market.
I like Hampton Hill because of the proximity to the high street and related amenities, but my sense is that there are more families in Hampton? Worried, though, that I might feel a bit isolated in Hampton after the buzz of my current neighbourhood, and wondering if anyone felt likewise first moving there (I'm also feeling some anxiety about the longish train journey into Waterloo)

Must Read. This school is ill equipped and has budget cuts. They also have very poor levels of support for pupils with mild learning difficulties.

Unfortunately the school rating systems doesn't allow one to provide a fair and accurate review of hampton wick infant and nursery school so prospective parents are none the wiser to the problems at the school.