Moving to Oxford

[Foreignforever]

Hi, It looks like we may be relocating from Scotland to Oxford for my husband' s work in the next 12 months. We don't know the area at all & have two kids 3&5. I have been looking at 'Rightmove'. I will need to come down and stay to look at the area & get an idea. Ideally I will also need a job in an Oxford hospital!

I appreciate we will need to downsize due to sheer cost.

Here is my wishlist: a 4 bedroom house in headington; something within ringroad; we will have an absolute max of 550k to spend; schools for kids- we are considering private but that looks v expensive and entry points only seem reception and P3?

If our eldest is in P1 here is that the equivalent of P1 in England? (soory: we are expats!)

The villages around (outwith ringroad) look lovely & defo more value for money but I don' t want to spend my days in the car driving kids around. We like being close to shops/ gym/ amenities/cycle or walk to school.

Any B&B's / guesthouses I can stay in when visiting?

Should we consider renting first?

Any help/ contacts would be so welcome! Thank you!

Forgot: we will also need a nanny!! So revise that budget for a property...

The English and Scottish systems do not have a readily comparable school year conversion.

In the English system the cut of is the age on 31st August. So for the 2015/16 achool year a child who is 4 on 31st August would go into year R in September, a child who was 5 would go into year 1, a child who was 6 would go into year 2 and so on.
Private schools do take children at other entry points than year R, year 1, year 3 and year 7 if they have room. However I would also consider state schools.
There are other hospitals in Oxford, so would it have to be the John Radcliffe? Where would your DH be based?
Traffic in Oxford can be awful.

The English do not use the word "outwith".

I'd look to stay in somewhere like a Premier or TravelInn, there are plenty of Hotels in Oxford. What kind of a relocation package are you being offered?

Thank you so much for the reply!

I guess eldest already in private school here so assumed that would be our preference for moving plus more likely to get a place if moving during a school year. Eldest child's birthday is start of august which makes her 5.5yo and in P2 in Scotland. But she would be youngest in class in English system. Does that mean she would be kept back a year according to where she is in aviool system or have to go into year according tobher age? Is Reception year a formal year of teaching??
I don't know how my post will work our and husband probably based between hospitals. I worry if we stay outside we spend all pur time trying to get on ringroad or to schools.my job usually involves early starts/finishes and shift work so I cant really help with school runs.

Any help or advice appreciated!

In State schools she would definitely go into school according to her age, private can be more flexible - but at her age I'd just put her into the age appropriate year group - she will cope.
Reception is the first year of school. It is still part of the Foundation Key stage (or whatever it is nowadays) but it is when children are taught to read etc.
The two school systems are quite different, and it really doesn't matter as children do adapt at this kind of age.
I would definitely also look at state schools at this age because : 1) most academics etc. do send their children to state school, it is too expensive to do otherwise; 2) there is a lot of movement in Oxford schools, as the population does move a lot; 3) Private schools in that part of England South are very expensive.

You'd get more for your budget if you looked a little further afield - towns like Abingdon have buses into Oxford very frequently, including a direct bus to the JR every 20 minutes.

Don't dismiss the state schools - lots are very good, especially at primary. Your dd will slot into whichever year group fits for her age and she will be fine; there will be a range of ability and maturity so it won't matter if she's come from a different system.

What sort of hospital job? There are a fair few hospitals to choose from in Oxford, plus cottage hospitals in some of the smaller towns, and a larger general hosp in Banbury.

Hi
There are some lovely villages around the Oxford area with good road links into the City and surrounding Business Parks - Schools - both State and Private are generally very good in the County. Property prices vary depending on locations obviously but it is still possible to find a good value family home. Take a look at our website www.move-forward.co.uk and do email us for a chat - we have vast experience of working with incoming families and sourcing the right property - at the time - in the right place - for the right price! So please do get in touch for a no obligation chat.

Hiya,

Firstly, good luck with your big move.

Housing: we are actually in the process of moving from a small 3 bed in headington to a 4 bed /3 recep costing 545000. So it is totally possible! Depends what you want and it probably won't be in the supposidly smartest areas. Definitely stick within the ring road if at all possible. Abingdon etc are abit cheaper but commute = awful.

I've been in oxford since 2000 and lived in uni accommodation in th centre, botley, cowley and headington. You won't get a 3 bed in niorth oxford for 550k let alone 4! Recommend headington followed by cowley. Botley just felt like ribbon development going into the centre and is a nightmare to get to anything across te city. Headington has niceparks, good range of shops, mixed housing, easy ringroad access, amazing bus service into town. We thought about moving out of te city for cheaper housing but find where we are to be very convinient. LOADS of families with young kids and classes/ groups etc. nice library.

Schools: no idea about scottish year conversions. 4yrs = reception, 5yre = yr 1 etc. my ds is 4 in june 2015 and starting reception in sept 2015. Best state primaries in headington are 'good' - st andrews, windmill. Wood farm less good, barton poor. Not sure about sandhills. We are going private - ds starting new college school in town. Headington school is great for girls. Cost at start of prep about £2900 a term, rises to about £4000 a term by end of prep. Obviously usual extras. Dragon is much more expensive. Loads of threads about oxford,schools come up in education pages of talk. All the local schools will take kids if they have a space at any stage.

Hope it goes well!

Thank you everyone for your replies! It has been terribly helpful and we are mulling over ideas and areas. One of the hardest things is the uncertainty of timings but that will sort itself out. In the meantime I am trying to prep as much as possible before I go visit areas/ houses/ schools.
dietcoke I am with you. We have done 'village' living outside city and moved to closer- loving it & would struggle outside. Maybe just need to suck it up & face the fact that there will be compromises.
Had a v brief look at further north: Jeezo: sooo expensive towrds Summerton so that's out of the question.

I am surprised at the limited options for boys though. He is in nursery at the moment and say we move at some point this year (ie before he goes into reception) what do we do then?? It would be a shame to take him out of school but we will need a nanny anyway so is that it. I have read that nurseries are highly subscribed. He really loves his wee mornings at nursery in his own space and w wee pals...

The double drop off looks like a pain but doesn' t seem to be many alternatives (in private). Maybe Rye St A which is at least close to Headington.

We (unfortunately) moved in the last 12mo so will potentially be making a loss/ penalised by mortgage company plus market wonky up here with changes to stamp duty/ land tax changes...

ANY further thoughts appreciated.

PS How on earth does one know which areas are ok/ not?? I dread living in the middle of students! I am not that fussed re specific area. Is the new builds ok?

Also: NCS is right in city centre- won't that be a nightmare to get to?

Headington is a great area - good community, lots on for kids and fantastic parks etc. We are moving there soon. It is much more affordable than north Oxford, especially if you look south of the London road (to do with secondary school catchment areas). It should be possible to find a suitable house within your budget. There are good state primaries there, as others have said.

The villages are lovely but traffic coming into Oxford in the morning and out any time between 3 and 6.30 is truly horrendous. Coming in by bus doesn't help as there aren't always bus lanes, and commuting by bus to the hospitals from a village isn't straightforward. We looked at villages but decided in the end that the commuting would be too big a toll on our quality of life.

On areas - if you want to avoid studenty, avoid East Oxford. There are plenty of families there, but also lots of student lets. Headington is more of a family area.

This may well be an old thread but just to add that Headington is a great place to bring up a family - much cheaper than astronomically -priced Summertown, but nicer IMO!

Windmill and St Andrew's School are the two main primaries in Headington and are well-regarded- St A has been a favourite for a while,and Windmill is increasingly so. It has a very dynamic headmistress who throws her heart and soul into the school and is gaining a really good reputation.

Most parts of Headington are nice. You can get lovely 4 bed Victorians in the Highfield area, Stapleton/Bickerton/Lime Walk - if lucky for 500,500. There are huge family houses in Brookside (not cheap though). Lots of nice extendable 30s houses in the Margaret Road area, near a lovely park too well within your budget. Binswood Ave is particularly nice in that area. O'wise, lovely big houses up towards Shotover, a beautiful wooded park (probably v pricey) and nice houses on Osler Road and the Barton Lane area north of London Road.

Hope this helps. Headington really is great - you've made a good choice!

Thank you so much for the added info! I think it will have to be Headington: possibly a'project' or something needing done up to allow breathing space with a mortgage.

Now to find after school care...

Thanks again!

There aren't many "projects" around, I'm afraid. There is so much pressure on housing that there's no shortage of developers ready to snap up such a property, fix it and sell it on or rent it out.

If you need to cut costs considerably, you'll need to go for a less desirable area. Barton is an estate just outside the ring road with a good bus service through Headington and on into the city, so you could look there. Do consider the effect of the large development which will be built near Barton soon: www.headington.org.uk/news/items/barton_west.html.

Or Northway: www.headington.org.uk/northway/index.html