Best areas of Wokingham to live

[sarahq69]

Hi, we're looking at moving to Wokingham. We'd like advice on the best areas with regards to schools and just generally nice areas. We don't want to be in a pikey area. Some of the houses we're looking at are in catchment for the following schools. Any information as to what they're like (looking past ofsted) would be great. Thanks

• Gorse Ride Infant & Junior
• Evendons
• Hawthorns
• Windmill
• Coombes Primary
• Shinfield Junior
• Nine Mile Ride

Thanks

Hello we are moving to the Wokingham area with our 3 year old
Any further thoughts on nice areas to live or good primary / secondary schools? We have a 20 mile radius to look for a house as we will rent before buying.

If anyone has further comments to help us both please blog! ??

Hello Sarah7, did you move to Wokingham? We are moving back to the UK and are thinking of settling in Wokingahm. Any tips?
Thanks :)

We've lived here for 5 months now. We're actually catchment for the new Evendons School (300 metres from our house). The big problem though is that we couldn't get in. They're a free school and have decided to have smaller class sizes (25 children per class) even though they have the teaching capacity to have 30 per class. We now have to drive to another school despite the fact that people park on our street to take their kids to school from further away. It is so frustrating! Lesson learnt is that it doesn't matter where you live, there's hardly any places in schools and the council will have you travelling a distance to get to school even if a local school could in theory take more children (I'm not bitter of course).

On the plus side, the school our son goes to is Gorse Ride in Finchampstead and we're really impressed. He's settled in well and they've been excellent in every matter. Our only criticism is that we live too far away to walk.

Oh dear, so basically what you are saying is that we should expect not to be able to send our child to the school we want to (and rent a property nearby) but to be allocated a place in a distant school? So what is the point in having a 'catchment area'?
How do you find Wokingham in general?

Wokingham has been voted the best place to raise a family in the country. It's got some of the best schools in the country so places are tight. We learnt the hard way that catchment area is not everything, but that was because we were trying to get our son into a school after he'd already started. If we'd moved before he started school it would probably have been different.

Wokingham itself though is great. It's a lovely town with lots of countryside surrounding it. Car parking in town is not over priced (and free evening and weekends), they collect rubbish and recycling every week (rather than alternate weeks like most other councils), but don't have wheelie bins which is a little annoying (blue sacks instead). There's good shops and restaurants and generally everyone seems quite nice. It's definitely a middle class area, but not too much snobbery like you get in places like Ascot.

My DD goes to Shinfield Infants and i have nothing but good things to say about the school.

i love in Arborfield and have been here for just over a yer. love it here, so beautiful. traffic in the morning is horrendous - everyone is trying to get to the M4.

hth xx

We have moved here recently, to one of the new build estates. We love it!

Hi, I'm in the same boat as some of you were. Can anyone steer me in the right direct as to which are the nicer parts of Wokingham and any areas/roads to avoid? Have a 2 yr old and newborn so schools are important, plus proximity to the train station as need to travel into London once or twice a week. Any insights would be much appreciated! @sianilaa @sarahq69

Hi friends,
I am planning to buy a property in Wokingham. looking for advice on the best areas with the Indian community, nice secondary and primary(state) schools and friendly area. please ASAP
Thanks in advance
leena