moving to Dorset

[ploplo]

Hello
We are looking at relocating in the Dorset area. My husband's work will be based in Wareham...with 3 children 8, 10 and 12 we are looking at where the good schools are. Could anyone share advice and info please? We currently live in the north west and all we hear about the south is that getting in a good school is almost impossible. Many many thanks.

You could live within catchment of Dorchester with an easy commute to Wareham. Thomas Hardye school starts at 13 and is supposed to be very good. Several middle schools feed into it.

Thank you so much that's helpful. We are going down next week to have a look. Any other areas anyone would recommend? What do you think of the poole/ Bournemouth / Christchurch areas? I understand there is middle school system in Dorchester and grammar school system in Poole and Bournemouth. We are not familiar with any of those. How full are the good schools? Many thanks for your comments.

The schools in many areas around Wareham have just changes from 3 tier (first, middle, upper) to 2 tier (primary, secondary).
There is a brand new primary school in sandford just outside Wareham that feeds into Lytchett minster school which is good.

Poole & bournemouth are separate LEAs from dorset, and have different school systems completely- some 3 tier, but poole mostly becoming 2 tier. The grammar schools start in year 7, and are more difficult to get into if you're not within the poole catchment.

I've not heard of anyone having trouble getting secondary places, but I haven't got kids of quite that age yet!

Wareham is lovely, if a bit sleepy small townish. The road from Wareham to everywhere else is gridlock on hot sunny days because it's the main route to all the beaches in the purbecks.

It depends on where you'd like to live- you can choose busy town, sleepy towns, suburbs, country villages, small hamlets. All are close enough to Wareham.

We live west of poole, fairly rural & DH commutes to bournemouth easily.

Though I think Christchurch would be a long commute to Wareham. Probably about an hour, maybe more in the summer when the tourists are here.

Very useful comments thank you. Christchurch is too far then. We will look at West Poole and Dorchester areas. I think we are hoping to find a lively small town: safe, affordable with good opportunities for the children education wise. Any suggestion welcome (not asking much! Lol). I am French and I am hoping to find other French people with bilingual kids for my children to mix with. Any thoughts on that? Dorchester is still a 3 tier system I think, any plan to move to 2 tier system? Many many thanks for taking the time to share your views.

Wareham is a good commute from Christchurch if your DH has a motorbike, not in a car, he'd spend half his trip sat in traffic. Apart from that Christchurch ticks all your other boxes, the lady that runs the breakfast/afterschool club at the Infant/Junior school is French too :)

Dorchester is lovely, don't know much about the schools as we aren't over there but museums, shops, transport links all good.

Dorchester is great for families and the schools are all very good. I haven't heard anything about going to a two tier system as my son is at private school. We don't have a huge problem with traffic unlike Bournemouth which used to drive me nuts in the summer.

Thank you all for your very useful comments. We are going down there next week and it looks like we need to look at Dorchester, Wareham and perhaps Gillingham , wimborne and sherborne ? Any thought on these last few one? Thanks.

Wimborne is lovely but again traffic on A31 can be a nightmare. Again sopposed to have great schools.
Gillingham I don't know much about but has a Waitrose.
Sherborne is lovely too but a lot quieter; more rural and older population but I really like it.

We live 7 miles from Wareham, our DC's go to a local village school and are thriving, looking at Purbeck which is gaining in reputation and have friends children and nephews there, also looking at Swanage for DD as a secondary school. If you want any futher information please feel free to PM me

Sorry but what do DC , DD and PM mean?Obviously a different language over there!!!!

Darling children, darling daughter and private message which is the message poster function on any of my posts.

I wouldn't commute from Gillingham or Sherborne to Wareham, Wimborne is doable as you will be going against the traffic mainly.

Lovely. Any thought on the French community?

Agree with 5 gomad- Wimborne def doable.
Sorry no idea about French community.
There are a few bilingual people that I know locally but they are english, lived in France a while hence bilingual..
But dorset is lovely!

what is the commuting like from dorchester to poole? thank you