New to Oxford - Seeking Primary School and Doctor Recs

[CarolineH5]

Hello - my family just moved to Oxford from the United States and we will be living in Summertown. I was hoping to get advice on what schools I should be looking at for my children. My son is 5 and I would like him to do reception this year since we are starting school a little late and he just turned five. My daughter will be three this December so she may not go to school just yet. We will be living JUST north of the cut off for the catchment area for Phil&Jim - I had heard it was a good school. But does anyone have any other suggestions? Also, would love suggestions for a good pediatrician or family practice doctor. Thanks much.

You might find this Oxfordshire County Council page on applying for a school place useful: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/transferring-or-moving-different-school

If your son turned 5 after September 1, then he would join a Reception class. If he turned 5 on August 31 or before, then he would be in Year 1. While there are new arrangements that parents of summerborn children can apply for a deferral, I'm not sure this can be done retroactively. You would need to speak with someone at the Council admissions team.

Catchement area will not really mean anything for an in-year application, your son will be offered a place at a nearby school where there is space. Schools may only take up to 30 children per class in the younger years.

I can only guess where you are, but the schools nearest to you are probably Phil and Jim, Wolvercote, St.Aloysius (Catholic) and Cuttleslowe.

If you are not happy with the school your son is assigned you may: a) enrol him at the assigned school until a place at your preferred school become available, b) enrol him at a private school, either temporarily or permanently, or c) home educate, either until a place becomes available, or as long as you wish.

Your will apply for your daughter's school place in Autumn 2017 and she will start school in September 2018. She will be eligible for 15 free hours of nursery/preschool a week the term after she turns 3, so the beginning of January.

As for your doctor question, all children see family practitioners (GPs, or General Practitioners) unless the need specialist Paediatric care. When I was a single adult, I was registered at Drs Chivers and Parker at the Jericho Health Centre and they were quite nice, but I don't know what area they restrict new patients to, and they may be too far South of you to be convenient.

This was all very helpful - thank you so much. Hopefully we can get an exception for a deferment. Thankfully there is no language barrier, but I do worry about people having a harder time understanding him because of the accent. Might be a silly concern of mine though.

Again, thank you for taking the time to explain all this - appreciate it!

No one will have trouble with his accent, unless he has the sort of accent that Americans outside your region of the US would have trouble understanding. (Lots of Americans in Oxford, and lots of American accents on the telly!)

Hi @CarolineH5, I know this is an old thread, but we just moved from the States and are living close to Summertown. Did you find a GP that you like? Would love a recommendation. Our six year old will be going to Summer Fields (we were in the same boat, wanting to hold him back due to late summer birthday and Phil and Jim’s wouldn’t allow it, so we’re going the private route).

Also, where did your daughter end up for preschool? We have 3 year old and 1year old daughters.