Moving to Winchester - need insider advice

[Babymassagebasingstoke]

We are thinking about moving to Winchester to give our children (currently aged 2 and 5) a chance to attend better schools than the ones near us. We are living in Basingstoke and the schools here are dire!

We are thinking of moving to South Wonston or Kings Worthy but I am after some thoughts from people who actually live there.

What are these areas like to live in, what amenities are there nearby, things to do and obviously the most important question is what are the schools like, both primary and secondary?

Thank you x

Kings worthy would be my strong preference out of the two to be honest. Better primary schools and busses into Winchester. Is bit more happening. think both should put you in the Henry Beaufort catchment for secondary which is considered the less desirable of the three Winchester secondaries, but tbh I’m not sure why. It is still a pretty good school.

Kings Worthy better and a bit less cut off

Kings Worthy's lovely! It has a proper community feel with lots going on. The primary school is great, with an excellent head. You are indeed in catchment for Henry Beaumont at secondary - and almost all of the Y6s went there last year. As pp said, it's considered the least desirable of the 3 secondaries, but would probably be considered great if it was in a different town. It has a strong Progress 8 score... I think the lack of blazers puts people off

Ps HB is definitely better than any of the Basingstoke comps...

It's looking like we won't be able to afford a decent house in Kings Worthy so South Wonston is looking more likely

Stupid house prices. Probably worth having a look at South Wonston Primary then. I've heard vague rumours of some weird set up with two classes, ie 60 kids, in one large space, but I've never visited, so may have got completely the wrong end of the stick! It does take kids from the local army base so potentially has a high turnover of children... not necessarily a problem, but worth seeing how they manage it.

The other option to consider might be somewhere in Perrins catchment, over in Alresford? Alresford Junior School I think has had some difficulties, but there are lots of other lovely little village primaries that feed into it. They also bus in kids from the Basingstoke area, oddly enough: www.perins.net/admissions/buses/basingstoke-bus/

If schools are your main driver then there are large numbers of children busing from Basingstoke out to HB, Perins, Testbourne and RMS depending where in Basingstoke you are. I think a bus has just started to Amery Hill in Alton too. I don't think there are issues with primary schools though. I'm happy to answer a PM if that would help you.

Maybe consider Chandlers Ford for more affordable housing than Winchester, with good primary schools and Thornden as a very well-regarded secondary school? It’s still close to Winchester and is a nice enough area with good amenities and easy motorway access.

There have been several years of a surplus of secondary places which has allowed Basingstoke children to access out of catchment schools, the current year 6 is larger, year 5 a little smaller going up again for younger years, it’s going to be difficult without siblings with places for children to go out of Basingstoke for school. OP have you looked at Whitchurch, more bang for your buck than Winchester in catchment for outstanding primary and secondary, lots then go on to Peter Symmonds for 6th.

I’m not sure houses in South Wonston are much cheaper than Kings Worthy. You need to have a good look round at both villages as there is a lot of difference between the various areas in kingsworthy.

I’ve lived in KW and still have a house in SW. I prefer SW but I’m not sure the school has a great reputation, however I guess it’s all relevant to what you have in Basingstoke. I think SW has a lot of families from Worthy Down army camp, not sure how that affects numbers/turnover of kids etc.

SW has a great new village hall, a great rec and park. Also less busy with traffic - Springdale Rd in KW is a rat run unfortunately.

Hope that helps a bit.