Primary schools Moseley/Kings Heath

[1Bobbinwinder]

OK! Hi all local MNers.

I know this has been done to death - really, I do - but I just want to make sure I have fully understood the situation re: getting my kids into an ok primary school in this part of town. (I have done my homework on past threads, I'm google-mapping, I'm reading Ofsted reports and seeing cut-off distances over last 3 years for each school, etc).

From what I can see, there is one easily accessible primary school in Moseley (Park Hill). King David, Moseley C of E are out because we're not religious and Anderton Park, um, well.

There are 3 good schools in KH - Woodthorpe, Comore and KH Primary...what about Wheeler's Lane?

I would be very grateful if anyone could shed any light on this.

I'm a natural freaker-outer so am beginning to think we'll have to live in this 2 bed flat in London FOREVER even when our kids are 17 and 15...

Thanks!

Colmore and Wheelers Lane are quite some distance from Park Hill and from Anderton Park.
If you are in the catchment for the former you won't be for the latter.

Do I take it you are moving to Birmingham ?
Are you thinking about areas you might live or do you have a specific place you know you will be living ?

Are your dc pre-schoolers or are you hoping for places for older dc?

Hah! I've done enough reading to know that hoping for spaces for older DC is pretty pointless..

No they are 2.5 And 4 months so we have that on our side. Yes we are planning a move within the next 6 months. We will rent initially then look to buy somewhere nearish. So important to rent a place near a decent school...I just find it hard to get a real sense of schools by looking at websites etc although mumsnet in particular has been very helpful!

As for areas we liked KH/Moseley as do most people on here it seems. Open to other areas but sort of need to decide on one place fairly soon.

Do you want to give an idea of your budget, and what you need in a house for that ? (How many bedrooms / near a train / etc?)

Quite a few Brummies on here but difficult to start advising if we stray into areas that you can't afford

Moseley is a really, really mixed area. Some beautiful I can only dream of houses but some... ahem... less desirable areas too.

Yes I've seen some of the same names pop up time and time again in these threads and am beginning to think some of you could start a side hustle as "relocation consultants" (just found out they exist!)

So...

We would love 3 bed at least, 4 in an ideal world. A garden. Big garden when end up buying as husband very keen gardener.

Commuting... he WFH mostly with the odd trip to London. I'm on maternity leave but will look for a job in one of the hospitals in Birmingham (nurse) when the time comes.
I'm used to ghastly commutes plus as a shift worker will be leaving before people and coming back after so not too stressed about that. I have heard the traffic is a total nightmare in Birmingham but I honestly don't think it can be worse than London... I hope...

Budget to rent well if it's in a good school catchment and had plenty of space I guess 2k? To buy, well there's a house on Chantry Road that's just come back on that I'm keen on (being slightly tongue in cheek there, but that is the dream...)

One very kind mumsanetter gave me some great info over PM and recommended Bearwood but we weren't hugely keen on the high street. Only did a quick visit so will have another look probably

What sort of budget (for buying) ?

750-800.

Calling
@TwoGinScentedTears
@Domino45
@LKRJM
@1Bobbinwinder
@GonzoFlyingProducts
@KingsHeathen

I'm sure there are loads of others......

With that kind of money, I think most people would direct you to Sutton Coldfield.
Harborne is nice but lacks quality secondary schools.
Bournville and some parts of Kings Norton have some nice houses in that range.

Many suburbs in Birmingham have really mixed areas - Moseley is definitely like that, as is Kings Norton and so is Edgbaston. Some really beautiful houses within a mile or so of some very deprived areas.
With that kind of money, I'm not sure many folk would be aiming to get in to Park Hill or Anderton Park (she says politely).

I agree with BackforGood. Or Solihull. I'm not sure there's a house for sale in KH that costs as much as £750k at the moment! Houses in KH cost maybe round about £300K. You could get a big house (6 bed, massive garden) in Moseley for that budget.
KH Primary is a lovely school but suffering hugely due to the cuts. Wheeler's Lane has better facilities and is a good school afaik.
Consider Moor Green Primary which came out of special measures a couple of years ago and was Ofsted outstanding last time I looked.
Park Hill was also in special measures a bit ago but will probably have the same demographic as Anderton Park. I would check current Ofsted reports for all, you can do that online.
Re. commute - both KH and Moseley are getting train stations in a couple of years. That is likely to ease commuting pressure. Traffic is only really bad at peak commuting times IME so if you were working shifts it might not even affect you.
Moseley village is loads nicer than KH High street.

Also bear in mind that Birmingham is a grammar school area; this makes a difference to education overall. Solihull is not, and the state schools there are apparently very good and the houses more in your budget. It is a completely different atmosphere though to Birmingham or London, so you would have to visit and see how you felt. I'm trying to be diplomatic, but I would say in my experience, if you like Moseley/ KH, you probably won't like Solihull and vice-versa!

And, Grammars now have catchment areas, which may catch you out ...

Just for the sake of taking a different approach, if you have 750k you might consider just being clever with the money. 500k is a very nice budget anywhere in Brum, so find a house you love in an area you really like, put a couple of hundred in trust and send your kids to prep school. Six years prep school for two kids, at the Blue Coat School for instance, will set you back about 180k and you'll guarantee them an amazing time at an amazing school with 20k spare to pay for trips and hockey sticks. There are LOADS of tax breaks and schemes and investment vehicles designed specifically for this and amazingly the schools themselves are a great source of info on all of them !

It's also worth knowing that the famous King Edward VI Grammar schools are simply packed FULL of ex-prep school kids. The last year of prep school in Brum is all about guaranteeing success in the 11+. Those kids just DO have a huge advantage - it's not fair, but it is true. Continuing the "not fair" theme, when it coms to getting them into grammar schools who as mentioned, now have catchment areas, you (i.e. the trust) can buy a house in Bartley Green (for Five Ways) or Handsworth (For Handsworth Girls) for 50k, register and get the place then just sell it. I know three families who are planning to do this next year. I don't endorse the "not fairness" I just witness it.

If I had known 'then' what I know now when I moved here from London I would have done exactly this.

Just a thought and a different approach because honestly, half a million is going to get you a really, really nice house almost anywhere in Birmingham and going private for primary takes a lot of the "post code lottery" and simple stress out of the early years.You can live wherever you want without having to measure the feet and inches to the catchment area of the school you've chosen and compromised your living arrangements for.

But be aware - if you want your kids to go to Blue Coat or West House or any of the better thought of prep schools you need to register them now - like first thing Monday morning.

Hello, thanks for the shout out @BackforGood, had to go back to this name for this.

Sexond the suggestion of Moor Green. I hear the most amazing things about it. KH primary wasn't my cup of tea at all. Really busy location and small site. No uniform, and just not that great. And yes, they've suffered massively because of the cuts.

Wheelers Lane is lovely. Normal school, diverse, mixed in lots of ways, my favourite of the lot. Last year it was a low birth rate and was under subscribed (75 in reception instead of 90) which meant that people well out of catchment got in.

Re houses, Chesterwood Road is lovely, big gardens, period houses, quiet. Blenheim. Rd, Greenhill Rd, all the roads off Billesley Lane are lovey and you might bump into Ronnie Wood round there!

There's also a couple of lovely roads near to Yardley Wood Station, which would be handy for the station, but further out for the school. Having said that, I think Billesley school has a good reputation, and might not have been one you'd considered. A curve ball maybe and worth a look?

Secondary schools is harder. Queensbridge is where most non grammer kids are sent (and plenty of people round here don't entertain the 11 plus). A new school is being built though. In Yardley Wood. I think it's going to be a C of E school though.

Rambling now. Does this help?

This all helps hugely and just why I decided to be brave and make an ACTUAL post on mumsnet rather than lurking and commenting. Thanks.

So to address a few things...

From what I have seen on visits and what I've read, KH/Moseley fit the bill in terms of amenties, transport, green space, and "atmosphere" for what we're looking for. I felt that in SC we would be sort of stuck up there, and have to venture down into the city to explore. We already have to do that here and it's just not what I was looking for - a 20/30 minute journey into town as a starting point for exploring and enjoying the city. I could be wrong there though? I've read many times Bournville is a bit quiet and low on amenities. Harborne just didn't do much for us when we visited and we had quite a good wander around.

@BackforGood mixed areas I can cope with. But good to keep an eye out so that we don't end up in the "wrong" bit! That information on schools is great and exactly what I needed to know. I had a nice feeling about Wheeler's Lane from what I read and also saw that it admitted everyone for the last 2 years so that was encouraging. Great tip about Moor Green. I read someone on here warning very vaguely against Park Hill but couldn't see why, so I guess the special measures thing would be it.

@GonzoFlyingProducts of course it was you that gave me such comprehensive advice last time. What you say is food for thought. But I've never been totally sold on private education, especially from a very young age. I went to a prep school and didn't have a wonderful time, and I know a handful of people who were privately educated from birth more or less who are now very unhappy basement-dwellers. They would say it crushed them. If I could ensure that spending lots of money on hockey sticks would make my kids happy I would do it and happily but I'm just not sure it's a guarantee. That said it's certainly worth looking into independent schools to cover all bases. (Ironically my husband said nervously to me "I'll make some phonecalls on Monday" before we'd even read your message. Anyway I hear we're too late for Blue Coat as you need to sign them up from birth more or less).

@TwoGinScentedTears Yes, it helps. Ramble away!Thanks for advice on particular roads. And again, pleased to hear that Wheelers Lane is nice! It's so hard as I just don't know if my children with be dandelions and thrive anywhere, or orchids, and need a delicate approach. I mean I have an inkling about the 2 year old but the 4 month old..God only knows!

Glad I lifted you off 'Unanswered Threads' and have got the discussion going

I felt that in SC we would be sort of stuck up there, and have to venture down into the city to explore. We already have to do that here and it's just not what I was looking for - a 20/30 minute journey into town as a starting point for exploring and enjoying the city.

I'm not advocating SC at all, but it will take you that long to get into town from KH too.....
For your 'day to day' stuff, both areas have their own High Streets.
I think KH has a nice 'vibe' - lot of young families live in the area

I guess it's the idea that if I wanted, I could walk out the door and get to the city in an hour. Which is quite close to me. But SC would be two and a half hours and down an A-road and that's not so appealing.

Hi @1Bobbinwinder - just came across this thread and wondered whether you made a decision yet. We are in similar position to you, thinking of moving out of London and probs similar budget. We toyed with idea of Moseley for a while then finally got into primary of choice where we live and out of decision of moving for a while. Now thinking of secondary which will need in 3 yrs! And reading threads re harborne Moseley and others. Would love camp hill but not sure DDs up to 11+. Would love to know what decisions you came to re areas..

Hi!

We moved to Harborne in the end! Basically we scoured the rental market and a lovely house came up in the catchment area for two good schools.

We moved 1st April (!) So was pretty intense. It's early days but we are getting out and about more and so far so good.

It's just green and pretty and I can walk to Waitrose. But I can also get a superb curry delivered to my my house. Plus the people seem super friendly and welcoming.

Please PM me although my thinking on secondary schools is kind of hazy at the moment given that it's a long way off.

Evening Ladies, I’m a newbie here. Sorry to start the thread back up again and most likely with the same sort of questions however I am moving to Birmingham/Shropshire area from South Yorkshire with my husband and 2 children as my husband works in Dudley.
I spend hours every night looking on rightmove, school checking primary schools as my DS is currently in yr2 and DD will be starting 2021
Where we currently live, you don’t have to be in a catchment area for a primary so it’s just luck with getting in the best primary schools however moving, I know I need to be in catchment area so my question is, do I find a house I love and hope the there is space in the good local primary? What if there are no spaces in the catchment areas? Do the local council make you go to any old school? Also I would ideally like a grammar school (I would choose private but DH will not entertain the thought.)

Also lists of any nice, areas that are within 30mins drive of Dudley?

Dudley comes under a different Education Authority from Birmingham so I can't answer about catchment areas. In Birmingham, schools don't have 'catchment areas' as such, but pupils are admitted on criteria which will move to 'distance from school s a deciding factor, and yes, there are some schools with quite small distances. Yes, the authority is obliged to 'find you a space' but it isn't, obviously, able to 'find you a place in a school that is full'. It will let you know where the nearest spaces are available to you.

Hi all

Thank you for this thread. Not sure how mumsnet works- new first time mum - but was looking at primaries in Kings Heath and wanted to ask if anyone knows if Colmore Primary school is the best in the Kings Heath area? From this thread, it sounds like Wheelers Lane is also good. Does anyone have experience of both? I will look at their ousted reports too.

Thank you

Hey!

It seems to me that the 2 most popular primary schools are Colmore and King's Heath. 2 quite different schools.

To be honest, we're spoiled for choice for primary schools. Woodthorpe is a one form entry, so you won't hear loads about it, but if you're in catchment we'll worth a look, especially if you want the small school feel. But I don't hear bad things about any of the local primary schools, although I do know a couple of families that were unhappy with St dunstans.

There are lots of other primary schools so I wouldn't worry too much about which one you get, honestly. The big thing is secondary schools. So, I'd be aware of catchments for those more than for primary, unless you plan on moving in years 4 or at a push, 5.

We're very lucky here to have so many lovely schools. So, I'd consider how you're going to get to school (parking is inevitably an issue) as a key priority.

I'd agree with TwoGin

I don't think one is "better" than the other. I'd look at which one I can walk to, and be most likely to get in to.