Bristol - best city areas for families

[Blinkandyou]

Hi all. We’re considering a move to Bristol and will be doing some recce trips soon. What areas have a family/community vibe plus good schools, but aren’t too far out (my wife doesn’t drive). We have one son, he’s almost 6. We’re looking for state schools, more keen on those with good pastoral care/nurturing ethos than ‘outstanding’ rating. Our budget is approximately £700K.

I would be grateful for any advice. Thank you.

Will you be commuting into Bristol for work? If so, whereabouts in Bristol? This might have a bearing on where in Bristol you should consider moving to.

My wife and I will both be working from home in the main, so commuting won’t be a factor. I hear the traffic can be pretty bad.

Traffic can be horrendous so I’d try and stay pretty close.

Clifton IMO is the nicest place to live in Bristol but it’s very pricey. You’d be looking at a small house/ large flat for £700k there.

State schools are generally good at primary level, but private/public schools at secondary seem to be the choice for many. Nowhere near Bridewell police station judging by the news tonight (don't worry there is very little housing around there). I grew up in Westbury-on-Trym, lived in Henbury and Shirehampton, all good areas.

Thanks to you both. We were hoping for a 3-bed house with a garden. Is that not v realistic? We definitely cannot afford private schools, I guess that means we would need to choose based on the location of good secondaries?

State secondaries in Bristol have a bad reputation. There are a lot of private schools in the city. Those two facts are connected but not sure which is chicken and which is egg.

Bristol is a county as well as a city so have a look in the local authority areas that adjoin Bristol such as South Gloucestershire; North Somerset; and Bath and North East Somerset (known locally as BANES). They will have their own education departments.

Not all state secondary schools in Bristol have a bad reputation but I would suggest you look on the local authority website for Bristol, South Gloucestershire etc to look at admission policies.
It should be noted that some the most popular /oversubscribed schools allocated places randomly (distance from school is not a consideration) e.g. Bristol Cathedral Choir secondary school, St Mary & Redcliffe secondary school.

You’ve given me a lot to think about. Right, I’ll do some research on schools. This is very useful, thank you very much.

@jennymac31, May I know how I can see the oversubscribed school list , please guide , Thanks a lot

For a budget of £700k you can readily buy a decent 3 bed with garden within the catchment of Redland Green School which is a lovely area.

However unless you are planning to have more children, in your position I would think you don't actually need to be totally dismissive of the private option.

Therefore I would actually be looking around St Werburghs and towards St Andrews, ensuring you are well within the catchment of Fairfield High School and that's a great area for families, but house prices are significantly lower than your budget, you'll get something great for £500k. Depending on how that £700k budget balances between equity vs expected mortgage, and given that you have a few years till y7, you could readily put some of your existing equity and/or some of the monthly income that would otherwise go into mortgage payments on a posher house into savings instead, and by the time your DS is ready to apply for y7 you would be fine to afford the fees for any of the private schools in Bristol except Clifton College which is a lot pricier. You may never need to do so if Fairfield ends up ticking all your boxes but you'd certainly have the option. And if you go for Fairfield you can then use the savings to either extend or move to a 4 bed home once that decision is made.

Its difficult to know what school will suit the 11-18 year old when all you know is the 5 year old! Schools change in character as the years go by too, so you can't predict what things will be like in 5 years, so keeping options open seems like a good idea to me.

@kellymilreduk - there isn't really a list as such but if you go on the Bristol City Council website you can see how places were allocated to each secondary school for the last few years. www.bristol.gov.uk/schools-learning-early-years/admissions-to-secondary-school-in-previous-years

I've added the link for places allocated this year but as this is just based on first round allocations this information may change over the coming months
www.bristol.gov.uk/schools-learning-early-years/allocation-of-new-year-7-places-for-september-2021

@jennymac31
Thank you so much.It is very useful let me to study again ,it is quit difficult for my case ,due to my kids is 15years old now that is really headache.

Have you thought about Portishead and Gordano as a school?

@OverTheRainbow88
let me check ,thank you for your information .

Hi I’d love some advice from parents about life in Bristol and found this thread. We’re a couple late 30s and DD is 2. We’ve visited Clifton, Redland and Hotwells and they seem great, with loads of amenities within walking distance and the countryside and Downs nearby. What is there for younger kids - play areas, nurseries, schools? And what is there for parents, we like to go dancing, a nice restaurant and some culture. There seem to be lots of older residents especially in Clifton, and lots of students. Are these good areas for young families? Thank you future neighbours!!

Are you planning on renting or buying? Have you looked into schools in Bristol?

It might be worth looking at Henleaze, Bishopston & Horfield if you've already visited Clifton and Redland.

It's also worth considering areas in South Bristol like Totterdown, Southville, Knowle and Brislington as you'll get more value for money.
Totterdown is worth considering if you

Thanks @jennymac31 I will look at those areas. We’d be buying. We liked the walkability of the areas we’d visited, lots to do and amenities within east reach. And a safe relaxed atmosphere. Maybe that is the same on other areas too though. We haven’t got as far as a detailed look at schools but apparently there are several private options to fall back on if places are scarce in state schools particularly secondary?

We are planning to move to Pilning, Bristol and my child has to go to Gordano,Portishead. Can someone advise if it is okay to drive up and down 40 mins a day for secondary school? Is there any direct bus from Pilning to Portishead? Thankyou