Thinking about moving to Harrogate - some advice needed!

[Bobinka]

Hi everyone. My partner and I are currently in the process of returning to the UK after some time abroad, and we're considering where we want to settle. Top of our list currently is Harrogate - we love its proximiy to Leeds, York, and the Dales, plus it seems a nice size - not too big but not too small. We're also looking at Ilkley and Skipton, but Harrogate seems the favourite right now. I used to live in Leeds so know the area fairly well.

Anyway, before we start to look for properties, we'd love to hear any recommendations for decent areas within Harrogate and particularly which primary schools are good. Or perhaps more importantly, are there any areas or primary schools that you would recommend avoiding? We have two kids - one is 2.5 years old and the other 3 months. So we want to make sure we move somewhere in a good catchment area for primaries.

Thanks in advance for any help!

I’ll be following this with interest.
We have been looking, and seem to be able to afford, a decent size house in the Bilton area but I have no idea what it’s like. We know to avoid Jennysfield.
Hopefully you’ll get some good pointers.

@AllTheUsernamesAreAlreadyTaken - hi there! Any reason to avoid the Jennysfield area? I'm coming into this with pretty much zero info, so it would be great to know your thoughts on that. All I've heard is that the south side of the town is known to be desirable. Thanks!

For a bit more info, I don't really mind how close to the centre or other amenities we would live, apart from a decent school. I've lived all my life in big cities, so anywhere will be close enough to the centre or anywhere else in town. I just want to make sure we live in an area that is safe and a decent place to bring up kids.

I think it’s the worst part in terms of crime etc.

Jennyfields*

Wharfedale Montessori looks amazing, don't live in that area of the country but would consider for that school

Jennyfields is only rough for Harrogate, the truth is it's fine. Harrogate is growing really fast right now and you will find new houses being built far from any local amenities which is not good.
My dc are older, so not sure about primary schools, but getting a gp appointment is very hard and traffic is a nightmare- York is less than 20 miles away, but can take more than 90 minutes to drive.
It's definitely a sellers market here at the moment, houses are selling for full price in days.
I wouldn't choose it I was moving right now.

I'm in Harrogate. The whole town is lovely and all schools are good. Although Jennyfields (and Starbeck) have a poor reputation locally they are certainly not bad at all compared to some parts of Leeds for example. I have friends who live in both areas and they are fine and affordable.
The "best" areas of town are considered to be the south side- if you can be within 1 mile of the Grammar School you will be in catchment but you will pay for this!

Try Karesborough. Or some of the villages on the road between York and Knaresborough.

I’d look at Oatlands area off Leeds Road. Oatlands also has an outstanding (I think) rated primary school. It’s a good location to walk into town and you’ve also got buses from Leeds road and trains from Hornbeam Park.

I was going to suggest Knaresborough too, a couple of miles outside Harrogate. On the same train line and lots of buses between the two. Excellent schools and a nice place, but a market town, not a large town like Harrogate.

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

We have also thought about Knaresborough - it seems a lovely little town, and having a train station is a big plus. Not all that many houses on the market though, so I guess you'd need to be a bit lucky to find the right one there.

So it seems like Harrogate is mostly safe and nice, with the bad areas not being all that bad at all. That's what I assumed (and hoped). I grew up in Nottingham, where the bad areas are genuinely dangerous, so I'll be glad to live somewhere without those problems.

The bits of Harrogate which are deemed ‘less nice’ are Jennyfields, Bilton, Starbeck. It’s all relative though - they’re not in any way ‘rough’ compared to a bigger city.

Otley Road, the Dutchies, the Saints and Harlow Hill are deemed the desirable ends, but come with a price tag to match.

Schools wise, again there’s nothing too terrible. The sought after schools are Oatlands, Western and Coppice Valley.

I’ve heard not great things about Willow Tree and Grove Road, but I’ve also not had my ear to the ground for a few years, so those views may be outdated.

Hello everyone! We’re hoping to move to the Saints/woodlands area and wanted to see if anyone could provide a bit more info on the primary schools in that area. If you’re not in the catchment area for a primary school that’s close by, is there little chance of you getting in? Or does it really vary depending on how many applications they get each year? We like the look of Oatlands but not sure if we’ve any hope of getting in as our catchment area is Willow Tree.