Moving to Sevenoaks

[Mari3J]

Hello,
My son is starting Sevenoaks school in September and we have decided to move from London so he doesn’t have to commute every morning. We have looked into boarding but he doesn’t want to board. I have a 9 year old boy and a baby. I am looking for a good primary school for my 9 year old. I can’t decide whether to go for state or private. Does anyone have any recommendations on good state or private schools in the area? We are also looking to rent but I don’t drive so would like to be near the town centre. Are there any particularly nice areas to live not far from amenities? Is there an international community in the town ? Are there any family clubs nearby ? Is Sevenoaks relatively safe place to live ? Sorry for bombarding with so many questions I am just worried I will feel isolated having moved with my 3 boys. I have never lived in the countryside and it will be a big change after London , I just hope a positive one. Thank you so much for any suggestions.

Do you really need to move? Loads of kids commute to Sevenoaks from London. it seems like a lot of upheaval for the whole family to relocate. We are SS parents and have been through a similar dilemma (we are in SE London). We opted to stay where we are and continue the commute. it's a bit of a headache right now, but in a year or two or DD can get the train on her own (she's in yr 7 now so a bit too young in our view).

Same dilemma for us too, in the coming year. We live in SE London so it's possible to commute. Not sure am ready to leave the city yet!

@LuluKentGirl is the commute okay for your DD? Do they still have energy to do homework etc?

Sevenoaks is a large town with leisure facilities and plenty going on. Very safe and leafy.

Sevenoaks centre is a nice town, bit of a trek from the station, what's your rental budget? Do you really want to move from London, Sevenoaks is easy to get to. I wouldn't call it very international.

There is a house to rent near sevenoaks primary, and the station where there is a shuttle bus to sevenoaks school, it will be different to living in London especially if you are central but London is easy to get to if you miss it.m

@HappyHamsters would you say it's better to stay near the station and use the shuttle or live near the school and drive to the station for work? Do you absolutely need a car to get by in Sevenoaks?

If I was buying to settle and not commute I would live nearer the school end and its an easy walk to the town centre, if I was renting probably live nearer the bus or train station if I needed to commute and use the school bus. The 8 bus runs from the school but the bus service is not that great for commuters.

yes it's ok, but there's no pretending it is a long and busy day. i drive DD at the moment which saves a bit of her energy relative to getting the train. depending on traffic we are usually home around 6.30pm ish, and she does homework for around 30-45 mins usually. in future years obviously we expect the homework burden to increase, but as she gets older she'll gain more stamina too.

'driving to the station' is not as easy as it sounds, as the station parking isn't especially close to the main station building. so depending on where you live in town, it might be near-enough as easy just to walk (and save cost of parking too). there are quite a few residential roads just off the town centre, that would be a 10-15 min walk to both SS and the station (in opposite directions).

I think moving is a good idea because your child will be very tired, although the commute is possible and okay if needed! Houses in that area look pretty expensive 🤑