Moving to York

[eatfairycakes]

Apologies if this has been asked before but having read through many of the previous threads I am looking for some more advice based on my own circumstances.

We are looking to move to York next year for my husbands work. I have 2 primary school aged children, reception and year 2. He will be working in the centre of the city therefore looking at the surrounding villages is not an option due to travel times (and traffic).

Other than travelling to York on the odd occasion I have no idea where to even start with looking for a house.

One of the main factors for us is being in an area which is in the catchment area for a good secondary school. I have noted that fulford and archbishop holgate are very popular.

Ideally we are looking for a house around the £400-500k mark which looking at right move im not sure will get us that far!

so my queries are:

1. are there any areas that would fall in the catchment area of the above schools that you would recommend?
2. are there are any areas to avoid/flood risk?
3. anything else that I should consider?
4. what is the diversity of the schools in general in York? we are not caucasian and the children will have come from schools that are ethnically diverse

I understand there is alot there but I would be happy to take ANY advice I can get!

I wouldn't discount villages surrounding York due to working in the city center. It only takes around 30 minutes on the bus from villages like Stamford Bridge, where you'll get more for your money than in town. There are a number of villages that would put you in the catchment for Fulford or Archbishops, for example Dunnington for Fulford.

York is not very diverse, but my DC at Archbishops have a number of friends who are of different ethnicities.

For Fulford School, the Fulford Road area is nice (including Fulford ‘village’ which is still within the city area). Some of the properties near the river in this area could be at risk of flooding - check the flood maps online.

For Archbishop’s, Badger Hill and Osbaldwick are nice suburban areas. The Tang Hall area is also within catchment for Archbishops but is not as nice, though a dodgy area in York is still fairly safe.

As the previous poster said, the villages are not too far out of York with reasonable bus journeys to the city centre, but I would say that services are limited at evenings and weekends. There are also the Park & Ride sites around the city where you can park your car and get a bus to the city centre.

York isn’t very diverse. My DD is at primary school in one of the areas I’ve mentioned, and in her class there’s a few Asian, black, and mixed-race children, plus a few children whose parents are from other European countries. I’d say that is fairly typical of the school and the wider area.

The school seems very inclusive and I’ve never heard anyone being racist - but I’m white so I don’t think it’s something that I can really comment on.

Heworth Village?

Thankyou so much for the replies. I am definitely going to consider some of the surrounding villages.

in regards to the secondary schools are there any others that you would recommend? Alternatively are there any to avoid?

we really need to get moving on putting our home on the market so need to pin down where to start the hunt for the new house

My DD is still in primary school, so I’m not as familiar with secondary schools, but the only one I’ve heard being described as ‘not great’ is York High School in the Acomb area (some parts of Acomb are deprived - Chapelfields in particular). But I don’t know the details of the issues (exam results, kids behaviour etc).

if you don’t mind me asking where would you be keen to send your DD? I’m aware that some of the Primary schools are feeder schools into particular secondaries? It’s not something that I know much about as we don’t have it locally.

Huntington School received an outstanding OFSTED rating last November. I don't think any of the secondary schools in York are bad. I don't have children but I volunteer as a Careers Advisor at secondary schools. I have friends who are very happy with Fulford and Archie's. All saints has a good reputation but is obviously Catholic. I would suggest finding an area where you want to live as the schools all seem good. Happy for you to PM me if I can help more. I moved up from London in 2019 and could not be happier.

@eatfairycakes I’d be happy with Fulford, Archbishops, or Manor, as they’re the schools I know the most about. I don’t know much about Joseph Rowntree, Huntington, Millfield, or All Saints.

The primary schools aren’t feeder schools, but the catchment areas for secondary schools tend to cover three or four primary school catchments. So if you’re in catchment for Tang Hall Primary, for example, you’re also in the catchment for Archbishops, but you’re not guaranteed a place as it depends on the admission criteria.

All the information on catchment areas is on this part of the council
website:

Thankyou for your reply, and the school catchment area I keep try looking at and it makes my head hurt! Wish they had a simpler map for each school.

in realistic/practical terms what are the main differences between Fulford and archbishops? We are trying to look for a house in a suitable catchment area, however the children wouldn’t be starting secondary school for another few years.

My eldest is at Manor. She is very happy there and seems to be doing very well. However, I have heard rumours that Manor are less good with kids with SEN. They are also a church school and that is relevant sometimes so maybe not the best school for you if you are a committed atheist or another religion.

Fulford is a bit hot houseish and crap with pastoral issues. Archies is popular but I think Huntington takes a lot of beating tbh. Really good school and your budget would get something nice.

You might find the ‘Guide for Parents’ on the website useful as well, as it lists all the schools, abd the admissions information for the past three years.