Newbie - Move to Bournemouth

[Am2015]

Hi All

Sorry I’m completely new to this so apologies if I’ve posted to the wrong place.

I really REALLY need some advice on moving to Bournemouth from London. I’ve got three kids under 10. I would like them to go to grammar school or one of the outstanding schools.

We need to find a house but haven’t a clue where to start looking. Which are the best areas for families with good communities?

Look forward to a response - if I’ve done this properly

Welcome Am.

No idea about Bournemouth, I'm afraid.

If you don't get many replies here, maybe repost in the chat section.

Do you have to.be in Bournemouth or.can you live nearby in one of the many.towns.and.villages. whats your budget for a house.

There are single sex grammars and.Catholic schools. Would that be important to you or are you looking at primary schools at the moment..what are your main priorities.

I'd go on the Bournemouth Grammar web sites..to see admissions info
I I live in Poole ...next door to Bournemouth we too have Grammar schools..might be with keeping in mind
BCP website will list all schools and their latest Ofsted grades.

Most Bournemouth secondary schools are truly awful. Best ones:

Grammar (both single sex)
St. Peter’s (catholic)

Southbourne is a good area to move to.

Then there’s:
Twynham (in Christchurch, strict catchment).

If I were you I would look at the catchment area of Winton/Glenmoor academies, these are both outstanding schools and I would try and get a house within the distance to which they gave their places out last year, they also run Grammar Streams.If your DC don’t pass the grammar test, these are a very good back and preferred by some over Grammar as they have mixed elements. Family areas around here are Winton, Moordown,Talbot Park but make sure you are nearer the schools within these areas than away, also depends on your budget. Good luck .

Wow thanks guys!! I’ll have a read through and respond in a mo x

So do you guys think I’m doing the right thing moving my family to Bournemouth - it’s not to do with work it’s purely lifestyle. The idea is to be near the beach and around lots of lovely families but I may be completely unrealistic. I spoke to some estate agents who said Talbot Woods was a good area but I’m more interested in fun areas with nice families.

Budget wise we’d have around £600k (moving from London helps). My kids are 9, and twins who are 4.

Do you guys know Littledown - that was another area suggested to us as well as Queen’s Park.

It’s so daunting - Christchurch looks lovely but I keep hearing comments about it being less for families and more for the retired. Surely that’s old news now and more families are moving there?

Hubby and I are heading down next Tuesday to have a look around. I’m excited. In the back of my kind I’ve convinced myself this is the right thing for my kids.

HappyHammy - thank you for your comment. I’m happy for the kids to attend religious schools though we’re not particularly religious. Ideally I want them to attend grammar but would also be happy with an outstanding state school.

Thank you Bonkersblond awesome advice!!

I was born and still live in Bournemouth. I went to Bournemouth School for Girls, which was a great school for me. I agree most other schools aren't great. Steer clear of Harewood College (or whatever it's called these days).Twynham is considered good also. The main problem with Bournemouth is congestion, so I would recommend looking at houses near your chosen school. Muscliff, Throop and East/West Way are nice areas near the Grammar Schools. Southbourne and Iford are nice areas near Twynham.

Avoid East and West Howe, Kinson, Boscombe and Winton.

My friend moved to southbourne 2 years ago for lifestyle too and loves it. She works locally and husband left his London job for something closer that also allowed working from home.

Thank you guys. Areas to avoid really helped

For your budget I would choose Talbot Woods, Queens Park, they are lovely areas and central to shops, transport, schools etc. Have you visited Bournemouth much? It can be a pretty busy place, the beach can get very very crowded in the nice weather especially around the town centre area. It's not all nice families, there can be quite a bit of crime and anti social behaviour. Bournemouth town centre is quite hilly for the shops but there are good shops in Castlepoint. Do you need to be near public transport? Will you be working?

Given the choice of Bournemouth or Christchurch, I would prefer Christchurch, it's quieter but there is a lovely harbour and shops. Mudeford and Highcliffe are nice.

I know a couple of families which have moved from London and they love it here! Will admit schools are very much up and down, the Winton/Glenmoor academies weren’t good until they got taken over by the trust which runs them now. Within the areas I mentioned previously I think you would be in catchment for St Johns Primary and Winton Primary, both scored very high in the league tables this year. Queens Park is a lovely area but not so good for school catchments, Littledown is next door to Queens Park, St. Peter’s Catholic primary is near but so is Harewood & Avonborne secondaries which at the moment are dire but have been taking over by the same academy trust as Winton/Glenmoor so may improve, who knows. Love Southbourne and Christchurch but traffic congestion between these and Bournemouth stop me living there until I retire and don’t have to worry about rush hour traffic!

Really useful thank you.

So I will need to travel but mostly will work from home as will my hubby (we currently have our own business)

If I did work it would need to be in the financial services sector, hopefully I can.

We are visiting Bournemouth next week and are seeing houses in Talbot Woods and Queens Park. I might see if we can view some in Christchurch too.

Thank you all so much for helping - it’s quite stressful and your comments/support have been invaluable x

Maybe have a look at Lilliput in the Poole area, Penn Hill, Canford Cliffs areas, all v.nice and near the beach. Good luck x

Does it have to be Bournemouth? It's a very mixed place and the presence of the grammar schools means the other schools suffer. What would your options be if your kids didn't get into the grammar schools? . The centre is pretty run down these days and depressing. A bit further along the coast into Hampshire will give you very good state secondaries, nice beaches and access to the New Forest and Southampton. Depends what you want but might be something to think about. Property is very expensive but you would get something for that budget. Also closer to London on the mainline to Waterloo if you want to get up there for a visit.

Thanks again guys. Can you suggest any areas ‘neednewcarpets’ please, I might do some research tomorrow.

Used to live in Queens Park and would comment that it is quite a haul to the beach. Similarly, Talbot Woods I think. Southbourne is better if the beach matters to you.
When DB was looking at schools for his DC St Peters was his preferred non grammar. Harewood ( previously Porchester) has always had a poor reputation but hopefully the new set up will work.
As someone mentioned, it is not all nice families, there is a very transient population, and in some areas the lovely, between the wars family houses have been converted in to 2 or 3 small flats or HMOs , so on street parking can be a nightmare . Its also a bit of a party town, you get students from London, Southampton and Portsmouth going clubbing down there as well.
If I was going back to live in the area, I would probably choose Christchurch or if schools were an issue, I would look closely at the Borough boundary to get to the grammar catchment.
TBH, I am not sure I would move back. It strikes me as being run down these days.

Highcliffe, Barton, Hordle are near the sea. Lymington is yacht Central and very expensive but lovely. Priestlands is a good school, sporty I think. There are three mainline stations in the area - Brockenhurst (right in the Forest, crazily busy in the summer, good sixth form college), Sway and New Milton. New Milton is a more mixed area, good secondary school (Arnewood). Highcliffe secondary also good. Lot of retired people in the area but families as well. Bournemouth is a university town so very different from the forest. The Forest is very affluent (apart from New Milton). Go and have a look and see what you think. Personally I would rather live in this part of Hampshire than Bournemouth and the quality of the schools in Hampshire would be a big factor.

Thank you again guys

Regarding Littledown, I grew up there and my parents are still there so visit regularly. It’s reasonably quiet and safe, but a bit of a soulless estate with no amenities (although you can walk to the leisure centre and associated park down near the hospital). There are families there, but certainly on my parents road there are surprisingly few. I wouldn’t choose to live there. And I think the catchment secondaries (used to be called Avonbourne and Portchester, think they are different now) are pretty poor by all accounts.