primary school and home in different boroughs

[spidgel]

Hello
Can anybody help me? We live in Islington and are moving to Enfield in the summer. The local primary of our choice in Enfield is full up and my 2 children (ages 4 and 6) will be allocated in schools across the borough with no guarentee of being placed in the same school. We are thinking of keeping them in their present school in Islington untill their names come to the top of the waiting list for the Enfield school of our choice. My daughter has a place to start reception and my son will be starting yr 2 in the Islington school. The commute from Enfield to Islington school is very quick by overland train (less than 30 mins).
Can you move from your borough but still keep your kids in their school? I'm thinking yes but would appreciate some confirmation from other mums.

Thankyou!

Hi yearningforthesun
Thankyou for your quick reply.. It has given me some peace of mind. My youngest dc already has her place to start at rec class in the islington school so I'm hoping it won't be an issue for the school. It's not like we are applying for a place for her.
Will keep you posted!

You are allowed to move! Just tell people that you're waiting for places at local schools as you missed the application rounds. Which is the truth.

You shouldn't really need to tell people anything, to be honest. Once you've got a place they cannot take it away from you just because you move. You can move to Carlisle and still send your children to school in Islington if you want, although I wouldn't recommend it!

I live on the border of 3 London boroughs - my GP is in Lambeth, my house in Southwark, and 2 out of 3 our closest primaries are in Lewisham. We applied to Lewisham schools and no Southwark schools which was more of a gamble than I realised, as I've since been told only your own borough has a duty to find you a school place....and then only if you apply! Eek. Since my first child got in, it is now Ofsted-ed as 'Outstanding' and the catchment has shrunk by 40%...I'd have to home school now I think...

Now have both kids at their non-borough school, and a few friends there have since moved to West Wickham and Bromley (technically Kent!) and they still commute in: some because they are waiting for a place, sometimes 2 years later, and some because they love the school/ kids are settled/ they've had 4 kids go through already etc.

Good luck with the love and the commute

Thanks to all of you for your responses. It is so difficult when you move with school age kids and you live in London. In hindsight wish we'd moved before no.1 hit school age!

In the primary school, in Islington, where I am a governor, it is not unusual for parents to move but leave the children in the school for a while, providing the commute not too long. Often parents would rather not move their children part way through a year anyway.

Its a question of practicality and convenience.