Where to live with good primary schools in central London

[orderlyhall]

I have a 2 and a bit year old boy and am expecting 2 more in 6 months which means we need to move into a bigger flat. Since my son soon be of primary school age, we're also having to take into account schools as we think about where to move. Husband and I earn good salaries but have concluded that we likely won't be able to afford private school for 3 so are having to choose a neighborhood with good primary school options.

We are American and European (not British) so (a) it is important for us to be quite central and close to our friends (who all live central as well, generally west London) and not too far from work (W1 and SE1) (b) we're not really thinking about secondary school at this stage because we may not be in London at that point (we may be, too soon to tell) so we're not factoring that in.

Having done some research about state primary schools, our approach is to target neighborhoods that aren't crazy expensive with 2 good/outstanding primary schools in close proximity to each other and either buy/rent in the middle to increase our chances of admission. So far the two neighborhoods we've found that meet our criteria are Clapham Commons (Honeywell, Belleville) and Brackenbury Village (John Betts, Brackenbury). (I'm aware these are v pricey neighborhoods but not as expensive as, say, Hamstead, which may have 2 good primary schools too but we haven't even looked because the prices are even higher.)

So my question is: given our criteria, is this a good approach? Are there any neighborhoods/schools we may have overlooked? Grateful for any thoughts. Thanks

GateGipsy, it did when I went to school, and it does where I live now, but as I said, it was a long time ago, so I am happy to be told that it's different now. I just do know of people then who moved close to Honeywell and Belleville deliberately, but policy changed to only accept children from Wandsworth. As I said, that was then
. A similar system operates where I live now (not London), so I assumed that this was also still the case elsewhere. I was clearly wrong and I apologize for confusing matters.

Dulwich /here hill or east Dulwich? Although same problem with postage stamp catchment areas....

As a North Londoner I've not got anything to add to the Clapham discussion. I'm in Islington which ( in my view!) is fab. As well as William Tyndale andThornhill which you mentioned, I'd look at Gillespie in Highbury - tiny catchment but a lovely area to live in.

I think it would be very odd to reject schools on the basis of high ESL if all the other indicators are good. Our school has very high ESL because we are in central London and it's very international. My son's BF is a native Russian speaker and my daughter's class is chock full of French and Spanish speakers. This is what makes London London.

I wouldn't rule out Kentish Town on that basis. I have friends with chidlren in Torriano and it's very good.

As for FSM, I wish we qualified!

I would seriously consider richmond full of Americans and other europeans very international.they are here because schools are so good .further to travel but totally worth it .Like being in the country but with access to city.

Have you considered Barnes? We were originally looking in your areas near Ravenscourt Park, but ended up just south of Hammersmith Bridge. It's quick to get to the city, which without a car, is very important to us. All the local state schools are excellent and you have the great amenities of Barnes Village. Lowther has a great new building and Barnes Primary has a great reputation.

My suggestion would be to look round some of the schools in SE1 and W1 - you might be pleasantly surprised by what you find e.g. state primaries with swimming pools etc.

OP, Belmont in Chiswick is a fab school, but you need to live really close to get in and property is expensive.

My advice is DO think of secondaries NOW. Go for the whole package. You feel you have all the time in the world, but when the time comes you will have your first child about to transfer and your other two still in primary and what will you do, move the younger ones who will be half way through, with friends, etc? Six years ago DH and I thought "we may not be in London when the time comes" and here we are, in London and the time has come in the blink of an eye.

Hi OP. Brackenbury area is a great place to bring up kids. I heard Brackenbury Rd primary is moving to 3 form entry so the catchment should expand a bit. You pay a premium for living within Brackenbury Village itself in W6, try the 'wrong side' of Goldhawk Rd into W12 and still in school catchments but more affordable housing.

hi OP I just wish you don't find the area where I live. 3 very good schools and a lovely post code not crazy expensive but...we don't need another stuck up family who look down at FSM and ESL...at least you are not looking for advice on how to get into a faith school but we also have 2 of them.

Hmm. The FSM and ESL comment passed me by on first read. Living in London is great because of the diversity and I want that to be reflected in my kids education and friendships. I really wouldn't write off schools or areas based on their ethnic or socio-economic mix.

Best way to avoid FSM OP is to put your hand in your pocket and go private. You still will find ESL but those children will be from rich family so I'm sure it will be easier for you and your husband overlook it. You might even find some SN, oh yes, some people (like some of my friends) think only poor has SN but I'm not convinced this is true.

I think to be fair I understood what the OP was getting at with the ESL comment at least. I wouldn't want my child to be one of the few mother tongue English speakers (or at least bilingual English speakers) in a school particularly if a large number of the other children shared the same language. It could make it difficult for my child to integrate into friendship groups but also could mean that the school has to spend a lot of time bringing those children up to speed in English and this comes at the expense of children who are already fluent in English.

But where there is just a mish mash of languages from all over the world and English is everyone's focus at school, then I think it is very manageable and in any case, unavoidable in London.

not only is there a relatively deep bench of languages, but I have found that people not only converge towards English as their primary language (after all they spend nearly as much if not more time in school relative to home), but towards the very local form of English.

Say, if you are living in North London, there is a very decent chance your kids are going to go ?like this and like thaaa?? and pondering ?who is going to be the winnah? quite quickly ? so ESL really is a red herring.

I know children from all over the world in London and once they start making friends outside their family and start going to school they all speak English and speak it very well. They learn fast. Children don't discriminate unless it is learnt behaviour. And they been ESL doesn't mean they have less ability to learn how to write and read in English. Some children born and bred in England can do worse than children who come from abroad or have ESL parents. And at a classroom the children are split in groups for their abilities so I believe everyone receive the support hey need. As a foreigner myself and with lots of foreigner friends our worry is that our children are speaking less and less out mother tongue language and once they learn how to proper read and write in English it will be even more difficult for them to catch up with the our language. We are not on FSM but lots of kids in our school are and it does not mean they are bad children or whatever, in fact they are really lovely and happy. My friend sends her children to a posh school and at Y1 the girls are already bitching and forming cliques. The parents don't say good morning to each other. My friend's daughter who was a lovely girls is becoming very rough and not at all sensitive to other kids feelings but my friend still insist in bad mouth our school just because of FSM and ESL. I just get so disappointed at small minded people.

To go back to your original post OP, I don't think buying/renting a house in the middle of two good schools is the best way to go about getting any school. As others have pointed out you may end up with neither, especially if you do go down the Kentish Town route; there are not enough reception school places in Camden for the children that live there at the moment. I would say decide which school you want and get a house opposite. Even then you may be out of luck as if there are a lot of siblings, your distance may not come into it. 27 sibs in a class of 30 is not unheard of. If you are think ing of Torriano I would have a look yourself, they had a new infant head a couple of years ago...

Pick an area you like and which has the right transport links for you, then look at the schools in that area and find somewhere right on it's doorstep.

There are loads and loads of very good primaries in London, and you don't have to go to 'the best, the one that all the middle class parents are vying to get into'. In fact you may find that the school simply reflects the amount of tutoring that goes in rather than the education that goes in in the school. Many parents seem more concerned to choose a school with 'people like them' than a school that actually offeres a good education to all. In Lambeth, close to tube stations, Reay and Ashmole near the Oval have good reputations, Sudbourne in Brixton, Telferscot and Henry Cavendish towards Balham, Clapham Manor in Clapham. If you can manage a bit further from the tube, but with excellent overground routes there is Rosendale near herne Hill, Streatham Wells and St Julians in Streatham.

The general area is great - Brockwell Park with it's Lido, or Tooting Common in Balham with another Lido, cinemas, great cafes and restaurants.

And I agree - not in the middle of two over-subscribed schools, you may end up being out of catchment for both. You need to be very close to the one you like.

Only the 'French' stream at Marie D'Orliac requires French at entry. The bilingual stream has an intake of 56, 28 of whom are French and fee paying, and 28 admitted through the borough and who are not expected to speak any French on admission. There will be some French families applying for those 28 state-funded places, but the majority won't be French speakers.