Moving to Oxford area: Primary school. Options?

[NewEnglandMum3]

We're moving with our 3 kids (ages 2, 5 & 7) from the US to Oxford or nearby this summer. Is it true that schools in North Oxford (Summertown, Parktown, Jericho) are over subbed and we have almost no chance of sending our school aged kids to the same school even if we're in the catchment area? We feel we may need to give up on that dream.

We've started looking at other areas: Wallingford, even Henley, as reasonable options (unless it's the same story as Oxford) for state schools, my husband will be working in Abingdon.. But also wondering about Chandlings schools and possibly moving to Cunmor, nearby. There is also St Mary's in Henley.

Would appreciate some insight. Perhaps private would be good to ease our kids' transition with smaller classes and wondered if anyone can speak to realistic expectation of Oxford state school spaces vs smaller towns like Henley. What is life like in Henley for families? Any current experience at Chandlings or St Mary's? And thoughts on living in Cunmor, outside Oxford?
Sorry for all the questions! Lots to learn, obviously!

If family are coming from London then it makes sense to be within easy reach of didcot - 45 mins on the train from Didcot Paddington

be careful of The Manor. Lots of girls left last year and the staff aren't happy. I suspect things are changing….

Really 1805? My children are there and I would say quite the reverse. The school seems to be thriving, full and, certainly in all my children's year groups, children are joining not leaving. The only children I have known who have left (save one) have been moving out of the area. All the parents I know are very happy too. In fact I was talking to a couple of the new parents the other day and they were saying how they had never been to a school where people were so universally positive about a school. I know several teachers socially, they are very professional and keep work and social life separate so I don't talk to them about the detail but they seem very happy.

Perhaps there is something I have missed (and this might not be the forum for detailed discussion!) but it is a lovely school and I wouldn't want the OP to rule it out on that basis.

sorry for abbreviations/ typos... one finger typing whilst breastfeeding....I did mean st helens and st katherines.

I think op above right that integrating into a village or small town might be easier at local school. It probably depends a bit on the school and your work pattern though. I didn't get to know anyone when ds was at the state school, very little school gate communication and my work hours meant i seemed to miss out on social events. Current school everyone is very friendly and there have been lots of events outside of 9-3 that have actually really helped me make new friends. Luckily they all live on our side of oxford .

Good luck. Although private school is really working for us at the moment, there are some lovely state primaries in the south of the county and you can always move schools if things don't work out.

I lived in the area until recently. Abingdon is quite nice, Didcot is awful. Sutton Courtenay is a very divided village - massive posh houses one end, council estate the other end, school is a bit rough. St Helen and St Katharine (private girls' school in Abingdon) is fab. I worked there for ages. Abingdon traffic is bad. Milton Park is definitely Didcot, not Abingdon.

One really good primary (probably best state one in the area imo) is Chilton Primary in Chilton village. Lovely school, great reputation. It's near Didcot too.

Mmm, lots of people I know would beg to differ about chilton - a number of people I know have taken their children out in the last few years. Just because it has best results doesn't make it the best school.

And Didcot really isn't "just awful", it's a small town with some decent facilities including a cinema, a theatre, some great parks and enough shops for the essentials. It's is lacking in decent restaurants unless you want curry. Like most towns it has good and bad bits to it. And DGS is a fantastic school (girls secondary).

Op, the only way is to visit and see what you think. Good luck.

Really, twofalls? My dc were both at Chilton until 18 months ago and we found it fantastic. We'll have to agree to differ about Didcot... Dh worked there and hated it. I only went there regularly because there was a big Sainsbury's. It's certainly surrounded by some lovely villages though.

I think you either like the heads style or not to be honest. My friend moved her children from there to Caldecott and despite it not being as good on paper, she thinks it's a far better school.

Lots of people love to hate Didcot - I grew up there and it's way better than when I was a teenager!

Yes that's true about the Head! I rather liked her.

I like in Goring which is south of Abingdon, on the Thames and on the train line between Oxford and Reading. Very lovely, with plenty of facilities and lots going on for a village its size. But it is a village, not a town. And it's expensive because of the train etc.

Abingdon is a pleasant market town, Wallingford probably a bit nicer. But if your husband is working in Abingdon then there would be a lot to be said for living there. Abingdon School and St H and K have a very good reputation and are probably the most popular private schools for Goring folk. I don't know about the state schools in Abingdon. State schools in Goring and Streatley are good. Some years are full but probably not all?

We ruled out Abingdon and Wallingford because we wanted to be within walking distance of a station, but I quite fancied Wallingford otherwise. In the end though I'm really happy that we went for a buzzy village.

You should ring up the primary schools that you might be interested in and just find out whether they are full for your year or not. It will vary. I imagine Phil and Jim is always packed though.

I've never had a good feeling about Sutton Courtenay. Doesn't seem very cohesive. And when we looking into it the school was not great - admittedly that was 11 years ago.

Ah - Milton Park. That's different from Abingdon. In that case good villages to look at would be Harwell, East Hendred, Blewbury, Aston Tirrold. Goring is further away but has more facilities and more going on than most of those places.

I've heard the same about Chilton Primary not being as good as it looks on paper. East Hendred Primary very popular but oversubscribed so you may not be able to get both dc in.

Arius - be careful of The Manor. Lots of girls left last year and the staff aren't happy. I suspect things are changing…. - yes. really. 9 girls left from the same year group last july, and all went on to local schools, none moved away.

OP - Milton Park + train station - it has to be around Didcot somewhere. Lots of lovely villages to pick from. Good luck!!

Really 1805, which year group was that?

Really, one of the prep years. I was one of those 9 families.

As I've been checking out a number of the CofE village schools' websites, it seems there is a religious ethos that is perhaps more than just a mission statement. It's hard to discern if schools simply have christian values, or if there are daily or weekly assemblies with a focus on religion. Can anyone comment on that? I know CofE schools are open to all, but wondered how much religion is in the curriculum?
Thanks again for these tips - I'll check out the villages mentioned. Goring looks so lovely.

It's hard to discern if schools simply have christian values, or if there are daily or weekly assemblies with a focus on religion

There's a legal obligation on state schools to have a daily act of worship that is broadly of a christian character (unless of other religion). It is not always enthusiastically complied with. You will find most primary schools much more religious than you would have expect coming from USA.

Milton park is listed as Abingdon not didcot because of the giant concrete cooling towers that define didcot in the country's mind!

I have a friend who teaches at east hagbourne and friends who go to st nics in Abingdon, blewbury, long writtenham and east hagbourne and non of them feel the schools are overtly religious - despite being CofE schools. Of course this could just be down to current heads.

Goring Primary C of E is not particularly religious. A lot of UK primary schools are C of E and people go there because it is the local school, not because it is C of E. We are atheists and never worried about it - almost none of the parents are church goers. I'd prefer schools not to be church-run, but on a local and personal level it's not been a problem.

There are a handful of trips, if that, to church each year (Harvest Festival, Christmas, Leavers' Service etc). A few visits from the vicar. I never get a clear view of what went on in assemblies - there is some hymn singing, but most of those are not exactly traditional christian hymns. It seems to have largely passed my children by, in the same way that my CofE primary school education did.

I suspect most CofE village primary schools are similar.

When we visited primary schools 11 years ago, we did find the Streatley head a bit too keen on the religious side of things for out taste. But there is a different head now.

I wouldn't worry about a school being CofE if you are not religious or not terribly so. I went to all CofE schools and it is very minimal; DS' school is a choir school and even they only have one 20min chapel service which is not terribly Christian focussed (open to parents so I have been) once per week! WE are an atheist family and I am not too worried - all schools locally will 'notice' Christian festivals like Christmas and easter but that is rather nice.

With regards to C of E it depends on the school. I teach locally and have always chosen not to work in a C of E school because it would go against my beliefs but I don't think many are especially religious. Catholic schools tend to be a lot more hardcore religion, with teachers often needing a reference from their priest.

Don't let a C of E school put you off, but do visit first and ask about their ethos. It pretty much depends on the head.

With regard to the ability walking/cycling to a station, if you lived in North East Abingdon, Radley station is within 1/2-1mile walk/cycle.

Hi everyone,
We've been hard at work on our remote search and learning that many of the village schools around Didcot are oversubscribed. I did find that Dry Sandford primary has spaces and that many of the children at that primary come from Abingdon (it sounds like the village population is older, so they take pupils from elsewhere.) We do have plans to visit Chandlings, but decided not to consider the Manor further as we want our daughter and sons to attend the same school for as long as possible. My husband came across Watlington recently and it looks like one of the primary schools there is undersubscribed. It has an outstanding Ofsted report. Does anyone have anything to share about Watlington? My concern is the commute to Didcot would be a bit long and there isn't convenient access to London by train.

Thanks in advance...

I would caution you to remember that spaces at primary state schools could change at any time (maybe triplets would move into the village and take up all the available places in that year group? You never know!) and they probably won't let you make an application until you have an address to make your application from. (Bit of a Catch-22)