Advice on Winchester/Alresford area primary schools

[charmag]

Hi there, we are planning to move from Australia to the area around Winchester (most likely East of Winchester to be close to family). When we move we will have a 6/7 year old and 4/5 year old (boys) and it may be mid-year. I think we may need to look into private as well as state primaries to give us more chance of getting them in somewhere. I'd appreciate any advice on good state and private primaries in the Alresford/Medstead or Twyford areas? And now I come to think of it, any advice on nice places to live north or east of Winchester?
Thanks in advance :)

Lots of the villages around Winchester are lovely. Alresford is much bigger than it used to be, but has great shops and even better coffee shops (!). The schools are good, Infants, Juniors and Secondary. Ropley/Medstead are lovely as are Itchen Abbas and Cheriton and all have great Primary schools. There really aren't any "bad" schools in the area, they all have different strengths. Finding places in Winchester primaries can be tricky, but Westgate has just become and "all through" school which has a eased the pressure a bit.

Prince's Mead (just outside Winchester), Pilgrims (in Winchester), Twyford School and St Swithuns (in Winchester) are the most local private schools.

There are often places available for in-year transfers, so I wouldn't rule out state totally.

Choose where you want to live and then think about schools, Hampshire County Council will be able to advise on which schools have places, especially for an in-year transfer.

Good luck with your move!

Wow! Thank you for all of that FifiForgot! Really appreciate the advice and now excited to get home from work and start planning!

OMG I just looked at private fees! How does anyone afford to send their kids to private school?!! State school for us then!

Owlsebury school is very good and Alresford schools too. All Winchester schools are great. Four Marks is very good too and housing more affordable.

As pp said, Winchester is a real honey pot because there are no bad schools. If you're going to be here for a long time, I'd start by thinking about which secondary schools you'd like to be in catchment for (Perins, Kings' and Westgate are three popular schools who still take children from outside the official catchment area - but take care, though, as the population bulge is moving through, and these distances are shrinking) and then work out which primaries you (a) fancy and (b) have space. The village schools (Owslebury, Itchen Abbas, etc) tend to be full for the first three years, but then often have space. This is due to the "state until 8" habits of the filthy-rich- but parsimonious. In the city itself Western often has places now, due to a shiny new primary opening nearby at Westgate. All Saints, Stanmore, St Faiths are all good schools that sometimes have in- year spaces.

Where to live ? Do you want village life (for which you'd need a car) or to be close to a small city? (Property much more pricey)

I'd start with that. I'm on the edge of the city, and personally would hate living in one of the outlying villages. But that's just me.

Thanks lemonsole, that's really good advice to think about secondaries first. I hadn't thought about that. Do you know by any chance, if we are in rented property in a catchment and then but outside area, are the kids able to stay at the school?

Buy not but

Yes, they can stay at the school.