Canadian family with 3 kids moving to York, Hull, Scarborough or Beverley????

[BigDecisionsx3]

Hi all, we are having to move to the UK for my husbands job in August. I am willing to move to any of the above cities based on the best school for my 9,7 and 4 years old kids. They will go to an independent school. I would truly appreciate any advise!!

@HappyDinosaur why is that? I've lived there and have family still there. We all love it.

I live in Beverley and think it's quite nice but agree not a city. The state primaries are mostly fine as well. Beverley would mean husband travelling to work and kids travelling to school (if you are set on private). Bootham and Pocklington have good reputations but I think are very different. Hymers in Hull is good academically but again sounds quite different to the other 2 private options.

Pocklington has a bus that take kids from Beverley and I think Hymers does too.

Sounds like you need to look at the schools and then decide. Maybe rent for a while before committing.

I think my opinion is coloured by the fact that I didn't find it had a very welcoming feeling and think it might be really hard as an incomer. It is beautiful, but didn't feel as it looked.

If you have kids in a state school you will meet plenty nice local people. If you live here, work elsewhere and send kids to private school (which has to be elsewhere) you might have to try harder to find friends.

I've lived and/or worked all of these places. Scarborough is beautiful but isolated and rundown in parts. Parochial too. The commute from Scarborough to any of the other places is a pain though. Long and nasty in winter. Snow falls on the Yorkshire Wolds quite frequently - proper isolated countryside. Personally I would avoid Hull. All the initiatives in the world won't make it not rundown and parts of it are deeply dodgy. It does have a good uni though. I'd go for York or Beverley. Beverley is so pretty with a great Saturday market. I used to love hearing the minster bells from my house.

And don't be fooled into Filey or Brid. Both dull. IMHO.

York every time

Scarborough College - hands down. It offers 3-18 education, so no switching schools at 11 or 13, and there's a real go-ahead new headteacher and a real vibe of positivity.

Malton and sends kids to Ampleforth prep or Pocklington

I would say York hands down.

I’m sorry but I have to know, what job transfers from Canada to Scarborough?!

I think I’d be tempted to look at some of the surrounding coastal towns. Out of season it’s a bit blah.

Scrap that the pre prep seems to have closed!

Not great choices!

Definitely not worth leaving Canada for!

Not all of Canada is lovely you know. I would definitely swap certain bits of Canada for Hull or Beverley or York.

I live in York and travel to Scarborough for business sometimes.Unfortunately the train service isn't ideal for the daily commute (not always on time, often delayed, or even cancelled). Driving isn't much better either as the road can be quite congested. The town itself maybe good for family days out on a sunny day, but not ideal for school choices. It is quite run down and has a coastal town deprivation feel to it.

Thanks everyone, we will be coming to the area to look at how it is. We are coming from a large city so I a bit worried. My school choices are Bootham or Pocklington.i’m definitely Leaning towards living in York and my husband will have to commute to Scarborough since Scarborough doesn’t sound like it’s the right fit for us.

York is nice. Small and busy but very popular. I hope he can get chance to try the trip from York to Scarborough at commuter time. It will take more than an hour to drive or train.

The A64 from York to Scarborough can be a total nightmare, especially in summer.

Hi OP
I’m a relocation agent (surprised your DH isn’t getting one as part of his package)
Wait and see what happens when you come for a visit, quite often people tell me they will be working in one location but when I get the specific details they actually aren’t. For example they might think they are working in X but it’s much nearer Y. Also, I have had clients tell me they definitely don’t want to live somewhere but end up somewhere else
I do work in The North, mostly Leeds and Manchester but I have done a few jobs in North Yorkshire as well so PM me if you think I can help ( freebie not touting for business)

Hah, yeah, we go the long way around to get down to Hull because the queues of caravans on the northern part of the ring road, on a weekend are shocking. Basically, no one is going anywhere.

All McDonalds chips are made in Scarborough (McCains)
Numerous engineering companies
Military at Fylingdales

Lost of reasons to get a job there

But are they actually in Scarborough. Op. You need to visit to see how different these places are and how spread apart. Even York to Pocklington could take a while each morning, depending where you live in / near York. Not sure if they run a school bus service but even if so, that is often less appropriate for younger children who may start later/finish earlier. Also check Saturday school commitments for each.

Agree with other posters that your DH needs to try the commute out.

I don't know about Pocklington School.
I do know about Bootham though as my son starts there in Y7 in Sep.

The advantage of Bootham is that you could have the town centre on your doorstep (especially if you are a SAHM) depending on where you live (hopefully you've seen that the Jnr and Snr are actually on different sites).
You also have options of driving to the Jnr from say Haxby, Earswick, Strensall, etc, and DC getting a bus into town for Snr. This makes DH's commute a bit better than living towards the centre of York.
The commute from Haxby to Scarborough and Pocklington to Scarborough will not be too much different.

Someone in another thread is looking at the same decision, on schools.
PM me if you'd like more info on house areas on the north side of York.