Moving to London...need advice on family friendly neighborhood with good primaries

[KarenKY]

Hi there, my family will be relocating to London from Canada this summer and I'm hoping to get some advice on family friendly neighborhoods. My two little ones are 5 years old and 18 mth old so will be looking for areas with good primaries (state schools) and nurseries. We will be renting with a maximum budget of 2,500 GBP per month and ideally within a 30 mins commute to central london. We won't have a car so will need good access to tube or train. We will need a minimum of 2 bedrooms but would love to have 3 bedrooms if possible (understand that it's more likely 2 bedrooms only if we want a good location..)

These are the areas we're considering:

East Dulwich (how's the commute?)
Richmond (love the green space and read that it has lots of outstanding schools however worried that we won't be able to get in because they are over subscribed?)
What about North London? We have friends who recommended Queens Park but I'm not sure if the primaries are good in that area? Muswell Hill? Swiss Cottage?
Chiswick
Any other neighborhoods?

Thank you so much!

@averythinline yes so my concern is that what if we picked an area based on a few outstanding schools but end up couldn't get a spot because they are over subscribed, we would then have to commute further. We will be arriving in June to apply for school for next school year. My son will be 5 in June so he's considered summer born. I had contemplated putting him in Reception instead of Year 1 but would think it will require a huge effort to justify and we're not even sure which school would have a spot for him yet! This is a whole separate topic to discuss!

@averythinline yes so my concern is that what if we picked an area based on a few outstanding schools but end up couldn't get a spot because they are over subscribed, we would then have to commute further. We will be arriving in June to apply for school for next school year. My son will be 5 in June so he's considered summer born. I had contemplated putting him in Reception instead of Year 1 but would think it will require a huge effort to justify and we're not even sure which school would have a spot for him yet! This is a whole separate topic to discuss!

Balham or Tooting

Or perhaps Streatham, as the 137 bus goes direct to Mayfair (will take a while in traffic, but he'd just have to get on and use the time for something useful)

I can give you lots of information on Queen's Park (lived there - now live in Harlesden/Willesden) and I have been a nanny in Queen's Park for 5 years. I have also just done lots of the open days at the local primary schools as my daughter will be attending soon, so can give you some insider thoughts! (Can we do this via private message some how?)

The area itself is beautiful and one of my favourite places to work and come with my daughter. The streets are lovely, the park (and cafe) are fantastic (there is a little animal area as well as playground, open space and outdoor paddling pool). The community is fantastic. Everyone is really friendly, lots of small business shops, cafe and restaurants. Great Sunday farmers market (and late night events happening in the summer too)

There are so many activities for children to do in the area too - arts & crafts, music, gym, dance, football, rugby, messy play, forest school, soft play, play cafes, swimming etc...

I used to live and work in Chiswick and it is a beautiful area, but I prefer the community and location on Queen's Park

If we can't do a private message thing (not sure if there is an option for that on her) - my email is [email protected] - feel free to send me an email and I can fill you in on local schools

Maida Vale. Close to the American school so quite a few North American families there.

I agree commute is an important thing to consider but for me it's down the priority list compared to how family friendly, safe, green, community based etc the area is.

We lived in Muswell Hill before we had a baby and I'm so relieved we live here. It's lovely having the option to go further afield into central but we are happy to stay local at weekends too as there's so much going on. I love having tons of cafes, classes, parks and green spaces within walking distance.

There are lots of areas like this in London obviously not just MH (!) I really think you need to just get a feel for a place. You know if it's for you. Maybe you could join some of the local Facebook groups and see what people are talking about?

I think your husbands commute to Mayfair from East Dulwich would be awful as he’d have to go to London Bridge then switch to the Jubilee line. Heavily overcrowded at rush hour and takes 45 minutes on a good day. My partner does a similar commute to Mayfair via London Bridge. A lot of his colleagues live in North/North West London which seems to be a better (shorter and more direct) commute.

Well from Herne Hill, he could take the train to Victoria (10 minutes) and then either walk through the parks to Mayfair or hop on the tube for one or two stops. By London standards, that's a reasonable commute.

Also the advantage of HH over some of the other places mentioned is that it is Zone 2, so the travel card will be cheaper than if you live in Zones 3 or 4.

But, the tube from Chiswick to Victoria or Piccadilly would also be about 30 minutes, have a look around Turnham Green station.

@addyt yes I would appreciate that. Will send you an email! Thx!

Thank you all for the helpful information. Will definitely check out the different areas you recommended!! I'm so happy that I posted here....I wasn't expecting to receive so many and quick responses. Thank you again!

Based on your commute and other requirements, I’d recommend Herne Hill. It’s near Dulwich but has direct trains into Victoria (which will be easy for your husband) plus trains into Kings Cross, the City etc. It is very family friendly with lots of green space, Brockwell Lido and decent little indie shops. Also, I know there is space in year 1 in Judith Kerr which has outstanding results (top circa top 150 out of thousands of primaries in England) and you’d have Charter North Dulwich for secondary.

If you tried to commute to Mayfair from East Dulwich you’d take a train from Denmark Hill to Victoria which takes about 10 min. Depending on where you live in ED, walking to Denmark Hill can take 10 min and there are also 4 buses that to directly to Denmark Hill Station from Lordship Lane which is the main shopping street running through the area. It won’t take you anything like an hour but Herne Hill would likely be easier.

Wow! Judith Kerr primary is in the "top" 150 primaries in England? That's amazing news.

Richmond to Waterloo is way under 30 mins - fast train is 16mins . Also check out Twickenham - lots of fast trains into central London.

Good luck, I’m sure you will find a great place for your family.

It might help that to know that you shouldn’t have to justify starting your summer born 5 year old in reception any more; although it depends on the borough, most now allow it without discussion, in line with the official guidance.
Best of luck.

We love living in muswell hill. When we moved from outside UK to London, we were worried about muswell hill not have a tube station. But then we looked at the area and decided to move here because it was so lovely. And just had so many outstanding schools! And schools just not Ofsted outstanding but they also have great local reputation.
Because there are so many excellent schools, few outstanding schools were undersubscribed. So I am sure you will get a place in one of the schools. While you can tour and decide your preference and apply for in year application if you like other school better. It is a very family friendly diverse area with lots of activities for little ones. There are also very good playgrounds and access to woods.

Dulwich Village is lovely. Sydenham hill and West Dulwich stations are about 10 mins to Victoria, from there dh can get loads of buses to Mayfair or tube to Green Park which is one stop.

Northfields area of Ealing? Search Rightmove for places close to Northfield tube (the lo din station not the Birmingham one!)
On the Piccadilly line tube, lots of local park and green space, great schools (Fielding is an "outstanding" primary.)
Also near Elthorne a great secondary. 3 bed houses with gardens £2-2500 pcm.

Be aware that if you do try to apply for Reception, applications are already closed for the September 2020 intake, so you will still be looking for schools that have spaces. I would contact the Local Education Authority for the Boroughs you are interested in and discuss where there are currently spaces in Reception and year 1, length of waiting lists etc. You can leapfrog to the top or near the top of a waiting list if you move to a property very close to the school. There is also quite a lot of movement in London schools.

Wimbledon has a good train to Waterloo and a tube. It is very family friendly, huge common, shops etc. It has several outstanding primaries. However, any area in London with good schools are over subscribed and I think you have missed the deadline for this September possibly? Your child would be in reception now so should be going into Y1 next school year (and I wouldn't hold hom back a year as June is not that late - my son is late July and he wasn't the youngest). I think you need to get on the case ASAP no matter what area you decide on, but schools may not engage with you unless you have an actual address in their catchment area.

Thanks @DippyAvocado @Pipandmum Yes we're told that we can't apply for admission until we have a permanent address and are physically there. We're aiming to be there by June so we can submit the application before school closes. So the first thing we have to do now is make a decision on which area to move into so we can rent a place before June! So much to do!! :)

Have you got a shortlist?

Hither Green, Catford and Ladywell are worth a look. They're well connected for trains (and buses) into central London, have great schools, lovely parks and lots of decent sized housing.

Brackenbury village near Hammersmith / Shepherds Bush and not far from Chiswick. Nice family area, lots of good primaries, and amazing transport links into London 4 tube lines and the overground.