Advice for London schools and neighbourhoods

[snowflakesilk]

Hello,
My best friend suggested this website to help me sort out some neighbourhoods in London. My husband and I lived in Edinburgh for years and are moving back to the UK to London for his sabbatical. We are coming with our 2 young boys who will be in year 3 and year 5. Some friends have suggested we look in Hackney to have good schools and diversity. I am pretty overwhelmed by figuring out areas in Hackney or other suggestions in London. Can anyone help me sort out first steps? None of my friends have kids in London:) I'd really appreciate your help!

London is huge OP!

Are you looking for state schools? And do have a lot of money to spend on buying or renting?

Of course, forgot to mention that: State schools and just renting. London is huge which is why I overwhelmed:) Does Hackney seem like a good place to start?

So it's just for a year? You'll only need a primary school?

Or longer - if your oldest is Y5 that's not far off secondary age.

Hackney is like a lot of inner London, transformed in the past 20 years or so.

Hackney is the borough but it has a lot of neighbourhoods. London Fields is nice- with million plus homes around the park , Broadway Market feels like nowhere else in London, there are some great primary schools around there too. The area around Victoria Park, called by agents, "Victoria Park VIllage' is another area full of expensive homes , coffee shops and trendy restaurants, deli's and bookshops - to be honest neither of these areas are diverse as such, mostly white middle classed and uber trendy. It's a bit more mixed up in areas like Dalston, Haggerston and Clapton , I used to live there when I was younger for a while. (Dalston) Hoxton and Shoreditch are just party zones and full of bars and nightclubs and restaurants, very expensive property too. But great for a night out.

I think the area you'll like the most , the most family friendly by far is Stoke Newington - lots of middle classed families who have moved in from outside, but has retained a diverse feel, as social housing mixes with beautiful period housing stock.

Mossbourne is probably the best local secondary, the good primaries outnumber the secondaries as middle class parents tend to send their kids further afield either private like City / Hampstead schools or good state schools outside of Hackney over in Camden , Crouch End.

I know one family that lived near victoria park that sent their kids to Hammersmith schools, its do-able as Hackney is so central and easy to get anywhere.

Given the lack of choice for secondary, you may be better off moving to somewhere like Tooting which still feels like diverse London, but you have easy access to grammar schools down in Sutton , privates in South West and West London. Price wise its slightly cheaper, as Hackney property market is absolutely CRAZY expensive- it's the reason we sold up and moved south .Somewhere like Tooting has the culture of inner London, but you've access to good schools for your DC. Hackney for newcomers is still very much geared for childless trendies, or cool couples with small children in "Stokey"

Just one year for now. Just looking into primary.

@Babalugats this is really helpful! Thank you for taking the time to respond to me! I will look into the neighbourhoods that you've mentioned. Can't thank you enough for this start:)

Just to add you'll need to get cracking with applications for schools as soon as you have an address and postcode,for the "in year" application forms., so as not to delay actually getting a school place too much. I would contact the local education dept in your borough for advice as some are online apps, others you have to physically take form to schools. Good luck!

Just want to point out that as you will be doing in year applications which you cannot do till you have an address - you may not have as much choice as you expect. So whilst you may find an area that has a great state primary, expect that primary to be oversubscribed and don't assume you will get a place. It's a tricky prospect.

If it’s just for primary that makes it easier. But as it’s an in-year application then you’d best head for an area with a couple of good schools in the hope that one has places. There has been a lot of moving out of London due to the pandemic so your timing isn’t bad.

As Babalugats says, Stoke Newington is a good option—the popular primaries are Betty Layward, Grasmere, Grazebrook and (especially) William Patten. Stokey doesn’t have good transport links though.

In terms of primaries in the rest of Hackney, I know or know of people who’ve been happy with Gayhurst (London Fields), Queensbridge (Haggerston) and Rushmore (Clapton).

If you’re not set on Hackney then tell us more about what you want from a school or a local area and we can advise you.

There’s thousands of primary schools in London, most of them good.

Most areas of London are relatively diverse.

You need to narrow your search based on need to commute, budget and preference for type of area - do you want a vibrant, hip inner urban area, a leafier suburb?

OP you haven't said where your husband will be working. It's no good basing your family in Hackney if his role is in Ealing.

Hi everyone, thanks for being so helpful! We are hoping for at 2 bed flat (would be thrilled with a little more space but aren't counting on it) for around £2000. My husband will be at Queen Mary and will also be working from home. We are trying to narrow down 2-3 neighbourhoods with good schools as we understand it may be hard to get into a good state school (so several good primaries near by). Then the neighbourhood we actually end up in would come down to property available for rent. We prefer more urban than suburban.

We also understand about the in year application and appreciate the notes on that--especially possibly having to do that piece in person @nearlytweeny

@RedWingBoots@Terentia@DilettanteMum@Babalugats@FavouriteFortnight@Terentia

also, what's the best website where the majority of flats are posted? we've checked out rightmove and zoopla.

Rightmove and Zoopla are the best sites. If you've narrowed down to a few areas then you can contact estate agent offices in those particular places and they can show you properties before they're listed on those sites.

@Terentia thank you! I truly appreciate it!