American Family Moving to Oxford

[Oracleapollo]

Hi Mamas,

We are an American family moving to Oxford in late summer and I’m having a hard time figuring out the British school system. My kids are in private school here and I would like to put them in private (independent?) school in Oxford. Can anyone recommend any schools? My son is 9 and my daughter is 7. We’ve also thought about them going to state schools, if anyone has any experiences with Windmill Primary School in Headington or St Barnabas in Oxford city centre can you please let me know?

Thanks!

Hi Oracle, where to start!

With state schools the key thing is whether they will get a place - though there is a high turnover in Oxford due to international academics joining on 2-3 year contracts and then moving on, so you may be ok.

St Barnabas is generally under subscribed so you should get in. Windmill I think is over subscribed but worth talking to them.

Do you know where you ideally want to live? That’ll affect which state school you go for.

There are loads of independent schools. For boys, Magdalen College School and New College School very well regarded. For girls I think Oxford High, Headington, and Wychwood similar. Dragon is coed and has boarders so is really big on the extracurricular.

Have a look and see if there are any virtual open days coming up.

Do come and look at East Oxford Primary - I'm the headteacher there. We have a large number of overseas and academic families linked to the university and have a very rich and stimulating curriculum.

Hi Oracle,
I'm a Brit who grew up in Oxford and now lives in the states.
As earlier poster mentioned UK school places are not based solely on the zone system. You can live next door to a school and not get a place if it is oversubscribed.
I can't comment much on specific schools, my experience is very out of date. I have friends with kids at Dragon school. They like it a lot, it seems good for quirky children.
Oxford is great, I would love to move my family back there. I hope your move goes smoothly.
Make sure to visit the story museum, it's fantastic

Thank you all very much for your responses! It’s been challenging to find somewhere affordable that’s close to the university and within walking distance to the kids school. Can anyone recommend a good family friendly safe area in the surrounding suburbs of Oxford or a few miles away?

So far we are in contact with the manor prep school in Abington. I’ll definitely check out the East Oxford Primary-thanks!!

We are taking a huge leap of faith by moving to Oxford, I’m going to be in a graduate program while my husband works remotely. Kids aren’t very excited to move but I know they will love it once settled. 😊

Headington could be an area to look at. Definitely close enough to cycle to the university. If you're staying with private education, there's Headington school for your daughter and Magdalene school just down the road for your son. Or if you prefer mixed/coed then Rye St Antony is a nice small school with lovely grounds - it has boys until end of year 6.

Wherever you move to, factor in that the traffic is terrible everywhere!

Hi again

For areas we really like North Oxford & Summertown - you need a decent budget to get a family home though, best value (house size for your money) is likely in the Waterways development which are “new” houses built in 2000. Summertown itself has a good high street with shops. A little further south into the bit that is just called “North Oxford” you get some beautiful Victorian properties and you’re right by a huge green space called Port Meadow. Walking distance into town, lots of cafes etc. Houses are £1m+ or to rent I guess around £2000+.

As a pp has mentioned, Headington is a nice suburb east of Oxford, good shops and a great park. Family friendly. Houses much better value for money, the trade off being you’re further from the city centre (only a couple of miles though!). The Oxford tube coach service to London runs through Headington too so that’s handy for days / nights out in the big smoke.

We also have friends around west Oxford (nice Victorian terraces, near the train station), and around Grandpont (just south of the city). Both nice too. You can’t go too far wrong really!

For state primaries in north Oxford also have a look at Phil & Jim (SS Philip & James) which is well regarded, usually over sub but wasn’t this year I don’t think. Also Wolvercote Primary which is in a village just north of the city and also on Port Meadow (nice family area if you prefer quiet to buzz!)

You may want to look at Rye St Antony, its a lovely private school in beautiful grounds close to North Oxford, it is slightly more affordable than the Dragon, Oxford High and Headington Girls schools

Do you want to be in the city centre, a suburb, or have a more rural village feel?

Hi everyone, we have decided to send the kids to Manor Prep in Abingdon. We have rented a house in North Oxford so it will be a drive each day to get kids to school but we don’t mind. I’m going to graduate school at Oxford so I can walk into town from the house. I’m happy to hear it’s a good, quiet family area with cafes. That’s pretty much our pace of things! Thank you for your help and feedback :)