Where to move to Surrey for best schools

[ArKla]

Hi all

We are thinking to move to Surrey, as it seems to be great for families.

However, we are a bit confused as to which places we should narrow our research down to. We would like to send our daughter to a private school (she's still 1yr old so we have some time), and being close to a very good one would be great. To start with we would be looking for good preschool/primary, but eventually we would want good secondary ones too (so we won't have to move again).

Ideally, we would want the commute to not be too long (i.e. between 1hr-1:20' to the city where we work).

We have heard of epsom. cobham and hampton so curious to hear any other suggestions as well as the best private schools nearby. We would be looking for strong academics, sports, maths and ideally a diverse environment.

Our budget would be around 700-800K for a 3-4 bed (so Hampton might not be affordable?).

Thanks in advance!

Reigate, Leatherhead/Ashtead

Epsom has great state primaries so many parents find they don't need to go private at that stage, you do have to live in catchment though.
But in terms of private I've heard good things about St Christopher's from friends at the pre-school as well as Downsend which has pre-school and prep in various locations then juniors at one site in Leatherhead. Lots of friends are really happy at the Epsom one.
Ewell Castle is meant to be a good option too.

Farnham? Frensham Heights is a nice school. Edgeborough for primary?

Gordon's

I believe Downsend is developing a senior school. Other preps include Daneshill. Also seniors at St Johns and City of London Freemans locally, and others like Manor House a little further afield. How urban/small town/rural would you prefer?

Budget might be stretched in Farnham. Barfields is a decent prep there.

There are so many options, dc travel vast distances to school too, it might be helpful to look at the school bus map for Epsom College and Surbiton High school so you can see that it's more important to focus on a house and good transport links, ie walking distance to a train station.

Best of luck!

We are not too fussy about the specific place. We like both quite and busy places (perhaps not super busy, and ideally with a few shops and cafes).

Thanks so much for the responses!

I wanted to ask what do you think also about Sutton, Cobham and Hampton? Are they good options for schools, but not affordable perhaps?

There’s so many places and schools, quite difficult to decide… For the secondary schools, I guess it’s easier to check based on GCSE results, but for pre-school/ primary schools I find it quite difficult.

Many thanks again!

Sutton should be affordable within your budget, Cobham won't be and Hampton probably won't be. Suggest you focus on where you can find a decent house for your budget and then look for schools from there.

East Surrey probably more within your budget - Caterham School has excellent sports facilities shared by both the prep and the main school. Lots of other excellent preps around such as Essendene Lodge, Hazelwood School. Direct trains to London Bridge in about 40mins depending on which station you’re nearest to

It's not a great idea to go private in surrey as it is already a very privileged area, so raising non-spoiled children with a sense of reality is hard even if they are in state.

Cobham is not within your budget

Whilst you say that you need to be within 1h commute into London, which station are you heading for in London. I like the Epsom/Dorking route as there are two lines to get to London so there are options. If I go to Redhill then I am more limited.

Whilst Meltingsocks might be correct in that Surrey has got of amazing state schools, Surrey is susceptible to traffic jams, noise from airports and a struggling infrastructure (doctors, dentists etc, but that is probably indicative of the whole country at the moment unfortunately). The public transport is limited, so consider whether you need to be in a town or near local shops. Parking can also be very difficult depending on where you live. If you are interested in going to a local primary school, then consider whether you are likely to be in the catchment area. For any school you would want to be close enough to enable play dates and for your child to take part in out of hours activities. If you are both working then do you need to consider how to get the child to and from school (primary hours are 0900 ish to 1500ish, and many of the breakfast clubs and after school clubs are oversubscribed).

Are you after urban or rural living (both possible in Surrey)? Do you want to live within walking distance of a main station? How close do you want to be to a good school or other amenities?

Other areas to consider are around Guildford and Woking.

Budget tight for Guildford but may get something on a newish estate like Burpham or on outskirts.

We are in Sutton with Seaton House as our primary school private choice. V happy with it. 40 mins into London Bridge and 47 or so into Victoria. Diverse. Leafy.

Hampton has excellent state primaries that I am not sure it is worth spending money on private if you are in catchment. LEH is a great private school from 7+ but is very competitive to get into.

That’s a pretty low budget for the areas. Bear in mind that most of the people living in nearby houses will be going to the very excellent local state schools. Schools fees approaching £25k a year (after tax) means that most people who send their kids are exceedingly wealthy.

@SafelySoftly quite a few on our road in SW London/ Surrey borders send their children to private schools and our houses are a similar price. Yes, there are some exceedingly wealthy children at the local private schools, there are also quite a few children who live in flats and parents are scrimping and saving to pay the fees.

Thanks everyone so much! This has been super helpful.

We haven’t decided we are going to private for sure, but would like to have the option since for the public schools the catchment area is key and that might make it more difficult.

Rosebery is an amazing girls school (state) in Epsom and the commute is ok into London. Your budget would get a nice 3 bed semi. Great for families.

Whilst I totally get where you’re coming from, moving to an area where you’re hoping for one (two at best) private schools as a massive gamble as you’ll not know what your child is like/their interests etc? Probably sounds obvious now I write it but moving to a place and having your heart set on a primary-secondary is a big ask!

Hello @DoItAfraid I saw Seaton House was ranked 2 in the whole country which is superb.

It looks very small compared with other schools. Do you think it will survive (I have seen people worry about smaller private schools) and are th children there all bookish or do they get developed as confident young girls?

@NetflixParents

I see absolutely no reason why it wouldn't survive - what do you mean?

Yes it is small - one of the reasons we love it. Plenty of extracurricular activities etc.

Hi Mums looking for area in Surrey with good secondary schools. Looking to move specially for state funded secondary schools where rent is also affordable (max of 1250). we are a family of 3 with couple + 11 year old daughter. Please help with your recommendations since i dont have any idea about Surrey area