Moving House to Cardiff - school recommendations!

[HelenBea]

Hey, I have two kids age 2 and 5 and we are hoping to move from Sheffield to Cardiff for work. I am thinking ahead but I need to start looking for good schools. I don't know the area at all. I would like somewhere where the secondary schools are good as well as the primary, ideally! I don't have a massive budget for housing. Anyone able to share any good areas to start me off?! My husband is likely to be working very centrally in the city itself. And I don't drive so need transport links to places!
Thanks so much x

The best school in Cardiff is Cardiff High but house prices are high in the catchment area. Other good secondary schools are Radyr high and Whitchurch high. I would avoid Cardiff West and Eastern High.
Would you consider a Welsh-language school, many non-welsh speakers send their children to Welsh medium schools.

Llanishen High is another good school, houses in Thornhill are in catchment and not as expensive as Cardiff High catchment areas.
What is your budget for housing? There are other areas that will get you into a good secondary.

Thanks our budget is around 260k but I don’t know how far it will go in Cardiff!

Hi Bea.
You might be just as well looking at Rightmove and choosing a couple of houses within your budget, and we can advise from there.

Places like Creigiau and pentyrch are nice, with a sense of community, and about 30 minutes outside of the city centre. Also, places like Whitchurch and Birchgrove are well established communities with nice local shops and libraries etc.

Joopy mentioned Welsh language education.. there are 3 Welsh secondary schools in Cardiff. You might have better luck getting in to those than a good English language secondary school.

Your 5 yo could have extra support in order to catch up on Welsh before they start school, and your little one can go to Welsh play school, called Cylch Meithrin, where they learn Welsh.

I think Cardiff is a lovely city, with loads to do for families. Happy to help with any questions!

@Chimchar thanks so much! I hadn't considered Welsh language schools, I guess I was concerned my 5 year old would struggle and be behind as we don't speak the language. I'll have to look into what options there are. Are the English language schools difficult to get into? A friend advised me to choose an area based on the best secondary schools because primary ones often are good in those areas. I'm looking through the Estyn tables and trying to get a sense of what's what but it's hard to know where to start! I think looking at right move is a good idea, I'll see what areas are affordable and maybe you could let me know your views? Thanks!

Hi again.
Did you have a chance to look at some houses?

The good English language secondary schools are quite tough to get into. Cardiff is growing rapidly, and as far as I know, there are no plans for more secondary schools. 😳

I think that your area will be dictated by your house budget. Happy to give my opinion of areas you find interesting. 🙂

Depends how you define “best” really. My mum taught in Cardiff for years and Cardiff High is the last place she’d have sent us……

North Cardiff is probably your best bet. I’m a bit further up the valleys than that these days and £260k won’t go far here.

You’ve had a name change fail, OP.

lucky you - I absolutely love Cardiff!

Cardiff high is the high school you want to get into. Personally I think you might want to try the roath park area. It has a mix of high end but also smaller more affordable houses, and there are lots of young families round there with lots going on and is withing Cardiff high catchment area.