Advice needed on where to move to!

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Hi there,

My partner and I currently live in Central London but are looking to move further out to up-size / get more space in anticipation of kids in the future - and would kindly seek your advice! Some of our consideration points / criteria are as below if helpful:

• Terrace / semi-d house 3+ bed, 2+ bath, 1.4ksqft+ with garden
• Max budget of £1.25m
• c. 45 mins commute into the City
• Good primary school (either state or private is fine)

We did not grow up in the UK and are still learning how the education system works, but would like to aim for our kids to go to a selective grammar school for secondary (in case which private school you go matters).

So far Wandsworth / Clapham area appears the most appealing and value-for-money / within our budget relative to other areas we've visited (e.g. Chiswick, Putney, Richmond, etc) - but kindly appreciate any other suggestions too. We are also considering Earlsfield. Potentially Blackheath too but prefer Wandsworth / Clapham Junction so far.

Would be very grateful to receive advice on:

• What neighbourhood you'd recommend?
• Which nearby schools within that neighbourhood we should target for?

Slight preference for good state schools, but securing a place worries us and we would not mind the additional costs of private if it provides a much better and rounded educational experience. Cognisant some state schools are excellent if not better than private.

Thanks so much in advance!

Have you looked into East Dulwich/Herne Hill and Peckham Rye areas.

East Dulwich lots of good primaries. Then have the private schools in Dulwich.

I was also going to suggest East Dulwich, Dulwich and Herne Hill.

The area has outstanding state primary (Judith Kerr, Dulwich Village Infants, Dulwich Hamlet, Harris Primary East Dulwich, Heber Primary school) and secondary schools (The Charter is one of the top state secondary schools in the country) and also has top private schools (Alleyns, JAGs and Dulwich College).

North Dulwich and East Dulwich Stations get into London Bridge within 15 minutes and its easy to get into the City from there via the Northern line. Herne Hill is on the City Thameslink trains so depending where in the City you are commuting to might be faster.

The area has great parks (Brockwell Park, Dulwich Park etc), Brockwell Lido, and lots of nice shops and restaurants etc and you can definitely get a 3 bed for your budget

Sincere thanks both - we took your suggestions on board and went to explore East Dulwich, Dulwich and Herne Hill over the weekend and really liked the neighbourhoods - so are seriously considering these.

In terms of commuting, we'd typically be going to Farringdon and Liverpool Street areas - so Dulwich / HH are fine.

Couple of follow-up questions:

• Any thoughts when comparing these SE areas (Dulwich / HH) to SW areas (Clapham Junction / Wandsworth / Earlsfield / Southfields)? Neighbourhood but also options for schools.
• Are there any neighbourhoods we should consider in North / NW London? Based on searching online, North London feels out of budget compared to the South
• Whilst we are fine going for private primary, we would like to send our kids to selective grammar schools for secondary (eg. St Olaves) - what are the options to do this living in Dulwich? Do families usually make another move to the respective catchment areas when kids come to that age?
• What are the best schools to target for in SW London / Wandsworth area - both state and private?

Lastly, whilst we are ok considering private for primary - we have a slight preference to consider state-schools (from a cost perspective). Are there any significant benefits for kids attending private schools? Apologies if there's an obvious answer to this (we didn't grow up here).

There are kids who live in Dulwich who go to St Olaves (I have girls though so not aware of the specifics). There are direct trains I think from Herne Hill to Orpington so its doable.

Schools are better in Dulwich (state and private) though Clapham has a younger buzz with more bars, nightlife etc. Lots of people move from Clapham to Dulwich once they have kids (we have many friends where that's the case). SW London has the northern line which can make it feel more connected though its so busy during rush hour the commute is rarely easier.

Otherwise both have great green spaces, restaurants, cinema etc. Dulwich / HH have more cultural amenities and green spaces perhaps (the Dulwich Picture Gallery Museum, the Horniman Museum and Gardens, DuwIlch Woods, Dulwich Riding stables, Dulwich Park, Brockwell Park, Brockwell Lido, the Herne Hill Velodrome).

I don't know anything about north London!

If move is based on good state secondary schools and grammar schools, please check criteria of entry….religion…catchment area…sibling policy etc.
Friends having to attend certain churches or live within a few hundred metres, so not as straightforward in some schools.