Moving to Crouch End - advice wanted on primary schools and nice areas to live

[MissTea]

Hello all!

I'm 23 weeks pregnant and currently live in Finsbury Park. We're thinking of moving to Crouch End before the baby is born to be closer to better primary schools and near to other like-minded mums.

I often go shopping in crouch end but am not familiar with the residential areas: can anyone give me a break down of what the different areas are like, i.e. where to look for houses, where to avoid, etc.

I would also be interested in your opinions on good local primary schools and their catchment areas.

Thanks!

Bumping for you. I know Crouch End has lots of desirable schools, but not quite my area.

Ashmount is less 'desirable' but meant to be v. good. Lots of nice houses near there, though closer to Highgate than CRouch End proper.

Well, there are lots of schools worth looking at in and around Crouch End - Ashmount (thanks, frogs ), Coleridge, Rokesley, Weston Park, and more, I'm sure (I don't know the north side of Crouch End well). But won't the key question be which one suits you and your dc best when you get to that stage? Sorry, I know that's not necessarily a helpful response, but I'd be tempted to think of it in terms of checking you're likely to have some plausible choices rather than pinning your decision on anything too specific now. Apart from anything else, a lot can change - about a school and its catchment area - in 4 years. (The plan for Ashmount, for eg, is that it should move to a new building on Crouch Hill at the end of 2010.)

So if you definitely want to base your decision on primary school catchment, might it be better to stay put and move nearer the time? Otherwise you might move and then set your heart on one of the schools you're still not near enough to get into. (eg Weston Park is one-form-entry so has a teeny-tiny catchment)

If you're interested in nurseries, am sure there are loads of good ones to choose from, but Margaret McMillan on Hornsey Rise is fantastic.

Thanks both!

And what about nice areas in crouch end to live in? Which are the safest bits / areas worth avoiding? So difficult to flat-hunt online without knowing much about the area.

Also, people talk about the crouch end borders a lot - which areas do they mean, and which are the ones worth looking at?

It's a good point you make, minch, about a lot changing in 4 years... I guess it's probably good to move into the area into a smaller flat and not worry too much about catchments, so that we can get to know people and settle into the area, then move again in a few years when we can afford something bigger and know more about which primaries we might be interested in.

Sorry, don't live in Crouch End - am nearer where you are now. Isn't 'crouch end borders' just estate-agent-speak for places that aren't Crouch End but are close enough to make them sound more 'desirable'? Just like bits of the western edge of Crouch End then become 'Highgate borders'? Maybe the thing to do if you're not too tired (congrats btw!) is spend a bit of time walking or driving around so you can start to get your own feel for the place? Otherwise hope some real crouch enders will be along to help.

Isn't 'Crouch End borders' a euphemism for Finsbury Park?

Ha ha, yes, maybe it is. Good idea to explore the area. Will drag myself over the hill asap and have a snoop around. Thanks xx