Advice desperately needed to find area with good primary school

[pjachok]

We are currently relocating to Surrey,West Sussex border and looking to buy near good primary school. Information from Ofstead and Local Authorities is so confusing that we do not know where to look. Any advice will be much appreciated.

That's quite a long border ! Any more specific areas?

I know that is the problem and at the same time advantage as we can go all the way from Horley to East Grinstead and Tonbridge. Our little one will be 3 this summer and we use this relocation as the opportunity to get her in a good school.

pjachok, I'd say go find somewhere you'd like to live and can see you all being happy in, then have a look at the schools closest. Easier way round maybe.

live where you want to live - somewhere with lots of families, great parks or whatever you like the look of

being near a good primary is no guarantee of a school place so please dont make such a big decision on that basis - in st albans people who live just two streets from a local primary didnt get in due to high sibling numbers so it can be a bit of a lottery - live somewhere nice first

I agree with newgirl however would also say that you need to decide what sort of primary you want for your little one and also look into the secondary that it feeds into.

For example you might think you like the idea of a small village primary however you need to be aware that this means they may not have many facilities or after school clubs. Additionally there is a much higher probability of mixed year group classes. A bigger school will have more funds available and a greater number of families to raise money for extra stuff however you may not feel it is as personal as a small school.

I would not take Ofsted reports in isolation however they are a useful tool when used with other factors.

There isn't a huge variation in primaries in that area tbh. Secondaries are probably more problematic though as you are looking potentially travelling a fair distance as things stand but time is on your side for that to change. You'll need to be in situ by this October for the Surrey application process, not sure about West Sussex deadlines.