Cardiff and the Vale

[Beavermum]

Hi may have to move from herts to Wales. I used to live in Cardiff so know area well but was single childless etc now am married with ds 6. Any suggestions thinking Cowbridge, Cyncoed, Roath, the other side of Roath Park (cant remember name -Obviously schools important. Any suggestions

Helloooooooooooooo

Well, I'd say life in Cowbridge or life in Roath is very different, tbh. Do you want to be in a small town or near the centre of a city?

Cowbridge School, Cardiff High, Whitchurch, Radyr, I'd say are all supposed to be good schools though it depends on what you're after of course.

Other side of Roath Park... Lakeside? Heath? Maybe Penylan - which is very yummy mummy but the houses have hardly any garden. So be glad there's some good parks! Main problem with Penylan is the secondary school catchment areas, although apparently all the borders are changing and it may become Cardiff High in places. Wait for house prices to rocket even further than they are around there.

Creigiau is 8 miles from Cardiff City centre, good primary school in village and catchment area for Radyr comp (or Bishop of Llandaff if looking for Anglican church school).

But it's more of a suburb/village - great if you like countryside, not so good if you want the benefits of city living.

Cowbridge is similar but a bit more chi chi (?sp) than where we are now and was at a beaver welly walk thinking if we go we will miss all this nice community stuff

City think Cardiff is lovely bf lives in Pontcanna and love the ability to walk into town and the parks

Hmmmm hadn't thought of Newport friends live in Cardiff, Porthcawl Nottage and Carmarthen

Depends on your budget - Roath Park, cyncoed - wow!

I'm outside Newport. Good roadlinks and train. Risca has a great raillink now.

School wise no idea as my boys are under 5. But state schools in this area all are passable, none amazing and what they dont state is the drug problems that seem to exsist in some of the better schools.

If you're after chi chi I wouldn't go towards Newport...

Pontcanna is great but again, schools are a problem there. Though are you planning to do local state school?

Not after chi chi but just Cowbridge is more than here and lovely as I am sure parts of Newport are just can't ...........

Know pontcanna well lived there have friends there but schools issue and anyway think best to go somewhere new as this is me, dh and ds starting new life i new place rather than me going back ifyswim!

Sorry NVR state schools for us

Well. Personally, I'd go for North Cardiff. Whitchurch maybe, or Heath Park area. Up to Rhiwbina.

Nice and suburban for the kids (parks and all the usual facilities) but not too far out of town. Some decent schools too.

If state schools are likely to be a problem, why not go for Welsh language education? You can do Pontcanna then, if you like, or anywhere around llandaff/ Canton/ Victoria park. Llandaff also has the Cathedral School and howells as options.

NVR Is it easy to get out to motorway from those A470 in morning from those areas?

Well, DH likes to travel earlier rather than later to avoid the worst of the traffic, and you're better off going out of town than into it, but on the whole I'd say not too bad.

I drive from Birchgrove to the Bay every morning, which takes about 25 minutes right through the city centre to get to the Bay for 9. Really, people talk about Cardiff being congested but it's nothing like some cities. IMHO.

The A48 is the ring road dividing Roath from Whitchurch / Birchgrove / Heath - you're better off on the outside of it rather than the inside, if you want to get out in the mornings.

Agree with NVR - North Cardiff good. How about a little further out though - Creigau, Pentyrch or Gwaelod Y Garth? All in catchment for Radyr Comp, and all have lovely village primary schools. Depends if you want that village/country feel or if you'd still like to feel a bit more citified.

Ooh I'd forgotten about Gwaelod Y Garth v nice

Hi,

I have a similar problem. Moving to Cardiff from London, three kids and need a state school - secondary, in about two years.

We like Pontcanna - close to parks and Chapter and city centre. But not sure that at 8 our eldest could do Welsh language.

Anyone sent an older child through Welsh?
And how's Radyr Comp? And can i send them there while living in Pontcanna!?

S

Hi, really interested in this thread. We have also recently moved to Cardiff. Are currently renting but hoping to buy in Pontcanna. We have heard that schools aren't great in the area. We are probably not going to send our DS to Welsh School, as would like to be really involved with his education and homework,and neither of us speak Welsh.

Does anyone know which English medium primary schools in the area are good?