Paddock Wood / Tonbridge

[BetteDavis01]

Hello, can anyone please give me some info on what these areas are like?

They are both in my price range, although Paddock Wood seems a bit cheaper. Why is that?

Are they family friendly?
Are the schools good?
If you live there, are you happy?

Any info you may have will be appreciated!

Thank you

Bump!

Bumping for you!

I've got family in a village outside Tonbridge and they love it. They seem to be spoilt for choice in terms of good schools, although their Dcs aren't school age yet so I don't know if schools are as good in reality as they seem to be on paper.

My impression is that there are lots of families and and lots going on for children.

Ahh thank you! I really hope I get some replies, really curious to know what it's like there.

If you haven't tried already, do a Mumsnet search (top right hand of each page) on Tonbridge and on Paddock Wood - comes up with hundreds of similar threads, as yours is a well-trodden path!

Difference in price is because Tonbridge is slightly closer to London, and the town is more 'prestigeous' than Paddock Wood. Paddock Wood Town centre is a bit, well uninspiring, and 'local' (although I quite like it, it's got a traditional old fashioned department store, cheap bakeries, cafes etc. It's like going down a hight street from the 1980s!).

Paddock Wood is unique in Kent in that it has a genuine comprehensive school, Mascalls (i.e. one that children go on to oxbridge from). It is extremely well regarded and oversubscribed (based on geographical distance, so if you lived in Paddock Wood you would have no trouble getting in, but people further affield fight for the remaining places). That means, whether your child is bright or not, they will get a good secondary education, and if they are a 'slow developer' they will be able to catch up and achieve their full potential. If you live in Tonbridge, you are at the mercy of the Kent 11+ system, which is fantastic if your child is bright and gets to grammar school, but not so good if your child is not.

Thank you weedonleg, good info about schools.