Tell me about Ewell trains?

[GlitterButler]

I'm considering moving from SE London to Ewell due to decent secondary comps (girls for dd - rosebery, co-ed for ds - glyns) and that it is still within the London travel zones (lower train fares). DH is concerned about trains as both of us need to be able to travel into central london for work daily. At the moment we have fast frequent trains which still add to a 1 hour door to desk commute. What's the rush hour traffic and travel like?

You’ll need to be careful that’s you’re close enough to Roseberry to get in. Sorry, not sure about traffic/trains.

Have you looked at Cheam Village right next door? Cheam High is excellent + you can apply for catchment places at the grammars. Lots of amenities. If there’s a problem with the trains, it’s only a 10-15min bus ride to the tube.

Just to explain, Roseberry and Glyn are quite far apart so you’d need to look at admission distances and you’ll probably be left with a pretty specific, quite small area where to buy to have a chance.

Thanks JoJo, that is helpful! i like cheam, will look into Cheam high.
Hmm I did think it's limiting but cant seem to find any other good girls comp options that also has a boys/co ed nearby.

Glyn is a boys’ school. Blenheim High is co ed but not as academic.
If you wanted a combination of an excellent girls’ school + an excellent co-ed, it might be possible in Twickenham (Waldegrave + Orleans Park). In North Kingston and Coombe area, the Kingston Academy looks promising and it’s probably near enough Coombe Girls. Better options if you’re Catholic or CofE.

I suppose Roseberry and Glyn are single sex but both non selective and excellent. It’d just be a bit of hard work to coordinate catchments, houses and distance to stations.

Trains from Ewell West are every 15 minutes and it’s 30 minutes to Waterloo. You probably won’t get a seat at peak commuter times.
Trains from Ewell East go to Victoria, but I don’t know the frequency.
It’s impossible to park on the streets around the stations, as the residents have requested controlled/restricted/residents parking. You really need to be within walking distance of the railway station.

Rush hour road traffic isn’t too bad. Getting off the A240 at Tolworth onto the A3 southbound (bizarrely!) is a bottleneck.

But there is lots of lovely green space, the Downs, Nonsuch Park, Headley Heath etc.

Have you looked at Epsom instead? In 20 years I only had to stand in the morning 3 times. I always used to feel sorry for the Ewell people who mostly had to stand!

I loved living in Epsom. It really is the best of both worlds with country side on the doorstep yet only 38 minutes to Waterloo.

I’ve never used trains from Cheam, but if you live between Cheam and Sutton (only 1 mile apart), then DH always gets a seat on the Thameslink from Sutton and there are trains to London Bridge and Victoria too (not sure about seats).