Leytonstone or South Woodford?

[happylittletree]

I have a child who will be going to school next September and I'm looking to get settled in somewhere by application time. Which would you choose? Why?

South Woodford/Wanstead. lots of good primaries in that area - Nightingale, Snaresbrook, Churchfields. My DD went to Nightingale for primary and I was pretty happy with it. We have just moved out to the coast for other reasons, but it is a lovely area and fast links into London if needed, plus very good travel to get out of London as well.

Leytonestone is nice, but I'm not sure about the schools there TBH, and its definitely more "London" in parts than South Woodford.

I like that it's more "London"!

Thanks for sharing your experience! It lines up with my understanding that South Woodford has great schools and it's a well-established area for families.

There are some schools with great ratings and scores in Leytonstone I'm also wondering if it's likely that property values may rise more quickly in Leytonstone.

I live in Leytonstone - house prices have gone mad here over the last few years, but (anecdotally) there are a lot of properties coming on to the market at the moment so asking prices may come down somewhat.

Can't help with Woodford - don't know it at all - but the primaries here in E11 are generally very good. It's a good area to live. Lots of new, young families have moved in. And you very definitely feel part of 'proper' London!

@chipsarnie thanks! The area that seems most within reach to me budget wise (and for some practical reasons) is just south of Newport School. Any thoughts on that area?

@happylittletree Newport is right next to Francis Road, which has had ££££ spent transforming it from a noisy rat run into a quiet street lined with independent shops, bars and restaurants - some of which are very good. There are some very pleasant residential roads in that area. Things get a bit scruffier towards the south end of Leyton high road and the Cathall junction end of Grove Green road. It's also an easy walk to Leyton station, which was due to be improved - although given the financial hammering TFL's had, I'm not sure if that's still on the cards.

We live the other side of the A12/Tube tracks near Cann Hall Road/Wanstead flats, and we absolutely love it. It's a good area for families. We know all our neighbours, and we look out for each other . Over the years we've lived here it's been heartening to see the housing stock restored by newcomers and the new businesses that have opened locally (wine bar, venue, bakery, restaurant, cafes - three pubs!). My little one went to Jenny Hammond primary and we couldn't be happier with the school.

@chipsarnie thanks - that's enormously helpful. It's so tricky searching for properties! I am interested in your neighbourhood and specifically properties near the Jenny Hammond primary school as well, but I worried that it might be too far from public transport. Do you have a car? Do you find the long trek to public transport annoying?

For personal reasons, I would prefer to be close to the Overground line at Leytonstone High Road or Leytonstone Midland Road, and that's influencing my decisionmaking.

Due to my budget, I would probably need to be close-ish to the dodgy Cathall junction end of Grove Green road. What you are saying aligns with my understanding of the area. I will take another walk around there soon!

And Bushwood would be my ideal, but I think it's out of reach :(

Always happy to help, @happylittletree.

Public transport has never been an issue. It's about a 15 minute walk to Leytonstone tube, about 7 to Leytonstone Overground. I like walking, but it's easy to bus it. I don't even notice it, tbh. We're served by three good bus routes - the 339, 58 and 257. We do have a car, but could easily live without it. Waltham Forest council is increasingly pro-pedestrian and cyclist. We mostly get around on foot or bicycle (or bus, pre-covid) anyway.

Bushwood is lovely - especially the bits bordering 'Bush Wood'. You certainly pay for the privilege though. We've never regretted moving to Cann Hall. It's improved beyond measure in recent years - it was a bit of a run down 'bedsit land' when we arrived in 2001, but a lot of the rental properties have become family houses again. Woodhouse Road and Chichester Road are particularly nice - Woodhouse has larger houses.

I'm not sure of the Jenny Hammond catchment nowadays - it seems to have a few anomalies, so do check carefully. There's also Buxton and Davies Lane. Davies had an 'outstanding' OfSted report a few years back, I don't know if that's still the case. Buxton is part of a much larger secondary school.

I used to live in South Woodford. Lovely area!

Any further thoughts from the Friday afternoon crowd?

South Woodford has a Waitrose but not Leytonstone. That might be important to you.

Churchfields is a great school (so I understand) but the catchment is tiny, so unless you buy a house next door you may as well discount it as an option.

It sounds like you are pretty happy with Leytonstone and I think you can probably stretch your money to go a bit further there. There are some lvoely restaurants and good pubs in the area, family friendly too, good transport links. Around Francis road has had a lot of money spent on it and it is very nice. I would say whatever you decide pay attention to the catchment areas, they can be a bit odd

New idea: Forest Gate?

I lived in Leytonstone for about a year and nearby Wanstead for 10 years.

I would choose Wanstead or South Woodford every time over Leytonstone.

Parts of Leytonstone are great, others not so much. There was a fair amount of noise and anti-social behaviour there when I rented a flat about 10 minutes from the station. I will never forget how our rubbish bins were regularly targeted and emptied by fraudsters who were looking for discarded bills...leaving us to clean up the mess every time.

Buckhurst Hill is nice too and so is Woodford Green although it is a bit further.

I think I must live near @chipsarnie!

I have found it great for kids, lots of parks and kids things to do (pre Covid, obviously...). The flats are great and while leytonstone tube is 15 min walk, so is forest gate station which gives another option to getting into the city.

We are toying with the idea of moving as I want a bigger house and garden, and all the houses around here are relatively narrow. But the great people and all the new pubs and cafes are making it a very difficult choice!

Hi @DryIce

I think this is a dilemma that hits a lot of people round here. They like the area but feel like they outgrow the house when kids (or kids and dogs) come along- it's good news for loft companies though, there's scaffolding and skips everywhere. A few of my neighbours have had their lofts done, and it's increased their living space by a very significant amount. We're considering it too. Having said that, the Victorian terraces - the ones with a single bay that are characteristic of East London - do make very good family homes for city dwellers. We love ours.

And I like Wanstead a lot. Very villagey, if that's your thing. A proper high street and even has a 'village green'. It's like a transplant from Barnes. Expensive though - and definitely feels a lot more suburban.

The parts of Leytonstone you may prefer to live in are v expensive and much of the Ofsted data is on baseline v exit data, so kids are on low levels entering.
Bush wood is lovely but super expensive plus quite a trek from the tube/train, ditto Aldetsbrook estate.
If you have a (very) healthy budget, Wanstead is lovely, though small no of schools. I wouldn't choose Nightingale ever,dreadful place, despite results. Snaresbrook or Churchfields okbut tiny catchment due to masses of flats.