Moving to Reading - Please advice!

[Blapclap]

Hello everyone, I am looking to move to Reading and am here for some advice. We have never been towards that side, new to the country. What do you all think of the area? We will need to commute to Warren Street/Kings Cross.
We like a prep school for our daughter - Caversham prep school.
Will appreciate your advice on good areas, areas to avoid, areas which work for the school and the commute. Really appreciate all the help and the guidance.
Happy to rent for some time ( rent around 1800£ pm) and then buy a 3 bedroom house (budget around 700k).
Any advice at all with be truly appreciated.

[Twiglets1]

@OpalKoala

Hi all. We are moving to the UK (from South Africa). We have a high-potential 6 year old son, whom we're looking to enrol in an independent school in Reading (day, co-ed). We came across Caversham Preparatory, and we really liked what we saw on the website and the ISI report. Does anyone have any personal experience with this school and could share some insight?

You should start your own thread with the title Caversham Prep

[Twiglets1]

If you have to travel into King’s Cross wouldn’t it be better to move to an area like Hertfordshire rather than Berkshire where trains go direct to Kings Cross? Lots of good schools in Hertfordshire.

If you are committed to this one particular school then agree Caversham heights is lovely but a pain to get across the bridge by car at busy times. You really need to visit to experience it before buying there.

whoops just realised zombie thread.

[OpalKoala]

Hi all. We are moving to the UK (from South Africa). We have a high-potential 6 year old son, whom we're looking to enrol in an independent school in Reading (day, co-ed). We came across Caversham Preparatory, and we really liked what we saw on the website and the ISI report. Does anyone have any personal experience with this school and could share some insight?

[MrsJamin]

Explore Reading is also a brilliant blog in addition to Edible Reading. Obviously things are a bit different at the moment but there's a good load of varied things happening in the town.

[OnCandyStripeLegs]

FinallyHere good to see ER linked here

[ImNotWhoYouThinkIam]

This just popped up on my Google feed. you might find it interesting

[Curioushorse]

So.....Caversham Prep is a fairly average decent prep. It's fine. It's similar to Crosfields or St Jo's. As always, it depends what you're looking for- and if you felt like your daughter would be happy there, and you were happy with it, then awesome- and ignore everything else! The Caversham state primary schools are excellent- and I'm not sure why many people living in the area would consider sending their child to a private school, unless there were some issues. That, I suspect, is what the previous poster is saying. I'm not sure Caversham Prep does a better job than state, in that area- not because it's bad, but because the state schools are so good.

The school may well get some students into other private schools on scholarships- and that's fine if that's what you want. But did they boast about getting any of their students into Kendrick? Because that would be the real test, as it's a higher achieving and more competitive school than any of the private schools in the area (and the Caversham state primaries are some of the biggest feeder schools for it). As the CAT tests for the independent schools are largely IQ-based, I'm not sure how much praise Caversham Prep can take for getting students into various schools on scholarships every year......
(Plus, both The Abbey and St Jo's would be the obvious independent schools taking girls in Reading. Both of them have their own prep schools)

Good luck, OP. To be honest, you can't really go wrong in the Caversham area. It's a fortunate position to be in because it's a lovely area, and all the schools are good. It is worth expanding your range and weighing up loads of factors. The Henley/Shiplake/Wargrave/Twyford route is a branchline- but the trains are very regular, and there are fast trains morning and evening. Earley, on the other side of Reading is also nice- with similar access to the station. I think you'd have to change the school if you moved there though.

[PrincessButtockUp]

Have you considered Twyford? One stop out from Reading on the London side but pretty much every train stops there. Yes the school is in the other direction but if one is doing school drop off and one is commuting to London it could work. There are some lovely properties around there and it's a lot more villagey.

[Blapclap]

@Oatbaroatbar

Caversham Heights sounds like a good fit and you could find a nice house within budget. (My parents have lived there since 80s and never heard it called ‘upper caversham’ before?!)

I think you’d be in catchment for Caversham Primary which has historically been one of the best and sought after primaries in Reading. I haven’t heard great things about the prep.

Thanks, can you please share what you have heard about the prep. You can pm me if you prefer.
We talked to the headteacher and the learning seemed to be very personalized. Also, they get quite a few kids in various schools with scholarships every year.

[reefedsail]

If you don't want town centre living then what about Pangbourne? Has a train station and St Andrews Prep is glorious. It's a 'real' prep as opposed to a primary school with fees. You'd also have Bradfield, Pangbourne or St Gabriels as a back up if she didn't make Kendrick.

[Oatbaroatbar]

There are nicer prep and state primary schools in East Reading - St Joes, Crosfields are preps, Readlands, St. Peter’s and Alfred Sutton are the state schools.

if you’re looking for somewhere close to cav prep maybe somewhere around Peppard Road. Or if you’re looking for more rural then Kidmoore End/sonning common.

[Oatbaroatbar]

What about this? www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/54423624

[Oatbaroatbar]

Caversham Heights sounds like a good fit and you could find a nice house within budget. (My parents have lived there since 80s and never heard it called ‘upper caversham’ before?!)

I think you’d be in catchment for Caversham Primary which has historically been one of the best and sought after primaries in Reading. I haven’t heard great things about the prep.

[MrsJamin]

Kendrick isn't a normal grammar school, it's a super selective grammar school, girls come from miles and miles around to go there and the bar is ridiculously high. I don't know anyone whose child got in, apart from a family who tutored their child every week from age 5!
Have a look at the crossrail map and where it will stop in London, the connections will improve even more than now. Many people are moving from London to Reading because of it.

[User27aw]

[quote Blapclap]@User27aw not looking at secondaries right now. Our daughter is only 5. But i see that there is a good grammar school.[/quote]
The grammar school Kendrick is very good but entry is extremely competitive. I would have a plan B in case she doesnt get in.

[FinallyHere]

Some background on Reading to start you off

https://ediblereading.com/features-writing-about-reading/

[BewareTheBeardedDragon]

OMG excuse the typos...
to get to Kings x is fairly easy - 25mins from Reading to Paddington and then another 25mins odd on the underground
Eventually I understand there will be a direct fast train to other parts of London - I feel like Kings x may be one of the stops planned, but not entirely sure and also not sure where that project is at.

[BewareTheBeardedDragon]

Upper Caversham is not a term used locally. There is Lower Caversham - which has traditionally been less nice though is being gentrified - the houses are generally smaller, more council/ex council houses. With your budget you don't need to look there (unless you want to). Lower refers to the river direction, so Lower Cav runs down river from Reading bridge, although if you go far enough back from the river you get to other parts.

There is Caversham, which is the area from Reading bridge up river, closer to the Caversham centre shops etc. Convenient for the station and for Caversham prep. Walkable or bikeable easily to both.

There is Caversham Heights - which is the naicest area - but you pay for the perceived poshness of it. There are lots of very nice houses there, but also lots of average houses which cost more purely because of where they are. The bits closest to Caversham centre are fairly convenient for the station and the prep still, but it spreads very far out to the Oxfordshire boundary and the outer parts are less so.

There is Emmer Green, which is further out from the river towards and right up to the Oxfordshire boundary the other way that Caversham heights. The boundary between Emmer Green and Caversham Heights is the Hemdean Valley. Depending on how far out you go Emmer Green is still fairly convenient for the station and the prep.

Lastly there is Caversham Park Village - which is a development all built together in the 60s, with walkways throughout the estate and lots of green space. It is again right up to the Oxfordshire boundary between Emmer Green and slower Caversham.

If you're happy to drive to the station, and to school, and to deal with the Reading bridge traffic and extortionate parking at the station then you could consider Sonning Common or Sonning - both villages a short distance outside Caversham. Sonning is small and very posh, not sure how far your budget would stretch there. It is on the river, and suffers from excessive traffic going over its tiny single lane humpback bridge, but is very pretty nonetheless. Sonning Common is a much larger village and you could get a lovely house with a larger garden there than you'd be likely to get in Caversham.

HTH. Good luck 😀

[Curioushorse]

So Caversham is probably a good starting point, as others have said. If you’re willing to consider other schools (St Joseph’s and Crossfields are both nice) then you could maybe have a look at Earley, which is also a nice area. Earley station goes to Waterloo. Reading station is also still pretty close.

You could throw Shiplake into the mix too. It’s on a branch line- but there are fast trains to Paddington every morning and back every evening. It wouldn’t be much longer to drive your child to school from there each morning than Cavesham itself.

[ImNotWhoYouThinkIam]

I grew up in Lower Caversham so I think it's lovely there too. But its generally(especially on MN) seen as not as nice. Smaller houses, more traffic I think. The heights was always seen as the 'posh' part when I was a child!

The area I live in now is usually mentioned on these threads as somewhere to avoid but I love it here and can't imagine moving!

[Blapclap]

@User27aw not looking at secondaries right now. Our daughter is only 5. But i see that there is a good grammar school.

[Blapclap]

@mrsJamin I meant to the reading station 🙂. That's good to know that bike ride is an option to the station. We are working from home right now, but looking at when things go back to normal.
@imNotwhoYouThinkIam, can you please explain not as nice. Is the crime rate higher?

[ImNotWhoYouThinkIam]

Biking from Caversham to the train station is easy peasy. Lower Caversham is not as nice as Caversham Heights, but still lovely.

[User27aw]

If you are set on Caversham prep then Upper Caversham is a good option. Yes you could cycle from there to Reading station, distance its fine, very busy roads though and a steep hill down into Reading! What secondary were you thinking of?

[MrsJamin]

Do you mean biking from Paddington to King's Cross or across Caversham to the station? There's a pedestrian bridge and underpass to the station so it's pretty accessible by bike at the Reading end. Caversham is quite a gentrified version of Reading, not that urban so unless you really want a country life Caversham would suit you very well if you can afford it.