Moving to Cheltenham

[EmmaJanet84]

Hi! Does anyone have any experience of moving to Cheltenham from London? Bit apprehensive. I love London but can't afford a home here (just an apartment). Thanks. Any insights or views most appreciated.

So of its gorgeous, some of it is a complete dive. Choose wisely

What’s your budget? Do you need schools? What about work?

Well I can't sell my London place due to cladding issues. So I'll need to rent and my budget is up to £2,000 pcm but I also need 3 bedrooms and would like a little garden. Yes I definitely need schools and that's the main reason for the move. Better schools. Work, I'll be at home with some commuting to London or Bristol.

Where should I avoid?

I’d look at property in Charlton Kings and try to make sure you’re in the Balcarras school catchment (very small). You should get a nice 3 bed with garden in CK for your budget.

There are lovely bits and not so lovely bits! The bit near the old bath road has got nice shops and cafes and is quite close to the town centre (walking distance) Prestbury, charlton kings and leckhampton are all nice areas too. Do you need schools? Avoid the area near GCHQ (Hesters Way/Coronation Square) as that’s a bit rough (or always used to be) Up Hatherley/The Reddings are nice quiet areas but not very exciting. Quick to get to the A40/M5 though if that’s what you need.

Thanks! Are we talking less than 0.5 miles to ensure a place (at Balcarras)?

Ideally I'd like somewhere with a bit of a buzz. I'm not expecting London but somewhere I'll be able to make friends/go out and about. I'm a single parent so it's important for me to build a network really.

It changes every year for Balcarras but I’d say as close as possible (0.8m) at most to be sure. It’s very oversubscribed if you have children already secondary age.
There’s a new secondary being built in Leckhampton also - also a good area and the new school is being sponsored (?) not sure if that’s the right word, by Balcarras.
Other nice areas are Tivoli and Prestbury but I’d honestly advise looking into schools then finding a house as close as possible to your chosen schools.

OK thanks very much. It's tricky as I'll choose a house based on catchment area but how do I know if I'll get a place. Very difficult. Have to have the address first before I can apply to my chosen school. Is there a way of finding out likelihood of getting a school place before signing up for a property? Hope that makes sense!

Ps my DD is 5. But I'll need to be forward looking and ideally be in catchment for good secondary as time will fly!

Your best bet at this stage I think is to ring up the primary schools directly and ask them if they have a space or spaces in her year or if they have a waiting list, how many on that list. If you find there are ones with spaces, look for a house nearby (quickly).
Al lot of the good and outstanding primaries will be full, but spaces do come up.
However if a school has a space you would need to take it and start at the school pretty quickly - I think when we did it we had 2 wks to take up the place.
Hope that helps. Cheltenham is lovely.

Avoid Hesters way, Arle and st marks

OK thank you so much!

Montpelier is very nice with cafes/shops, and is like some of the charming 'London villages' even though smaller. I don't know about schools though. But even being walking / short drive distance from there would be good.

I think Cheltenham's a good choice, used to enjoy visiting for shopping when we lived near. Bath Road car park is cheaper and a nice walk through Montpelier to the centre, while the Bath Road shops and cafes themselves have a nice vibe and in Leckhampton you'd be close to there. There's also the Festival (not last year) in the autumn with lots of events. It is quite a big town though and aware there are more gritty areas.

If you are renting and your daughter is 5, then I think I would go with Leckhampton. It has a lovely family feel. There are 3 good primary schools you could check out and move close to one of those. For secondary, the options are to stay in Leckhampton (most people do) or move to Charlton Kings for the "best" school, Balcarras. There are also grammar schools to consider (many people in Cheltenham do send kids there). If you are thinking of commuting by train, you might want to consider the location of the train station, by judicial placement you could be near enough to that and get a good primary ... harder to get the good secondary! Cheltenham is lovely, lots to do, lots of interesting places nearby as well.

Hi all! Does anyone know anything about Oakwood Primary School in Cheltenham? Thank you 😊

Oakwood school. Not a very nice area. Stick to charlton kings or leckhampton if you can.

For 2k a month you should get an amazing home in a fantastic location! Not Oakwood. I'd recommend St James, leckhampton school

We used to live in Cheltenham but moved around 15 miles out for a quieter life but still work there every day.

Cheltenham is very diverse but as a rule of thumb, schools and properties in the Leckhampton/Charlton Kings areas are a safe bet. Tivoli has lots of nice little streets, as does the Suffolk area. The rougher areas tend to be around the St Marks/Hesters Way/Arle/Waddon and St Pauls but you'll soon see that reflected in the prices.

It's great for shopping, the centre is OK but I love Montpellier and Bath Road area, and the Suffolk Road area. Lots of fab restaurants, the Lido for the summer and the racing (just don't attempt to drive anywhere during Gold Cup week).

Hello!! Does anyone have any thoughts on Glenfall Primary? Seems lovely! Thanks.