Help us decide where to move to! (London)

[MelbourneStateofMind]

Looking to move within London in the next few years and looking for recommendations for areas. Partner and I have small DC and no other family therefore no ties to any particular area. We need access to the City in under 45 mins door to door, and good state secondary schools. We are not interested in moving out to the suburbs and like being within easy access of the centre of town, plus close to good green space.

We have been renting near Blackheath / Greenwich which is a lovely area for primary aged children but secondaries aren't great unless you are Catholic. Everyone here seems to bus their DC out to Kent grammars. We are against grammar schools and private schools (could not afford them anyway!) and the local comprehensive has had mixed reviews having been closed down.

I've been looking around at good mixed non-religious state schools but not sure whether to choose the area first, or, since we have no real ties to anywhere just choose a great school and go for that area. In a way having no ties is helpful, but it also means we can feel overwhelmed by the choice!

Some schools I have looked up are Graveny - but I don't know how nice Tooting is as an area? Also Haverstock School (we used to live round Kentish Town and absolutely loved it there but not sure what Haverstock is like?)

We have lived in London for 15+ years but prior to DC so mostly inner city flats. I am now looking at London with new eyes through a family lense.

We would have a budget of up to around £850/900 for a 3 bed, or 4 bed if we could afford.

Can anyone recommend a great state secondary or an area or both please? Thank you.

Those areas are quite suburban though & agree with pp that Dunraven & it's surrounds are a bit far from a park.

I'm in z3 & class it as a suburb but everyone has widely different definitions 😆

I agree actually, that the Norwoods and surrounds do feel very much like suburbia to me.

Careful OP posters will come for you! 😆I have friends in Z3 where you are a good walk from transport/shops & then friends in z4/5 who are moments front station & shops. Depends on the area & often house size.

Graveney is a good school, and furzedown is great - can walk into Tooting Broadway or Bec easily and have tube and overground options into Central London

East Finchley? Zone 3 Northern Line to Moorgate or Bank. Green space: Cherry Tree Woods. Also Ally Pally and Hampstead Heath close by. Walking distance or bus to Muswell Hill and short bus ride to Crouch End if you like that kind of vibe. Secondary schools I'm a bit out of touch with that - Archer Academy I think is good and Fortismere in Muswell Hill although it always used to have a miniscule catchment.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/123884897#/?channel=RES_BUY

Yes I think Fortismere has a teeny catchment so it wouldn't stretch to East Finchley.

APS is a possibility.

@bravotango thanks for the info. I think I might go and look round Furzedown to see what the areas like.

The North Dulwich one might be the right catchment for us to buy in Herne Hill perhaps?

You'd struggle to get a 3/4 bed house for only £900k in Herne Hill, unless you are OK with a flat?

I live in your area and my son goes to the failed comp, I strongly suspect it will be back to Good status by the time your kids are old enough. Otherwise Tallis seems very popular, why don't you fancy it?

Tooting is fine but not as lovely as where you are now

Anywhere you move, there is a risk schools go downhill by the time your kids get there. JR was a good school for a long time before things went south rather quickly.

Hillfield Gardens is a lovely local park, and the streets round there have an excellent choice of primaries: Streatham Wells, Hillfield, Dunraven Primary. The other side of Dunraven is an easy walk to Streatham Common, with Julian’s, Sunnyhill etc as primaries.

Dunraven in Streatham and Graveney in Furzedown both have very very tight distance catchments.

Anywhere where you are looking for a semi at that price will be a bit suburban.

MelbourneStateofMind In your position I would definitely give Furzedown consideration. I'm in Putney and had friends who lived there for a long time. It's certainly not a suburban area lol!

I don't think I said we are looking for a semi? A 3 bed dwelling or 4 if we could find one.

good schools
still feels like London
nice / gentrified area

a 3/4 bed anywhere that ticks all 3 of those boxes will likely be close to a mill.

If you could drop one of them that might bring it into budget.

Or if you were prepared to live in a flat you would be ok?

Yes a flat is fine.

This years results are published on the John Roan school website. They look pretty decent to me.
The Leigh Academy facilities are very good but they don't seem to have published their results.
Quite a lot of kids commute to grammar schools around Bexley/Dartford and others head into schools in central London, City of London school for girls in Barbican for example.
Greenwich in particular lends itself to a quick and straightforward commute for a Yr7 child.

As I said in my op we are not keen on grammar or private. I had a look at a John Roan results and didn't think they looked exceptional. Though of course they may improve. Destination data didn't look impressive.

I agree it's not highly impressive now but they've only had the new team in for a couple years and that was over the pandemic.

It's an academy now and they are ruthless about improving things, all I can say is that my son is doing well and I'm really impressed with how much he's learning.

I also like that it feels like a London school and not a suburban school. It's incredibly diverse and has a lot of partnerships with local organisations, e.g. you can do an Astronomy GCSE with the royal observatory, they volunteer with Mycenae House, etc.

They're having their first ofsted report since the changeover this year so maybe wait and see what it says?

Thanks for starting this OP. Interested as though our kids are still little I’m sure this will come around quickly for us too!

We are NE London bordering Redbridge/Newham/Waltham Forest so any intel on good schools in those boroughs would be welcome. In other respects it’s a lovely place to live with young kids and lots of green space (Wanstead flats and Epping Forest).

Thanks @dreamingbohemian that's helpful

The local schools have been transformed over the past 20 yrs. The Leigh academy is the school made famous by Jamie Oliver with his war on chicken nuggets. It was razed to the ground and the new school has the most fantastic facilities.
John Roan was Needs Improvement for the entire time we lived nearby. Shame as beautiful old building and amazing location for local kids. Had the most amazing local parent support and community. My kids were tiny so not relevant then but kept an eye for the same reasons you are doing now.
Purely judging by the results and the website content the school appears to be well on jts way

I came to suggest that area!

That house is small but lovely. But if you’re just as happy in a flat, some good flats for your budget around there.

The house PP suggested above would get you into fortismere but not Archer.

Archer also has a tiny catchment, but cheaper houses than MH. Both are nice areas, both are great schools! I would highly recommend.

For the Archer Academy:
easy Finchley

*East!
whoops!