Living Worcester Park - how is it like?

[DogLover20]

Came across a few threads suggesting WP as an area to live for young families, I just wanted to see if anyone here on MN knows it/lives there. How is it like?
What I am mainly interested in is: safety, schools (primaries and secondaries), local amenities, reliability of trains, any other interesting/useful info :)
Tempted by the fact that it is zone 4, although seems strangely "affordable" (and by affordable I still mean expensive but much less so than other areas close by), what is the reason? Is due to higher crime/more rough streets or simply maybe less train connections etc?
We have a budget of £550K max for a 2, ideally 3 bed house.

Thank you!

We lived there until 2018 so my info is slightly out of date. We also didn't have kids at the time.

It's nice enough. I always felt safe there. Trains were always packed at rush hour so I'd definitely test the commute if you can.

I think the reason it's affordable is that there isn't much there other than housing, so for me it felt like the downsides of an urban area (air pollution, high housing density, lack of green space) without the upsides of quick transport, nice cafes, etc.

There are two fabulous restaurants near Manor Park, though - Osaka (sushi) and the Persian restaurant next door. Both wonderful.

Overall I'd recommend it as a place to live if you want to be reasonably close to London in a family-friendly area.

Your max. budget might just stretch to The Hamptons area of Worcester Park to a 3 bedroom terraced house (Heatherlea Grove or Beaumont Drive) if house prices keep on falling. You're on the edge of the Mayflower Park with small playgrounds, tennis courts and a wetlands area to feed the ducks, plus a riding school and another park with playground and playing fields which leads on from Mayflower Park (lots of young families play there and walk through it to get to school). Also equidistance from Worcester Park and Motspur Park stations (both Zone 4). The high street needs a bit of tlc, but has various chains, a couple of supermarkets and independent shops and you're a bus ride / drive from Kingston for great shopping or New Malden for different cuisines.

Primary schools: Green Lane Primary & Dorchester Primary are a short walk (I don't have primary age children so no inside knowledge) and in catchment for selective Sutton grammar schools and Tiffin Boys for secondary, or Cheam High (non selective).

The roads just outside The Hamptons have more reasonably priced housing (same Sutton borough) and its cheaper than the Kingston borough area of Worcester Park too.

@IfYouAreHappyAnd thank you. I was thinking to look very close to the Dorchester primary school as that's where the catchment for Cheam High ends, not sure if it's the area you are also referring to, will check it out. I didn't check the Sutton grammar catchment, will also have a look.

I saw a few properties around that budget, some decent 3 bed terraced as you say (which is the max we'd be buying) or some very nice 2 bed for £500K max.

Overall, is it a safe area you think?

@sarahb083 thank you. Trains are always packed where I am too tbh so I don't expect it to be particularly different - are there no green spaces at all? Like playgrounds etc? I am a city girl so don't need to have big fields around me but definitely a couple of park for my DC

This worries me a bit (near a street we were considering): https://www.streetcheck.co.uk/crime/kt48jg

Does anyone know what they mean exactly with violence/sexual offence?

We live there. As said, not much here. It’s ok. Lovely new local Japanese restaurant. Some more recent property crime in last few years but I feel 100% safe walking around. Good transport. Depending where you live there’s also the option of 93 bus to Morden for northern line or Wimbledon for district line. I don’t bother with trains anymore, massively reduced service since pandemic and very unreliable. Walkable to Nonsuch Park which is a lovely green space. Traffic can be terrible on Central Road but you learn when to avoid it. We are looking to move out of London but I’ve been happy enough here. An unremarkable place but plenty close by.

Hi, it’s a lovely area. Dorchester primary is a great little school. Also all the Sutton schools are pretty good. Healthcare is good. You’ve got st Helier hospital, Epsom hospital and specialist St George’s and Royal Marsden close.

You have a playground next to the school, also green space at the Hamptons and the huge park at Nonsuch Park which leads into Cheam Park.

The high street has everything you could want - Waitrose, good hairdressers, fish and chips, Nando’s, pub, new butchers, greengrocers, library etc.

Transport is great. You’re in the middle between the towns of Epsom, Sutton and Kingston with buses and trains. Direct bus to Heathrow and direct train to London Waterloo.

We’re happy.

We feel safe living here (including my teenagers commuting to school & hanging out with friends). Although we've always lived in London boroughs so are quite streetwise anyway.

@Balletdreamer can I just check what you mean re the trains? do they cancel them often/are they delayed? I checked SW website and looks like there is one every 10-15 min at peak times, is that not the case?

@IfYouAreHappyAnd thank you - can I ask, what is the situation with secondaries there?

re. non fee paying Secondaries - there are a couple of good faith schools in New Malden (strict admissions criteria from birth probably).

Maybe out of catchment for Coombe Girls', but in maybe in catchment for Coombe Boys' in New Malden (non selective).

A number of Sutton grammars (selective).

Tiffin grammars in Kingston (selective).

and Cheam High (non selective).

Raynes Park High is (non selective) but I don't know enough about the standard of the school or its catchment to comment.

All the catchments will change year on year though. So all good schools, many oversubscribed hence some have small catchments / possible feeder primaries? and most are easy to get to from Worcester Park.

There might be others accessible from WP and in catchment that I don't know about too.

@IfYouAreHappyAnd thank you! good to know there are options within catchment even though not directly in WP. I guess it's worth speaking to the admission offices of these before making an offer, even though we are years away from secondary enrolment.

Can I also ask, any areas you'd avoid? sorry for all the questions but it's so useful to find someone who knows the area.

Yes, each school will have it's own admissions criteria and distance is only one of those.

We only moved to WP in 2021, although having walked around most of the area (especially during lock-down!) I'm sure there must be some, but we haven't found a bad road to avoid yet.

*its own

Hi @NehaV78 we think you meant to start your own thread. If you need help with that please let us know by using the report function and we will guide you through the process. We will remove your posts shortly.
MNHQ