Living in Ham/ Petersham

[LongbourneCat]

Hello (again),

I posted recently asking about living in Teddington and had some amazing answers - thank you again everyone for these.

my family and I went for a walk round the area this week and loved it. We then ended up walking to Richmond through Ham and we were struck by how nice Ham/ Petersham seemed. We’d not really looked into that area before - we were a bit put off initially by the lack of a train (we currently live in north London with a tube at the end of our road). However, we suddenly wondered if in fact this is as important as we thought compared to slightly more spacious houses and all the green.

I was really hoping someone/ones might read this post who know the area and can tell me a bit about what it’s like.

we love the green space and how it seems to wrap around the houses, how quiet it is, the closeness of the river. The walk ability to Richmond and Teddington. We like Richmond town centre a lot.

Looking at Ham and Petersham on a map it’s really hard to get a sense of things like shops (where do you go for your weekly shop?), how people interact with the area - do you spend a lot of your free time in Ham/ Petersham and what is there to do there? or are you always jumping on a bus to go elsewhere? What are the parent and toddler options like? Schools? (State)

I realise this might be different for different people but would love to hear anyone’s experience.

also, would we fit in? We are a teacher and writer, middle earners, more arts than finance. Two under 5s. Again I realise that might be hard to answer but would love any thoughts!

our budget for property is around 750ish.

That's really helpful, will take a look in this area too

Really good area for young families. Buses are good. When I’m staying I tend to use Lime bikes or pedal bikes to whizz around. I grew up there and miss it decades later, in some ways as there is always so much going on.

And yes, Thames Bloody Water and their abstraction proposal on the riverside… it seems like vandalism.

Hello, I’ve just seen this has been bumped 😊

we have looked into the Russell School in Petersham. It’s OFSTED Good, has an amazing campus and seemed incredibly friendly and kind. The SEN provision looked very good too. Our worry was it didn’t feel hugely academic or ambitious for the children. This Might not be an issue, or accurate as this is all from school tours! A few locals said Meadlands was more ambitious for the children and the Greycourt secondary is meant to be amazing.

The lack of community around a conventional high street still concerns us too. Although Richmond is so close and there’s a lot there.

The main draw for us is the green space and how safe it feels…

Id love to hear how you get on/ any of your research! We have a house now but have had to push our move back a bit.

@LongbourneCat it's a lovely area- we lived close at one point- you have Kingston very close too and lots going on- you will find a community- but more by joining things -

We took a little walk around Ham at the weekend and it reconfirmed our desire to live in the area. It seems like a walk to Teddington High Street is very possible as well, if it's café culture we'd be craving (got to keep up the flat white habit somehow)!
Meadlands looks like a really lovely primary school. Your insight regarding a degree of academic rigour there sounds promising.
We're getting our ducks in a row to buy our first flat and will keep you updated should this be the area we end up in :)
I am still curious about the redevelopment of Ham Close Estate. A friend of mine who lives fairly close by seems to think there's been some grumblings of concern from locals about impending disruption due to the long term building work that will be happening over the next half a decade (!)?? We've seen a few properties pop up for sale, perhaps for this reason. We're trying to figure out if we still like the area enough to put up with it for long term gain...

The Swiss bakery by the mini Tesco is great for coffee. Also ham parade has several coffee shops - I can think of 4 places where you can sit outside. And if you are feeling very flush there is Petersham Nurseries.

I talked to someone who moved to Ham recently, and they sent their kid to a primary in Kingston. I don't know why they chose it over the two primaries in Ham. Her son goes to Teddington school as there weren't any year spaces in Grey Court, but they are appealing. Despite realizing Grey Court is academically better, I ended up at Teddington Riverside over Ham.

The schools in Ham used to have poor reputations but the schools in north Kingston were/are most sought after. I live in the area and when we were thinking of putting our house on the market the estate agents were really keen because we are in catchment for Latchmere. That and Fernhill are the most desirable.

@Hellenhellen i think I remember you from previous posts —are you a single parent who wanted to move from overseas to London or close to London? I am also a single parent and ended up living in north Richmond for good primary schools. Now looking to move into catchment for good secondary schools in the area - and I understand you can access a few secondary schools from living Teddington (riverside)/ north Kingston or Ham so am looking to move into the area. How is Teddingron and did your children end up at Teddington School - would be interested in your views there too!

Hello! Yes, that's me. We moved in September and are doing fine in Teddington. My DD1 is in Year 9 at Teddington School, and she is happy and academically doing well so far. We are only a few minutes away from school. The best schools are considered to be Orleans Park, Grey Courts, Turing House, and TKA. However, the TS results are not bad at all. (DD1 would be on the waiting list for each of these good schools, so only considered TS).

I feel very safe in this area. It feels quiet and green, yet it's a 10- to 15-minute walk to the busy town of Kingston, which I often visit a few times a week.

My DD2 is in Year 4, and I will consider TKA for her. We are in the catchment area for TKA from TW11, but we will consider moving towards north Kingston if that happens. I will also consider moving DD1 to TKA / Grey Court for A levels. However, we might end up at TS and enjoy the luxurious feeling of TW11. It all depends on how my DDs do academically, as well as the TS results on GCSE and A-levels.

Everything is perfectly fine in my area except the house prices and rents. If you consider buying, North Kingston seems better value for money although I haven't experienced living there.

Wishing you all the luck - let me know how you do

Btw- we are at Teddington Riverside - not Teddington- as someone told before, we are far from the Teddington High Street but closer to the Kingston center