Best areas in South / West London for Good State Primary Schools

[EllaFitz]

Hello,

My DH and I are early 30s, professionals and looking to buy a house. Ideally 4 bedrooms if possible. We have family in South London.

We are hoping to start a family soon and obviously are trying to think ahead due to the high stamp duty as moving again in a few years would be a big financial hit. We also want to be near a good primary state school at least (and obviously ideally secondary schools). Catholic schools would actually work well.

We have considered moving to parts of South London (e.g. Sutton / Cheam) to be closer to family but I'm not sure we are so keen for that suburban life though having parents to help with childcare when and if the time comes would probably be very helpful. However, in this area we do not see many young couples around our age when walking around so are worried we will not be able to build a community easily and may feel isolated.

Other areas we have considered are Kew, Teddington, Crystal Palace, Earlsfield, Southfields, Raynes Park, Ealing, Dulwich, Surbiton....

We are obviously considering a wide range of areas and we are aware of some of the various pros and cons of each (plane noise for Kew/Teddington as an example). We are mainly trying to look South of the river to not be too far from parents.

Does anyone have any comments on how useful it has been to live near parents when starting a family and whether this should trump other things? Any experiences of young professionals (around 30 years old) living in Sutton / Cheam? Any other thoughts or suggestions of which areas could work well?

Thank you :)

What’s your budget OP?

Sutton and Cheam is full of young families.

If not out of budget would recommend Putney. The Dover House estate is walking distance from multiple primary schools including a Catholic one, and compared to "main" Putney prices are reasonable.

We are looking around the million mark.

We had a similar budget and criteria to you. But wanted to stay SW London because of all the lovely green space. And although Teddington is gorgeous I’m so glad we didn’t move off the tube line now we have two children and a very busy life.

From your original list, Southfields would be perfect and is an amazing place to live with a young family, but you might be looking at smaller unextended house to the north of the Grid.

Earlsfield we found the busy main road off putting.

You could also look at the South Park Gardens area of Wimbledon which might just be affordable for an unextended house and would be convenient for a Sutton/Cheam drive.

Raynes Park more for your money but a bit less smart and London feeling.

Kew is beautiful but I think will be a flat for your budget.

good luck!

Streatham Hill, the so called ABCD roads , lots of families, access to a choice of excellent primaries and nurseries, (Streatham Wells, Hitherfield, Dunraven) , access to sought after Dunraven secondary or Bishop Thomas Grant excellent Catholic secondary very close.

Lovely community park, Hillside Gardens. Thameslink and London Bridge from Tulse Hill, quick bus to Brixton for the tube, or Streatham Hill for Victoria etc.

Thank you very much for your comments. For anyone that has experience living in Cheam / Sutton we would really appreciate your views also on living there and your experience. Whether you've been able to build a good social life. We can obviously get a much more beautiful house for our money there compared to the other areas.

Almost all London primary schools are excellent. I know it sounds crazy but maybe look into some good secondary schools and be in catchment as they vary a lot more in quality and there are some real black hole areas. If you're buying a 4 bedroom house you might never need to move again if you're near a good secondary.

What are you looking to get for your money? (number of bedrooms, size of garden etc)

I agree with the last poster. For a large house if you can avoid moving for secondary that's amazing. Also bear in mind transport options. I'm getting a bit sick of driving children to school. It was a compromise when we bought our house, but in hindsight the ability to walk or bus to school easily would have improved our quality of life (obviously house pricing reflects this).

Ideally we are looking for 4 bedrooms, or 3 with potential to extend. Trying to avoid over-growing it too quickly. Of course, having a larger garden is preferred however we are realistic this will not be possible in all the locations listed.

You could try twickenham/ st margs. Fast train to Waterloo (so you don’t really need the tube) or a quick walk into Richmond for the tube. Primary and secondary are good and lots of private options.

@EllaFitz it really depends what type of vibe you are looking for. Sutton/Cheam doesn't have the type of young city professionals that you find in SW London proper and the areas you listed above. The demographic is totally different.

Whereabouts in South london are the family you are looking to be close to?

I'd second what the poster said above and recommend Kingston, the Australia's area of Wimbledon and perhaps also Surbiton and Raynes Park.

@Femmefatality Thanks for your comment. Do you know the area well? What would you say the vibe is in that case with young parents there?

@Femmefatality We have family in Sutton but I never grew up there so only know it from visiting family. I prefer the highstreet in Cheam to Sutton which I don't like very much. The main benefit is we would have a lot of family support if we were to have children eventually and also would get a much bigger house plus the commuting lines are pretty good for us from there compared to say, Teddington, as only having one train to Waterloo is not fantastic for us.

I know the area very well.

Sutton grammars have a very large South Asian population, reflective of the demographic of young families in the area. There are of course also young families of other ethnicities and cultures, but I'd recommend you spend some time looking at the grammars you may potentially want future children to go to and consider whether this is what you are looking for.

The young parents in Sutton are much less 'outdoorsy' than those in SW. So you are less likely to see young parents enjoying cafe culture at local independents etc. People tend to spend more time indoors or you often see them in their cars going to various different places. Generally I'd say there is less of a community feel amongst the younger demographic. People tend to stick to who they know.

I'd recommend the southern parts of SW19. Only a 15min drive or so to Sutton and you get the benefit of both tube and train. Importantly, the area probably has more of the type of vibe you are looking for. What I usually sum up as 'cafe culture'.

I am in Ealing with daughters at Catholic schools - I have been very happy with their schools and community - please feel free to PM me if you want more info

Thank you so much for your suggestions and comments! :) @Femmefatality Yes south wimbledon is a good shout though I have to admit when we have been to viewings there we have been a bit underwhelmed by what we can afford and still some of the roads seem a bit dirty / rough at times for the price tag. It's a tricky one!

@Femmefatality if you don't mind me asking, where do you live yourself?

What streets have you looked at in SW19?

I'm in Sutton. Have lived all over SW London during my rent a room days

Just looked at your budget. For £1m and given you want space, your best bet is to go for the roads south of Kingston Rd (Boscombe, Brisbane, Melbourne etc) and get an unextended 3 bed for under 900. You would then need to extend once budget allows to create a 5 bed with large kitchen diner extension.

Ealing has excellent primary schools (including faith schools) and good links to excellent Catholic secondary schools.