Selecting commuter town to move to

[SpuriousCorrelation]

Hi all, looking for an advice to how to select my next place to live. We currently live in zone 2, a family of 3, and don't really want to exceed 850k in budget. Out biggest motivation is good school, as I don't want to move again when my son reaches secondary school stage. We're more inclined to grammar schools, rather than private, but are happy to have a good private as a backup plan if the child fails to get into grammar. Both me and my wife work Central London, and more than an hour commute looks a bit tough to us. This way, we shortlisted to several places I'm currently looking at:

1. Chelmsford - extremely good grammar school, slightly lower prices, good commute. A bit dodgy area in north west though, and the closest good private in Brentwood

1. Reading - 2 good grammars, also slightly lower prices. All the houses on zoopla look very old and problematic though.

1. Sevenoaks - is very popular among our friends an colleagues, but I don't understand the school situation there, as Tonbridge grammars are out of catchment, and privates are second in price only to Eton. Also feel myself very poor when checking house prices there.

1. Tonbridge - 3 good grammars, but no backup private plan. Commute start to become quite long at this point.

1. Orpington - 2 good grammars, again no private. Also pushes to the limit in terms of prices.

1. Sutton - 5 good grammar schools, and not that expensive. The area seems very dodgy though, doesn't give the same feeling of a small town to me.

1. High Wycombe - 2 good grammar schools, but the area seems dodgy to me.

1. St Albans - super popular, but again I don't understand why. Also quite tough on prices for my budget it seems.

Chelmsford seems like the sweetest spot, but I can't get rid of a suspicion I am missing smth big which drives house prices down there. I understand my criteria could very much differ from the general public, but what is the main driver of Sevenoaks being so much more expensive than Chelmsford? Also, could it be there are some awesome places I've missed?

And the last question - are there some kind of consultants that take fee for helping in such a selection. As it is a very big and important decision, I really consider I could pay some money for a second opinion.

I live near Shenfield Station. Much quicker to commute into London from here than Chelmsford, both elizabeth line and fast trains stop here. You can buy reasonable for 850k but Chelmsford would be cheaper.

Only about 10 minute train journey to the grammar schools in Chelmsford. And if Grammar is not an option, all state schools round here are good too.

Chesham or Amersham? Marlow is nicer than High Wycombe (I used to teach in a High Wycombe grammar and lots of them came from Marlow and the villages around Wycombe but not sure if catchments have changed).

Also most private schools have an extensive bus network so even if your preferred town doesn’t have one you may well be easily able to get to a private school in the area using a school bus.

Rather than High Wycombe, I'd look at the nearby stops on the High Wycombe train line, such as Beaconsfield or Gerrard's Cross. Either would be a lovely place to live, you'd still be in the Buckinghamshire grammar school system, and you should just about be able to get something for your £850,000 budget. Also, I'd look at Maidenhead and its surrounds. There are fast trains into London, good private provision, and kids and allowed to and regularly do travel over the nearby county border into Buckinghamshire to attend the excellent grammar schools nearby.
Also look at the villages nearby to those commuter towns, there's some lovely villages on the outskirts. An awful lot of people commute from villages and drive to the mainline stations- and the stations are well set up for commuters with large carparks. Look at Penn and Downley near High Wycombe, and Pinkneys Green and Cookham near Maidenhead.

Which mainline station do you need to come into, ideally?

You need to pin down your journey time from station to station.

St Albans is 20 min to St Pancras which is one reason it’s popular. 850 won’t get you a house near the station or even 20 min walk away so maybe take that off your list

Chelmsford is cheaper than Sevenoaks because Essex is a bit cheaper than Kent in general, I suspect?

Echo PP’s question about which station you need to come into - Chelmsford v good for Liverpool Street, for example.

It's worth knowing that the two grammars in Reading are super-selective. They are very hard to get into. If you are set on there, look at Earley, over the borough boundary in Wokingham. The housing stock is newer, and the state schools are excellent, unlike the comps in Reading borough.

Wife in Liverpool Street, me in Mayfair. But I am not sure 10 minutes faster commute should be a deciding factor, but rather think how good is the area and schools. Though Marlow with 1.5 hours commute to central London is too much for me.

I only know about the London grammars but there are parts of Sutton eg Worcester Park which would put you in the “catchment” for Tiffin, Sutton grammars & then another good non comp option. I would recommend having a back up in case grammar isn’t the right option. Your dc might be bright enough but it still may not be the best option.

Greycourt School, Richmond, you would find a nice house in Ham for that price https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151731254#/?channel=RES_BUY Very easy journey to Richmond station by bus or cycle along river.

Kingston/Richmond borders would give you access to has some good comps

Also Kingston & Sutton would give you access to lots of Surrey privates, loads have bus services.

Children from Sevenoaks attend Tonbridge Grammar ,Judd,Weald of Kent ,Skinners Grammar School in Tunbridge Wells,and there is a satellite school in Sevenoaks attached to Weald of Kent . All the schools I have named are Grammar so great if children are academic and pass 11+ .Ton Grammar,Judd and Skinners are all super selective. I am not sure which comprehensive schools are in and around Sevenoaks.

I would look at Chislehurst, Sidcup or Bromley - less than half an hour to central London on the train and nice areas. Very easy to get out to Kent or the coast too. Loads going on for young people without having to ferry them around in more rural areas.

Some top grammar schools including super selectives like St Olaves/Newstead or the Dartford Grammars are easily accessible by bus/train alongside normal grammars in the Bexley Borough (which are also very good).

Hi OP, you have such an exciting choice. I used to work in Orpington the grammars are not just for Bromley I think you should check their admissions criteria. I didn't really like Orpington much myself.
Lots of choice in Cambridgeshire/Hertfordshire for commuting trains from Cambridge actually go directly into Liverpool Street and the fast service into King's X is only 48 minutes from Cambridge mainline.
Awesome private schools in Cambridge actually awesome state schools. Lovely place to live as well.
Might be too far for you though.

Chelmsford is a very family friendly city. A good place to raise children. The grammars are highly regarded but are also super selective with over a thousand children sitting the 11+/CCHS test. All state options bar Hylands are generally good, agree though that best local private is Brentwood for secondary. St Cedds for primary is excellent. Would be a good commute for both of you with the back up of the Elizabeth Line from Shenfield if the train drivers are striking!

Woking

Loads of great schools and 22 mins to Waterloo on train.

Came here to say this. Don't move to Reading expecting to get into Kendrick or Reading Boys, they are so tough to get into and have very wide catchments they select the very best kids from.

Surrey has lots of good schools and you don't need to pass the 11+.

Is your child smart enough for grammar school? A lot of people think they are but the reality is they aren't. Looking at the league tables if you're unsure then I would avoid Essex.

I'm amused by the idea there's some deep dark secret making Chelmsford house prices cheaper 😂I would say there are a couple of rougher areas, but they're easily avoided and if you've got 850k to spend you won't be anywhere near them. Most people moving from London seem to go for the enormous new housing estate of Beaulieu. There's a new train station opening soon.

I assume Chelmsford is cheaper because it's a bit further out and it's in Essex. The trains can be problematic, with overhead wire problems. If you went for Shenfield instead there are more lines and so more options to get into London (which is why it's way more expensive).

The grammar schools are very difficult to get into, your child would need very high scores. I would agree with the previous poster who said Chelmsford is a nice place to bring up a family, there's lots to do and it feels safe.

If you are looking at grammar school areas check % of all local children that get a place. In your position, I'd look for somewhere in catchment for the grammars in Buckinghamshire as the grammars aren't super-selective. Not necessarily just High Wycome. For example, you could live in one of the villages around Amersham / Chesham and be in catchment for 3 good grammar schools (one boys, one girls and one mixed).

Distance doesn't always mean longer. Don't forget Kent has HS1 so you can be further away and get more for your money but quicker into London.

My commute now from a village in East Kent takes me the same amount of time it used to from zone 3.

That looks like a very interesting choice. What's the best choice for primary schools there? I would expect any relatively good state ones are oversubscribed, and Woodlands School seems quite far. Do you think it is strong enough to get a kid ready for King Edward VI, or what's your preferred choice?

Only the faith schools would be hard to get into but not impossible. But all schools really are quite good.

I'm not entirely sure but I would guess that only 2-3 children would get into grammars from state primary schools per class. Many do opt for private secondary. There are some tutoring schools in the area. Boys would either go to KEGS or there are buses that go to westcliff and southend grammars.

My children are both at state schools my daughter recently passed 11 gcses with 8 at grade 7-9.

Fast trains are only about 20 minutes into Liverpool st and a 10 minute drive to the m25