Thinking about Beckenham + schools

[Rooster2021]

Hello!
We are about to sell our house in Crystal Palace and are looking to upsize within SE London. The key criteria being near a good state primary AND secondary.

After much research I whittled it down to three areas:

• Streatham Hill
• West Norwood
• Upper Norwood

I have been a Rightmove addict looking for a suitable 4 bed house with a garden (budget is 750K) with it these areas but nothing has come up in so long.

Im now thinking about Beckenham because apparently, it’s more leafy, green, safe and has great schools. I’ve always discounted Beckenham because I’ve been told it’s ‘suburban’ ‘not London’ ‘not diverse’ ‘Tory’ ‘boring’. But after doing a little digging, it doesn’t seem that bad and I’ll get more space for my money.

so, does anyone have any advice on Beckenham? primary and secondary schools? Vibe? Community?

thanks in advance!!

ps just to say we LOVE Crystal Palace and would love to stay here but the budget doesn’t really allow (we don’t want a doer upper), and also the schools aren’t great where we live…

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/152123996

The inside and garden of that one looks good and I'd imagine that road will be nice and quiet as it's a cul de sac.

The reason it is that price and not higher is the location might not appeal to some as it's a good 20 minute walk to Beckenham Junction station and the High Street. There's nothing in Ravensbourne. Shortlands is ok for trains but has a limited High Street and one pub.

No idea what the schools are like round there as I live in a sweet spot where Penge, Beckenham and Sydenham meet. I have 3 rail stations within 10 minutes walk and about another 3 or 4 within 15-20 minutes. I can also walk to all three High Streets.

are you near Cator Park / Copers Cope? If so, what are the school options if you know?

from what i know, Clare House and Balgowan are the most desirable primaries, and the Langley schools for secondaries (and the Harris’s). To be in catchment for Clare House and the Langleys it would take me more the east side of Beck Junc if I’m correct?

Cator Park and Alexandra Park are my nearest two parks.

My DS went to Alexandra Infants, then Alexandra Junior and from there he went to St Olaves Grammar in Orpington. Most of the infants, primaries, juniors, etc are vg round my area. Girls have a secondary school next to Cator Park. It was attended by Rachel Reeves, now Chancellor of Exchequer and her sister, Ellie Reeves, a local MP for Sydenham. Boys have to travel further though.

I live in West Norwood and can highly recommend it. It's improved vastly in the last 15 years or so, and has a very mixed community..not overly sanitised like parts of Dulwich.
The high street is improving, an indie cinema/theatre/gym/pool and lots of independent coffee shops and some nice bars/pubs.

My children go to Dunraven which is a great school, and you're also close to Elmgreen and Norwood, both of which are also good.

Primaries are also plentiful - Julian's, Hitherfield, Sunnyhill and Dunraven too, all of which are good.

Good housing stock, I think you would get a decent 4 bed for your budget.

Transport wise, West Norwood has lines running into both Victoria (20 mins)and London Bridge (about 30 mins). You can also get buses into Brixton in 10 mins for the tube, or all the way into the west end/Marylebone in about an hour.

Definitely worth checking out. It's a bit of a part of London that got forgotten, but many people now priced out of Dulwich/CP/Brixton etc are moving in.

Would you consider Bromley? Also Chislehurst is nice.

Yep! Love WN, I have a saved search on my Right move. Not much has come up in the past couple of months that suit and are in budget :(

I’m a teacher and have worked in several schools in Penge and beckenham, and the best by far for me is Marian Vian, I wish I’d lived near there when my DC was young. I would avoid the Harris schools like the plague.

oooh, why avoid?

I used to live in Beckenham Place Park so this is a blast from the past!

Lucky you @BirthdayRainbow the houses on that road are lovely

Church fields primary school has an excellent reputation, lots of children where I live (very near Kenthouse/Clockhouse stations) attend, if you go further up nearer Eden Park Yy Marian Vian & Langley Park Primary also very good schools, this end of Penge/Beckenham has whole range of leisure facilities/libraries/parks some excellent restaurants/pubs/coffee shops/cafe
we also have a Labour MP the constituency was redrawn & encompassed a lot of the previous true blue territory.
it’s a good place to live & becoming more diverse/younger families much more prevalent now.

It wasn't mine. I was a live in Mothers Help back in the day. Kids fab. Parents not so much.

They are a big business, the children are just numbers on a spreadsheet. Lots of lovely, hardworking, dedicated teachers but there are so many levels of people above them making decisions, piling on pressure. Very little pastoral care as so much focus on results, not much time for anything else. The ‘outstanding’ ofsted ratings are also not a true reflection - they have teams of people from the central team who get drafted into whichever school is due ofsted, it’s all a facade really. I may be biased as my daughter had a terrible experience at a Harris secondary, they refused to acknowledge or support her very obvious SEN/mental health issues.

That being said, if you have academic, neurotypical, well behaved children, they would likely do just as well in a Harris school as anywhere else.

Get on the 227!

I know this area very well. If only one of you needs to commute once a week, just pick the house based on school catchments.

Highfields, Clare House and Balgowan are widely regarded as the best schools, and full of middle class parents. From year 4 onwards though all you will get when you talk to them is “stress” about secondary school catchments, the cost of private, who is tutoring for the 11+, who couldn’t face the thought of their precious one having to venture into Orpington to go to one of the grammars, and most frequently who is moving to guarantee a place in preferred secondary.

Hayes is regarded as the best mixed school, and Langley boys / girls for single sex. The Park Langley triangle is seen as the “best” location, but well above your budget. The Eden Park / West Wickham sides of the catchment area are more affordable. Hayes is also relatively affordable.

I’d say Beckenham is as diverse as much of the suburbs, with a good mix of race / religion, and quite a few Ukrainian refugees in my children’s classes too, just very middle class and safe / boring. It’s not a place you’d want to live pre-children, but great for families.

Beckenham Place Park is amazing, and they’re in the process of completely re-developing the East side (after doing an amazing job of the other side). Unfortunately, the secondary schools in that area are not good.

I would look into secondaries and maybe move there and I think most of the primaries are good around Beckenham. Langley schools are good but have to live more towards West Wickham Way. Hayes is a great mixed secondary, however Hayes makes Beckenham look very buzzy (Hayes has great restaurants but feels more suburban). Ravenswood is a great boys school and has a larger catchment. Eden park or whatever it is now has never really been reviewed well.
Used to live near Kent house (the roads on the south side). Loved location (trains, overground and bus to CP), but not in a good school spot then so we moved.

Agree about plan for secondary as all primaries are good. We love the Harris schools and chose them over Langley as we wanted a more diverse peer group and not single sex.

Thank you for such a helpful reply!

i have seen this house - https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/152249471 I believe it’s in the catchment for the Langley schools and is in budget: can you advise on this particular area?

Ah, lovely house and it has a nice south facing garden! The road is residential, if a little busy. There is only room for one car to drive at a time with parked cars on the road, so speeding is never an issue, but can be slow. Lot of traffic down the hill towards the giant Tesco in Elmers End.

Langley catchment which is brilliant! Also near Eden park, which has a handful of useful shops and cafes / restaurants, and train station. And Eden Park school, which hosts weekend clubs (gymnastics / trampolining / music) even if your child never goes to the school. David Lloyd gym also nearby which is really lovely, with indoor and outdoor heated pools but £££.

As an area, Eden Park is just quite boring residential, like many nearby areas ( Hayes, Shortlands etc), tho short bus ride / taxi if you want an evening out in Beckenham / Bromley.

Beckenham Spa leisure centre is great, and they’re refurbishing the pool in West Wickham, so that should be good when finally open again!

Good luck with your search!

The house you’ve linked is worth a look. For me, the road would be too busy, you would likely be out of catchment for Balgowan, may get into Marian vian or Harris primary, Harris secondary, Langley and the currently struggling Eden park high (Orion).

At your budget level you will have to make compromises and only you can decide what they will be for you.

Beckenham overall has a good community, we enjoy it here and there is a lot to do. I find this comes from the schools, sports etc
It can be a little bland, restaurants are pretty awful and we find we head back to CP, ED, HH or London to eat out. In your position I would likely prioritise secondary school catchment but everyone will have their own push and pull factors.

Have you looked at Sydenham/Forest Hill? I’m not that familiar with schools on that side. Do you really need the 4th bedroom? Without it Forest Hill would be a good option.

Which bit of Crystal Palace are you in with not good schools? We've had DC here and had good experience all through and other options been good too. Understand if it's more about house prices but wouldn't move away from here for schooling, and it's hard to beat for community too. Beckenham is okay but not a patch on CP.

@Rooster2021 the house is on quite a busy road, but the volume of parked cars does slow you down. It is in both Langley catchments I think. Not sure on primary. Can walk to Elmer's end, Beckenham and Eden park. And Kelsey park for the ducks! Also near other parks but there are loads of parks around this way. Come down, and take a look.

Blast from the past for me as well. My Grandma used to live near Clockhouse station on Kendall Road, used to love watching the trains at the end of the garden

Hey! Keen to hear your thoughts on CP schools. We’re the Anerley side and have found that there aren’t many good secondaries around. Also not many primaries this side as I’ve heard not so great things about Paxton where our daughter will likely be placed. But it’s all peoples opinions, some have good experiences. If we move within CP which we would want to do, we would want to move more towards Norwood to be in catchment for Rockmount/Downsview/Julian’s ect. However in that area, the only state secondary that is regarded good (it seems) is The Norwood School and that focuses on performing arts. There’s also Dunraven but more towards West Norwood / Streatham (hence the three desired areas of my OP)
keen to hear your experiences!
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