weybridge or woking? sell me your side of the story...

[zebramummy]

well, actually i meant little house in weybridge or big house in woking? which is better 'connected' with london (not just in transport terms) and what are the schools like/ catchments/competition for places etc. (ds has just turned 4).

[preggersplayspop]

Its not massively multicultural compared to London, that's true, but one of my best friends in Weybridge is Indian and she loves it here, and we have Moroccan and American neighbours so there is definitely a mix of cultures. You hear lots of different accents around, I noticed loads of Eastern European accents in the park last weekend for some reason. Its a lot more multicultural than where I grew up! There are a lot of expats living here who work in London and so this adds to the mix.

Best thing is to get yourself down here and have a look around and see whether you get a good feeling or not.

Good luck with the hunt!

[wools]

Hi Zebramummy, I moved to Weybridge a couple of months ago and really like it. I came from London and did not want to move but am very glad now that I did. I have been to Woking quite a few times and I like it there too.

[cece]

Woodham is walkable to West Byfleet. It has no shops itself, just residential, lots of canal side property though. Be careful though as not all of Woodham gets into the schools in West Byfleet - if that is what you want. Although there is an excellent infant and juniors in New Haw.

[nowwearefour]

i grew up in walton. i would just say that you are looking in a great area and will be happy wherever you end up i'm sure. i went to walton oak (was good, less good now i think), st james and then a private girls' school in chertsey. i would have loved to have lived there for my dds but dh wanted somewhere more neutral! good choices....

[CarGirl]

you can walk to the weybridge playground & town centre from the train station if you felt up to visiting on your own. Playground is over the road from the hospital tucked behing the library.

[zebramummy]

yeah i know- the time has come to stop procrastinating - agree that the playground idea is a v good one as it is one of the few places where you can see how the community works and assess whether your family would fit in (unlike say, going shopping there which may not offer a true reflection of the local community at all). now i have to work out how many days out it is going to take and twist dh's arm (very hard!) or else quickly find a job at one of the local estate agencies (get paid doing it in the process, no ds in tow!) or maybe not...

[CarGirl]

I think bookham is deepest surrey! You need to come out and have a look around. Weybridge has a lovely playgrounds - think it's called church fields, Woking a leisure pool. Quite a few things to do for a day out and have a nosey at the same time.

[zebramummy]

wow, more locations - and i thought i knew the areas surrounding london quite well! i'll look 'em up and report back. is little bookham worth considering or would that count as 'deepest surrey'?

[minko]

As a Woking girl born and bred, can I just throw Horsell into the mix... Good schools, nice houses, community feel etc.

And having commuted from both Weybridge and Woking at different times I'd say Woking is much better - more trains and more fast ones too - it only takes 25 mins.

Funnily enough, I went to Weybridge for a bit of a shop today. It is quite posh. I like the Fat Face and White Stuff there though...

[Babbity]

Yes, West Byfleet is nice and also walkable from Woodham.

The Heathside challenges are sport, music, and science/technology & up to 10% of their places can be for people who pass these challenges but wouldn't get in otherwise.

[cece]

West Byfleet has a train station and a Waitrose. There is a catholic Marist school there with a good reputation or the local infants is supposed to be good too.

[PlumpRumpSoggyBaps]

at LEH- we used to have Names for girls who went there at my school (SHS)

Anyway. That's by-the-by. I don't know anything about junior schools in Walton, but funnypeculiar has done a superb job there anyway.

Rydens is the secondary school in Walton but a fair few get into Heathside, especially as they offer priority places for those that win 'Challenges' in sports, music or something else that escapes me right now. Some also go to Esher High.

[funnypeculiar]

most sought after primary in Walton is probably Ashley (5-11yrs)- which is in centre of town, and is a strongly church school - with attendent admissions policy. It's a lovely, friendly school & gets great results.
There is a also a very high performing catholic school (5-11yrs) - Cardinal Newman, but again, obviously you have to be RC to get in (pretty much)
Otherwise, there is a great primary in Hersham (Burhill, 5-7) which is where my kids are - that then feeds either into Cleves (good academic reputation, but Weybridge) or Bell Fair (OK reputation, Hersham/Walton borders)

Other local schools are Walton Oak which has historically really struggled, has a harder catchment area, but does have lovely new grounds/buildings, and B

Ito secondary schools, there is Rydens as already mentioned,which has historically been struggling...

[scienceteacher]

LEH takes from far and wide.

[zebramummy]

oh - my mistake -she must have just lived there then??

[scienceteacher]

Gail Trimble did not go to school in Walton - she went to girls' hothouse, LEH in Hampton.

[zebramummy]

thanks PRSB & babbity - i had a look at both - you seem to get a lot for your money in walton - i esp liked the houses with river views - cant believe how t-reasonably priced they can be. molesey was nice too but a lot more expensive and you seem to be paying a premium for a historically significant period house in some cases - how is it different from hampton which seemed much cheaper the last time i checked? any knowledge re schools in walton on thames? all i know is that gail trimble (university challenge brainbox) was brough up there though i am sure she is simply a one-off rather than a product of exceptional schooling!!

[Babbity]

Oh, and I would definitely look at Walton on Thames. The shops there are great, it's less expensive than Weybridge to buy, and there's lots of choice re types of housing and poshness of area.

[Babbity]

There's a Waitrose in Goldsworth Park in Woking

[PlumpRumpSoggyBaps]

I don't know how far out you're willing to go, but Molesey has quite a nice community atmosphere- carnival with floats done by various groups including the schools, smallish feel to it etc. Not particularly multi-cultural, but not bad. The Orchard infant school is lovely, as is St Lawrence jumiors. Also lovely big park area by the river, close to Hampton Court palace (can walk there along the river), sports clubs of various descriptions. East Molesey is generally thought to be 'better' than West Molesey.

In between Weybridge and Molesey is Walton-on-Thames. I don't know what it's like to live there but it's turning into a rather nice shopping centre, with a new centre opened up, restaurants etc.

[zebramummy]

my situation is basically as follows - we live in a rather deprived area of london within a lovely little middle-class enclave - we have generally been very happy here but since ds started at the nursery attached to the local school (ofsted outstanding but prob a lot of value-added) we have been having doubts. a lot of our friends have moved although they were not london born and bred unlike myself so it is not such a big deal for them (even though we obviously miss them). i can only base what i am looking for upon what i dont like about where we are now:

1. new immigration (last 10 years or so) - sorry if this offends anyone but i fail to see the point of most of it (btw dh is not british). in general, i see more segregation in london than ever before and swarms of unemployable men clustered around the shopping area who are completely disinterested in our society other than selling their illegal gambling services or dodgy DVDs out of suitcases- i want to get back to the healthy and synergestic multiculturalism that existed a decade ago where the different ethnic groups were broadly working towards the same kinds of goals (family orientated, self-betterment, long-termist, wanting to be part of a community).
2. pickpockets, hoodies, children being treated badly by parents who are completely disinterested in what type of people they are in the process of shaping
3. if i had no budget, i would have like to have lived in barnes or st margaret's village but obviously....

[scienceteacher]

I would go for a smaller house in Weybridge vs a bigger one in Woking. Weybridge has more atmosphere, whereas in Woking you are either in grand houses or on cookie-cutter estates.

Woking does have a large shopping area, but it's not really that great. I was stuck there for over 2 hours while DD was at a party at The Apple. I was desperate for clothes and determined to come back with something. I ended up buying a pair of shoes, some tights and knickers from a fairly grotty BHS. The downtown area is probably more appealing to teenagers rather than the mature woman.

A lot of people talk up Heathside, but it's just another Surrey comp. A friend was at an interview there recently and withdrew half-way through the day...

We lived for six months in Weybridge when we first moved to the UK, and liked it. We couldn't afford to buy there, though, so moved slightly further west. My kids are at school in Weybridge and they are well acquainted with good public transport links.

If you lived in Weybridge, you would do all your food shopping in the big Tescos at Brooklands or Addlestone, or at Waitrose in Weybridge. From either Woking or Weybridge, you would probably use the giant M&S at Brooklands. I'm not sure where people in Woking do their food shopping - there is a choice of Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco depending on exactly where you live.

[CarGirl]

she was recommended to me by a dental nurse so she is very good.

BAck to Zebra it is VERY white around here, multicultural with eastern europeans etc have a polish supermarket etc.