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).

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

LEH takes from far and wide.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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...

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'?

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.

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...

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.

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....

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.

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.

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!