Tunbridge Wells life and schools

[NeedingChange81]

I am planning to move from West London to the Tunbridge Wells area next year and I saw a few threads here about TW but they are all quite old so it would really helpful if you guys could give me some info on how is life in TW and how are your experiences with primary schools. The reason I found TW is because of the good schools but I also read that is hard to get into schools so that's a major red flag. Not sure when we will move but it will be after January and my DD will start reception in September so we will miss the deadline for applications. Please please share your wisdom! Many thanks.

I too am very interested in the replies you get as I was also reading through some of the older posts for the same reasons. What concerns me, however, is the amount of traffic in TW - one of the my gripes of London is exactly that and when I went to TW this weekend it really shocked me how bumper-to-bumper it was on Saturday. Not sure if that was just a one off due to works or rain but I would be keen to know what peoples thoughts are on this. Thanks!

Can't help on the school fronts unfortunately as I don't have kids except know to avoid Sherwood (the area and the school there - Temple Grove). Have friends with kids and didn't hear of any particular issues of getting their kids into any of the schools.

I lived there for 40 years, relocated across country two years ago.

Traffic is a nightmare sometimes. There are several schools in the St Johns area so as a result the traffic along the A26/St Johns Road is bad during school run/rush hour. There is access to town via the A21 but again can be a nightmare once you get near to town. The town is basically on two major A roads which converge in the middle of town. I only lived a couple of miles out of town and it would regularly take me 30 mins to get home.

Saying that, it is mostly a nice place to live, shopping centre, cinema, restaurants etc. There are two train stations so travelling from the outskirts (ie. High Brooms) to the other is an option for commuting. The traffic is 'only' an issue during rush hour and if you want to go into town on a saturday you just learn to get in and parked early!

I am really familiar with the area so feel free to ask any more questions.