Can someone explain the state school catchment system to me?

[scubacat2292]

We are relocating to London from the United States in the next two months and I am really concerned about finding good schools for my boys. Independent schools are out of the question due to the high costs, so I need to find good state schools for them. While I've been researching, I'm getting more and more confused about how the system works. People have said to be sure to live in the catchment area of a good school, but then say some are oversubscribed. Does that mean even if you live in the area, you won't get in? And if we move now in December, will we be able to get in for January? I've seen people talk about entrance exams and deadlines, about there being no secondary schools for certain areas, etc. How can that be? In the US, if you live within the boundaries of a school, you go to that school. It doesn't matter if it is "full" -it must take your child. I'm guessing London doesn't work that way? Can someone please help me out here. :)

My boys are 13, 10, and 7, so we need both primary and secondary. We are looking in the surrounding areas of London - anywhere within 30 to 40 minutes to the Waterloo station would be fine.

honestly, most people walk that sort of distance! It's 13 minutes ... takes longer to change platforms on the tube.

I checked out the walk time on the Transport Direct journey planner by the way - could be useful if you can find a postcode like a school or office as it covers the whole country and every single transport possibility!

In Guildford, my DH walked up to 1/2 hour to the Station, you could also use a folding bike. Walking is a big way of getting around, especially in London. It is often faster and more pleasant way of getting around than the tube or waiting for buses. You DH will definitely want an Oyster card as well. However an alternative would be to use a Boris Bikes. The climate is probably similar ish to Seattle but the South of the UK gets little snow usually, due to its maritime climate and the jet stream, London is usually a few degrees warmer than the surrounding counties due to the Heat island effect. It can get piercing cold, due to cold and wet winds sweeping along the Thames. Chancery Lane is supposed to be 9 minutes walk from Farringdon, TFL puts walking from Farringdon to Holborn as 14 minutes,but Holborn is such a vague area it could be far less.
If you are coming for a visit, I would suggest also seeing how far the distances will be for his journey.

If you are buying an annual season ticket it will be issued as a Gold Card which will also double up as a discount card in the south east. It is also normal to get a loan from your company to pay for an annual season ticket.

London commuters get very adept at dog-legging their walk - avoiding main streets by cutting through districts using side streets. It's a great way to see the city. On a walk from City Thameslink to Holborn, your DH would zip diagonally through the Inns of Court - peaceful Dickensian green squares, beautiful buildings, a great walk in the morning.

LIZS - the national rail website seems to imply that zone 1 travel isn't included, but I could be reading it wrong.

It sounds like walking is the way to go, though! He would be totally fine with that!

Muminlondon - I will check out that site. So far I've been using the national rail site for ticket prices, and the transport in london site for tube information.

Mummytime - Yes, our company does the loan for season ticket thing.

Kandybarr - that is exactly what he would do! The company says it will be moving to a building right next to the Chancery Lane tube stop in march-ish, so the walk from city thameslink would be even closer.

Scuba cat, have a look at Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire - the train to Euston can take as little as 30 mins, and the secondary school has a good reputation. I live not far away. and pretty much all the schools I've come across in rural and small-town Bedfordshire seem to be pretty good. And your housing budget could get you a nice house in these parts! Bedfordshire is far less sought-after than, say, Surrey or Buckinghamshire, so is cheaper, but is just as nice and has decent schools and direct trains to London.

Thanks Kernow - I will check it out!

Ickenham is only a 10 min walk from west ruislip station and schools in the area are good. Parts of ruislip similarly are just a walk to the station. Not central London but close enough to visit and some good schools.

Thinking about your eldest , if he arrives into Year 9 then you may want to look at how/when to reintegrate him into US system. Here during Years 10 & 11 the curriculum is based on GCSE courses, usually each 2 years long and some including modules and assessed coursework. He may not have long after arrival in which to choose his options as he will only be able to take so many subjects forward. To an extent that many be dictated by the focus and resources of the school he is allocated (ie Arts, Science, sport etc) Would you be planning to stay until July 2015 to enable him to complete the exams ?

LIZS - he's in year 8 now, so we anticipate returning to the states at the end of year 9 so he could smoothly go back into a US high school program. I've talked to the high school here, and they said that as long as he takes mostly the same curriculum (english, math, history, science, PE, music/language) then everything would transfer pretty well. Of course, he could be behind or ahead in some things, and we would smooth that all out with tutoring (or with our help). And he could take a class over the summer, or online (the high schools offer a lot now) to make up anything he completely missed. If we happen to stay through year 10, then that would definitely be something I would have to check out. It's on my to-do list. :)

I think it is much easier to move from UK to US after the end of year 9 than the other way around. The History will be different though, but no bad thing really, it could help him become a real historian.