Hi,
Feeling a bit confused and overwhelmed. We're looking to sell our house and move to a grammar school area. We first looked at Sidcup because it was near my parents, reasonably decent commute to London and has grammar schools. With the recent housing bubble in London though, our budget has shot up (we're hoping to have a budget of £450-465k for a 3 bedroom house if all goes well with the house prices here). We're 80% confident that this budget is obtainable. So we started to look at Chislehurst, which looks lovely, as well as Bexley.
Our DD is going to be in reception class and we will have to put in a late application, unfortunately. I'm a bit worried about this. What if we end up with a school that isn't great? But then again, primary schools in Chislehurst are generally good. We are planning DC no. 2, and looking to stay put until secondary school is finished. My main worry is secondary schools. Should we buy in Bexley instead of Bromley because of the bigger grammar school options? Bullers Wood School is ideal, but I read that the catchment area is small and I don't think our budget will get us anything in its catchment area.
We would prefer a girls' school to be honest. Just read the ofsted for Beaverwood and they might be an option, but they don't seem to support high attainment children (DD is quite advanced and we think she will need a school who will support her in attaining high).
I know DD is young and I'm sure a lot of people will think that I'm worrying about something that is unpredictable as it is so far away (the fall of Edgebury school for example), but we're trying to find a home where we can bring up the children until they leave school. Is Bexley Village nice? How does it compare to Chislehurst? Where would be the nicest area to live in Bexley Borough?
We have to rule out private school as we won't be able to afford it if DC2 comes along. Or do you think we should just move to Chislehurst and move again 5-6 yrs time? Confused confused confused.