Winchester (Kings School)

[kdshapton]

We are moving thinking of moving from Harpenden to Winchester. I hear Kings School is fantastic. My husband is keener on the Chandlers Ford house prices and plot sizes over Winchester but I wonder if we would regret giving up a little more space in favor of a better lifestyle and education for the kids in Winchester? Does anybody live in either location and if so are you happy with the schools? We have a 7, 4 and 5 months old so although we are thinking about secondary schools views on primary would also be of interest. I do enjoys a busy life here and prefer to be in a busy location. The boys also love to do as many clubs as possible. I wonder if the selection of activities may be greater in Chandlers Ford or Winchester? Very much appreciate any responses x

If you can afford a house in Thornden catchment, go for it.
If you can afford a house in Kings catchment go for it.
Both feed into Barton and Symonds after all

From Chandlers Ford the number 1 bus goes into Winohester regularly
and the other way into Southampton
or get the train

its a nice area

2 other vg secondary schools in Winchester also. (Personally I don't like the streaming that I understand Kings does, so if I lived in Winchester I probably would choose one of the others.)

In Winchester the house prices are out of control. Absolutely ghastly houses with barely any garden are going for £1m+ and you have to be very careful where you buy, as there is a lot of development going on and you could find yourself hemmed in by a giant housing estate.

In CF you do get more for your money, although the best roads are still very expensive. There are gazillions of clubs and activities for children. Most families seem to be very physically active here (unlike us couch potatoes...).

If I had the chance to move back to Winchester, I would in a shot - if I had the chance to move to chandlers ford, I think I'd stay where I am. Winchester would have more going on imo and better access to London if thats a factor.

Re schools there are so many good ones around you need to look at your individual dc and see what suits them - each school will offer something slightly different.

Yes, lots of good schools, kings goodbut streams early on, Westgate is good, Thornden is very good.

Nice areas for schools and sports really, both have loads of options!

Completely agree with your assessment of Kings: a school of two halves, though as there are 11 sets Set 3-4 woukd still be top half!

Also agree with the Winchester analysis! More "alternative" friends of mine found it quite unbearably MC. No diversity really.

Personally I find CF very suburban though. Too much so.

I like some if the villages in the area though. Rather properly live in the country than in suburbia, somehow!

Out if the schools I like Westgate best. But if I had a topset kid I might have preferred Kings.

There are people sho think Hampshire boring, it would be (very much so!) if you love London. It is a bit twee, a bit safe and not at all diverse or edgy.

Nice place to bring up kids though, iMO. The countryside is gorgeous.

Agree with most of the above.

Just to add that getting into a primary in CF seems to be as difficult as secondary now. St Francis, Knightwood and Hiltingbury are all rated outstanding and have waiting lists and will need you to live in catchment.

That said, getting into Thornden just by being in a feeder school has become a possibility now they've increased their intake to 290. Last year 32 got in that way. Though many wouldn't take their chances.

I am worried that I may know you in real life now Draylon, LOL!

A friend's daughter with dyslexia went to Kings for a whole of 6 weeks, she was placed in set 11, a class filled with kids with either SEN/behaviour issues/troubled home situations, all in one set. The lowest. She moved her to Westgate pronto.

I think Kings is great (grammar school like) in the top sets, and a bit of a challenge in the bottom sets.

On open days they are "famous" for just showing parents around the top sets.

Then again, Kings has the better Ofsted rating, Westgate is "only" good, Kings and Thornden "outstanding".

yes, I have done my research

I think Thornden is more like Westgate, only with (even) better grades.

I know people who would give their right arm to go to any of the above schools though.

I think Draylon's (and my) issue with Kings is the streams . As I understand it they are streamed first, and then set within that stream. So if you are brilliant at maths but rubbish at English you'll end up in the wrong place for one of them? I have also heard from friends that the streaming is very obvious so everyone knows what stream you're in.

tbh With the 3 Winchester, 2 Romsey and Thornden you are just choosing between excellent schools and going with what you think suits you and your child best. There isn't a bad one to be avoided.

Teen, yes, that was my issue with Kings as well:

If you are not great at English, you get in bottom sets for history, geography and languages too.

If you scored mid-to low for maths, you get in low sets for all sciences

so annoying if you are dyslexic, but brilliant at history, say

KW is very 'safe', very MC, very 'does what it says on the tin', i.e. feeds Thornden!

With having had DC at KW for 6 years now, it's improved a lot tbh. I would have said that ^ if I didn't still have one there and could see the difference.

There's a lot of us on mn that live in CF with DC at Th. I expect we all bump into each other a lot and don't even realise!

I moved to CF from a major city, though not London, and I don't find it suburban at all tbh. Southampton and Portsmouth and even Bournemouth offer most things. London is there if you're willing to fork out the train fare to take the whole family. Southampton airport on our doorstep has changed our holidays for the better.

But I would worry about getting DC into schools if I moved into the area now. And houses (buying and renting) are like gold dust as well, though I haven't been looking in the ex-London price bracket.

Its when we all recognise each other at the Symonds open evenings that I'll snigger.

Another T and PS parent here...

LOL at going to Peter Symonds clutching a packet of naice ham

a bit like the masons

only more weird

Tee hee
thing is that all of your kids from local schools would clock DH on sight
and I'm always amazed that my profile pics have not outed me locally!

naice ham, or a lidl carrier bag