Relocating to London! Good secondary and feeder primary schools needed!! Help!

[nadya322]

Hi I am relocating to London at the end of July! Eek! I am a single mother with a ten year old and I am based in north west London for work (nearer Wembley). I haven't decided on an area to live yet but want a nice, safe and family friendly area to live in within a half hour commute of work. I am thinking North Finchley, Kilburn or Southgate. But could anyone make any recommendations for areas as I am open to other areas? I will be renting. My son is due to go into year 6 in September and I want this primary school to be a feeder school for the secondary school. Does anyone have any experience or recommend good secondary schools around? It's all getting overwhelming! Thank you!

Your choice of secondary schools at this point is far more important than primary where your DS will only be for one year.

As tiggy says, there isn't a 'feeder' system in London, so your best bet is to find a secondary school that you like and rent right next door! This might mean a bit of a journey to whichever primary you are allocated, but worth it for Year 7.

Lots of london schools are extremely short of spaces especially primary. I would try contact primary schools before deciding an area to live in rather than the other way around.

I'd look and work out which tube lines were best for getting to work and then figure out where I could afford to live & get to work easily. Southgate would give you no public transport option without having to go into central London first. Kilburn is much easier as its on the Jubilee line. I wouldn't want to use the north circular twice a day during the rush hour if I could avoid it.

I did this. I based my area around the secondary school I wanted DD to go to and then found a flat very near the secondary school

There were quite a few places in year 6 in my area and I found a couple of primary schools that would take my dd. I started around now phoning the school admissions people and found out where there were spaces.

I started renting before the end of the summer term though as this meant I got a school place before the summer holidays started.

I only know North London but what about renting in Fortismere Catchment in Muswell hill? (I don't drive so no idea how easy it is to get to wembley from there, but it's near North Finchley). I looked in Muswell Hill/East Finchley when I was moving (in the end I went elsewhere) and there were spaces in the primary schools there.

I would recommend focusing on secondary schools where distance to school, in most cases will be a deciding factor in allocation of places.

The problem with ringing around schools for year 6 places is that the place may have gone by the time you sort out the move (adding stress) so I would probably just go for it and make a decision on the available places (if indeed there is a choice, there may not be) once you have a confirmed address to work with. You may be able to cast your net quite wide for year 6 places as even in popular schools they may not have a waiting list by year 6.

The Pinner / Ruislip area has good secondaries, doesn't it?

There are some feeder schools in some boroughs, for example Queen's Park Community College prioritises kids from certain primaries. It's on their website.

And rougly in the Wembley area

Wembley (Brent la) are not renowned for their great schools. Could you live in Ealing/harrow and commute.

Eastcote and Pinner are on the Met line for Wembley Park and have good secondaries ( and Primaries!).

North Finchley (and Finchley in general) is in the borough of Barnet, which has good primary and secondary schools, so might be a good place to base yourself? East Finchley posher than North FInchley, but prices obv higher. Sought-after Barnet secondaries are Compton, Copthall, Wren Academy, Archer academy.

If DD is bright consider Grammar school areas and register now for the tests. For example I am in Petts Wood in the London Borough of Bromley and have registered for Kent, Bexley and Bromley tests. Outstanding school Darrick Wood also has a primary next door of the same name but you need to be about 0.7 of a mile from the secondary to get in...lots of train choices from Orpington into central London.

Southgate has good schools. Ashmole comprehensive very well thought of. It is also in catchment for a good range of selective schools (Dame Alice Owen, Queen Elizabeth Boys, Latymer) if that's something your son would enjoy. You'd need to put his name down for the tests before end of this term. Tests are this September. There are a selection of well regarded primaries but in Y6 you probably just have to take what you are given in London.

I think it would be better than East Finchley/Finchley/Muswell Hill because the traffic is really bad round there. It can easily take 30 mins to drive from E Finchley to Finchley in daylight hours. Southgate is not so bad.

UCL Academy in Swiss Cottage NW3 - but you would need to rent within a 0.5 mile radius or possibly less. Lots of good primary schools in the area but none are feeders for the school. Swiss Cottage is on the Jubilee Line and an easy journey to Wembley (plus it's against the commuter traffic, so there are always seats)

Pinner? Zone 5, direct Metropolitan line trains into Wembley Park. West Lodge primary school, Nower Hill High School for secondary. But no actual feeder schools, don't think it works like that (it doesn't in our in our bit of London).

You guys are all amazing! Thank you so much for the advice - I really had no idea where to start and you've Al given me info to go on. I'll definitely look into Pinner, Ruslip and Swiss Cottage as well as Southgate. As well as all the other advice. Eek! Exciting!

I would second or third, basing your decision at this point on secondary schools rather than primary as that is key at this stage, and if you are renting, you will have much more scope to base yourself near a good school. I don't know much about schools up where you are, but I have heard Fortismere around Muswell Hill is really good. Good luck