George Abbot (Burpham) or Howard of Effingham (East Horsley)?

[Gusttavo]

We moved recently from London to Chilworth (Guildford) with one of us still working in London. We have three kids with our eldest DD attending our local Infant school, but we now have the opportunity for her to join the Raleigh School in East Horsley (much better than the Junior schools in our area).

This made us wonder if we should move to East Horsley and get our kids to go to Howard of Effingham in the future (starting from The Raleigh), or stick around Guildford and consider moving to Burpham so they can secure a place at George Abbot later.

What are the key differences between those two schools? Any insight? How does East Horsley compare to Guildford villages?

Please help us - even if you only one thing or two about those schools/places. Thank you!

Why do you have to move if you have a place at Raleigh which is (currently) a feeder school for the Howard?

Otherwise I’d say that the difference between Burpham and Horsley living wise is that the former is suburban and the latter more of a rural feel. For teens Burpham might be better in terms of accessibility to entertainment (Spectrum, cinema, shops etc) - Horsley has a train station but you might end up being more of a taxi from there.

@VanCleefArpels, thanks for your response, very helpful.

It seems the criteria for Howards include being inside their catchment area as well as attending a feeder school as per publications from Surrey Council: "4. Children who both live in the catchment area and who attend one of the following partner/feeder schools: ..."

We prefer the rural feel, but not too far away from a high street (10 min drive is fine) and ideally having a train station for a London commute, hence why we are in Chilworth at the moment. It seems we do not have to move in a hurry to either Burpham or Horsley, but it would make sense to be a bit nearer to the school if we opt for Raleigh.

Thanks again for sharing those insights. Any more information would be really appreciated since we are still somewhat new to the area.

Ah, the admissions criteria has obviously changed then since last I had cause to look (years ago!!).

If rural but commutable is what you are after then Horsley/Clandon/Effingham/Bookham fit the bill perfectly

Hi OP.
I don't know the Rayleigh so can't comment on that, but George Abbott is highly regarded and Burpham area is an excellent area for older kids (and younger) to grow up. Near to Guildford so quite accessible and easy. There are excellent primary schools within the Burpham area although are always over-subscribed. The catchment area isn't that large so living nearby is a must, although I can't comment on accessiblity to joining midway through the school only in reception.
Happy to answer any further questions too

@VanCleefArpels, thank you so much! Not sure if this would be a fair question, but should I prefer one of those places over the other? or they are pretty much similar in style, quality of life, etc?

@shalalala, thanks! We go to Burpham quite often, mostly because of supermarkets in the area. It does seem a nice place, though a bit busier than the villages south of Guildford and a slightly more difficult commute to London.

Unfortunately our DD started reception at an Infant school and we would have to find a suitable Junior school later on (more uncertainty).

On the other hand, we now have the opportunity to remove the uncertainty. We could secure our place at Raleigh, move to Horsley (without having to rush it), and have education pretty much sorted for our three kids in the long run (though dearly missing Chilworth). We have no idea how Horsley and neighbouring towns are like though :-/

Thanks you both again for your comments! ;)

Personally, I think all of them nicer than Chilworth 🤷🏻‍♀️. Horsley and Bookham both have great High Streets, independents and chains, for your everyday needs and good community “feel” with lots going on for kids

@VanCleefArpels, thank you so much for your insights! It does boost our confidence :) I meant, if you had to chose amongst the options Horsley, Effingham, Bookham (excluding Clandon as it does not seem to be in catchment area for Howard), what would be your preference?
From what I gathered, Horsley and Bookham appear to be a preference and to have very similar vibes, infrastructure, community feel, etc. Should Effingham be a fallback option only?

• I plan to drive around, but it has been very helpful to have your views.

Yes Effingham far less infrastructure in terms of shops and cafes

The good thing about somewhere more rural is that the activities and friendships tend to all be close by, so if you like the Raleigh, live in Horsley, or if in Bookham, look at Eastwick etc. All the football, dance, brownies, cubs etc are very village centric and it does feel like a nice safe community feel to grow up in. If you can walk to a station even better as it allows for teenage freedom into Gford (and adult nights out non taxi dependant !). Howard - overall imo a good and happy school, I know happy parents and pupils at GA too.

Burpham's not the most exciting part of Guildford but if you're worried about the train from there, I'd drive to Woking/Worplesdon rather than try to get through the town centre.

We moved out of Burpham some time ago because it had got too busy, too many people, too much traffic, and that was before all the recent new building, and with more to come. I wouldn't want to live there now, unless you can afford Abbotswood. Just a thought.

Horsley is lovely. Id move there

Waw! Those are all very encouraging and helpful comments! It seems that everything worked out for the better in the end :D Thank you so much everyone for your valuable insights. We are really excited to have our DD join Raleigh and already started looking for a place in Horsley and surroundings... house hunting is the less exciting part, but at least we do not have the time pressure... wish us luck! :)

Horsley is really really lovely. We had to move away for work but we'd still be there if not!

HI OP - what did you decide? Currently in similar position in choosing between Howard catchment and George Abbot catchment. Thanks!

Hi @nomchonge1 , although we ended up realising that Chilworth would still give us a strong case to get our kids to George Abbot (without having to move house), we recently moved to West Horsley and we are absolutely loving our new neighbourhood. It is so nice to see the kids having so many more social gatherings with their school friends from the Raleigh (as well as much easier commuting distance). We also considered the fact they would have to start from zero at George Abbot, so we felt it is probably better for them to go to the Howard with an established network of friends (however small or large that might be). Therefore, we have now stopped thinking about it until they are a bit older and approaching secondary school age. Hope that helps, but we could not have been happier with our choice. We are loving the welcoming nature of West Horsley's neighbours. Sometimes the kids mental wellbeing and confidence can play a stronger role in those kinds of decisions. Wish us luck and best of luck with your decision 🙏

@Gusttavo Thank you so much for this response. Great to hear you are happy with your decision so far! I will certainly consider that area. Best of luck and thank you! x

heard negative things about George Abbot from a work colleague - had children then but sent the 3rd somewhere else. Is it resting on past laurels? Difficult to tell, definitely worth looking around/visiting at pick up time.