Best State Secondary School for near London

[yocoffee]

I'm now living oversea and is planning to move back to the UK this summer. I'm looking for a place near london like Reading...etc with great catchman area for outstanding Non-selective secondary school for my daughter. This coming Sep she will be year 6, and so, looking for a place with great outstanding Secondary schools catchman area is more important than primary. Prefer near london so that it's easier to get a job after settling down our daughters education.
Any area/ city/ school that we should start looking into?

Depends on your budget.,- location within 1 mile of non/selective Bullers Wood School for Girls would get you a place in all recent years. It is a great comprehensive. It is a leafy suburb of London. As it is in the London Borough of Bromley you still have option to apply for the local girls grammar, Newstead Wood or the Bexley or Kent grammars. Property prices near the school are quite pricey though, but commuting costs will be vastly less in both monetary and time terms than Reading.

What do you mean by 'near ' London?

Couple of hours away in case you want to go to the theatre, or half hour daily commute for work? If so, where will you be based as that will determine which station you will be using, and therefore which railway lines you will need access to.

I second @PettsWoodParadise, we live at the West Wickham/Beckenham border and DD goes to Langley Girls, admission by distance is around 1mile. Friends in Bromley proper have girls at Bullers and are really happy.

You are officially in London but it is very much a city on its own. I am faster in Kent than in London but have everything on my doorstep.

Reading is not that near London, although there are fast trains. Will you be commuting? What is your budget?

Prendergast Hilly Fields is great

You also need to realise fixed catchment areas do not exist in many LA and admissions distance can vary from one year to another.

@Seeline mainly for work. Twice in a week to central london.
Ideally near london or suburbs of london, for lower rentals.

What do you think of as "lower"? I suspect many of the suburbs will be out of reach financially but also travel into London can be costly. Are there any other criteria? Narrow it down a bit more.

What sort of property are you looking for?
Lower rentals - London?!

I am not sure how long ago you've moved out, but rentals near top outstanding comprehensive secondary schools will not be cheap. And you will need to be on the school's doorstep in order to guarantee a place. Some suburbs have very high rental.

Hm, lower rent, outstanding school and London suburb is a difficult calculation.

Just to give you an idea, a 3-bed semi in our. school's admission distance (fairly solid distance for nearly 10 years) is more than £2,000/month. A season ticket to London (train only) was £1500/year in 2020 and a daily ticket is £11-ish. Station is walking distance, so that also adds to the rental price.

I think you need to give your rental budget before anything else.

Properties closest to the top performing schools tend to be expensive, even compared to houses a few streets too far to be in catchment. If budget is tight, you could consider renting a small flat very close to the school to guarantee a place (check the local council's website for how close places have been allocated historically, often just a few streets away). You can then move to a larger property further away once she has started at the school, after a year or so. You'd want to be living there with a rental contract by October of Year 6.

Thank you all for the builds. Will need to review the mix again 😣