Maidstone OR Ashford for a family moving from Essex

[MumDagKent]

Hello Mums,

We currently live in essex and we plan to move to Kent ASAP. I am not familiar with Kent and I wanted to ask if anyone could recommend which town is better for a family to settle into? Ashford or Maidstone. We are a family of 3, Father, Mother and Son (10 years Old).
Unfortunately, he didn't pass the 11Plus exams. We have applied for him to attend faiths Schools in Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone. we have applied to other schools as well but these schools are our top choice.
Our Pastor is able to verify that we are Christians and we attend church regularly.

Thank you

TW I assume is Bennett’s? Very good school but if you get in, both Maidstone and even more so Ashford are long journeys! I’m not even sure how you would get to TW from Ashford unless you planned to drive DC every day. I assume there is a bus from Maidstone to TW but I’d bet it’s a long journey.

Maidstone has less desirable areas but I’d definitely plump for it over Ashford. They are on the same train line so if you do go for Ashford and get the Maidstone school (St Simon Stock?) it’s 30 minutes on the train.

Have you looked at West Malling as a location? It’s about 5 minutes by train into Maidstone (and 50 minutes into London Vic). There is a large housing development on the edge of town (Kings Hill) which has lots of affordable housing. The town itself is very pretty and with more blue plaques than you could shake a stick at.!

If you are looking at Faith places, have you also considered Trinity in Sevenoaks?

Just looked at the public transport options for you from Maidstone to Tunbridge Wells. They aren’t great! The bus is a no go. There is a 7am train from Maidstone West (and I’d figure in that they’d need to get to the station which may involve you driving them there) which gets into Tunbridge Wells at around 8. But that literally is the only option unless you drive them. Traffic into Tunbridge Wells in the morning commute time can be pretty hellish.

You can change trains at Tonbridge if you're going from Ashford. If he gets into Bennett I'd look at living in Tonbridge or Tunbridge Wells. Previous posters are right, traffic in TW is awful.

I think you might need to rethink the locations you are looking at, depending on which school you get. Really think about how long you want your son to spend on public transport. The train lines in Kent join up in odd and impractical ways, and what should be easy trips looking at a map aren't possible in reality. Buses have to thread their way through traffic.

Tbh the only option that sounds workable in your OP is living in Maidstone with the school there.

Pastor I assume means not CofE/ Catholic? You will not be in the top categories for places so I would move much closer if only to rent for a year to be honest. See if you can find out the last distance offered in your category in recent years, remember it is a relatively high birth rate year too.

West Malling or Borough Green @Callmecordelia would also be options in terms of getting into Maidstone I think? BG is only 13 minutes on the train & West Malling 5. Larkfield I’d look at too - it’s not lovely but it has cheaper properties and isn’t far into Maidstone by bus. If the OP needs to get into London though it wouldn’t be ideal.

Completely agree re Bennett’s. Maidstone or Ashford would be really impractical! Tonbridge property wise would be cheaper but still nowhere near as cheap as Ashford. The other option for TW if you were looking for cheaper housing is commuting in from East Sussex.

@Cattitudes, good point. St Simon Stock is heavily oversubscribed and draws in Catholic children from a wide area. While you’d still stand a chance of getting a Faith place the OP’s DC would be behind the Catholic kids.

Yes, I had overlooked Larkfield, Borough Green and West Malling. Those could work too.

We have no idea of the OPs budget, which would influence things a lot.

Absolutely! I’m guessing just on the areas you are looking at @MumDagKent that some of the pricier areas of Kent might be out?

As a quick guide having just looked at Zoopla, other areas that are easily commutable to Maidstone, you’d be looking at the following:

Borough Green and Wrotham - £450K+ for a 3 bed. 13 minutes by train into Maidstone and 45 minutes into London Vic. We (I live here!) have a bus that goes to Bennett’s. Closer still is Trinity which is also a Faith school and is about 20 minutes on the bus.

West Malling - circa £400K plus for a 3 bed in Kings Hill. 13 minutes into Maidstone by train, frequent buses too. 50 minutes into London Vic by train.West Malling town centre is very pretty with lots of restaurants, gastro pubs etc.

Larkfield & Snodland - 3 bed house circa £350K. Buses into Maidstone. I don’t think either has a train station but I could be wrong! Both are very built up areas but have easy access to countryside. You could look at Aylesford too which is very pretty and again, easy to get to Maidstone.

@Whohashiddenthebiscuits

TW I assume is Bennett’s? Very good school but if you get in, both Maidstone and even more so Ashford are long journeys! I’m not even sure how you would get to TW from Ashford unless you planned to drive DC every day. I assume there is a bus from Maidstone to TW but I’d bet it’s a long journey.

Maidstone has less desirable areas but I’d definitely plump for it over Ashford. They are on the same train line so if you do go for Ashford and get the Maidstone school (St Simon Stock?) it’s 30 minutes on the train.

Have you looked at West Malling as a location? It’s about 5 minutes by train into Maidstone (and 50 minutes into London Vic). There is a large housing development on the edge of town (Kings Hill) which has lots of affordable housing. The town itself is very pretty and with more blue plaques than you could shake a stick at.!

If you are looking at Faith places, have you also considered Trinity in Sevenoaks?

Thank you for responding, we also applied to trinity school. Thank you for the recommendation about west mailing. we will look into that.

@Whohashiddenthebiscuits

Just looked at the public transport options for you from Maidstone to Tunbridge Wells. They aren’t great! The bus is a no go. There is a 7am train from Maidstone West (and I’d figure in that they’d need to get to the station which may involve you driving them there) which gets into Tunbridge Wells at around 8. But that literally is the only option unless you drive them. Traffic into Tunbridge Wells in the morning commute time can be pretty hellish.

Thank you for responding. We plan to move before December 10th and then get to know the area well and then move closer to his school.

@Callmecordelia

You can change trains at Tonbridge if you're going from Ashford. If he gets into Bennett I'd look at living in Tonbridge or Tunbridge Wells. Previous posters are right, traffic in TW is awful.

I think you might need to rethink the locations you are looking at, depending on which school you get. Really think about how long you want your son to spend on public transport. The train lines in Kent join up in odd and impractical ways, and what should be easy trips looking at a map aren't possible in reality. Buses have to thread their way through traffic.

Tbh the only option that sounds workable in your OP is living in Maidstone with the school there.

Thank you for responding. We don't mind living in Tonbridge depending on the school he gets into

@Cattitudes

Pastor I assume means not CofE/ Catholic? You will not be in the top categories for places so I would move much closer if only to rent for a year to be honest. See if you can find out the last distance offered in your category in recent years, remember it is a relatively high birth rate year too.

Thank you for responding, we are not catholics. Bennett is an Anglican school not catholic. when I spoke to the admission lady at Bennett, she did mention that a kids that has a higher church attendance is more likely to be selected compare to a child that lives closer.

@Whohashiddenthebiscuits

West Malling or Borough Green *@Callmecordelia* would also be options in terms of getting into Maidstone I think? BG is only 13 minutes on the train & West Malling 5. Larkfield I’d look at too - it’s not lovely but it has cheaper properties and isn’t far into Maidstone by bus. If the OP needs to get into London though it wouldn’t be ideal.

Completely agree re Bennett’s. Maidstone or Ashford would be really impractical! Tonbridge property wise would be cheaper but still nowhere near as cheap as Ashford. The other option for TW if you were looking for cheaper housing is commuting in from East Sussex.

Thank you for responding, I will look into Borough green and East Sussex.

You mention applying for a Faith school in Maidstone so is this not St Simons Stock?

I don’t really know much about changing locations after the applications have gone in but I would have thought as Bennett’s, Trinity and St Simon Stock are very good schools and very oversubscribed that you’d stand a better chance locating yourself near one of them?

[quote Whohashiddenthebiscuits]@Cattitudes, good point. St Simon Stock is heavily oversubscribed and draws in Catholic children from a wide area. While you’d still stand a chance of getting a Faith place the OP’s DC would be behind the Catholic kids.[/quote]
Thank for responding, St Simon is our second choice.

@Whohashiddenthebiscuits

Absolutely! I’m guessing just on the areas you are looking at *@MumDagKent* that some of the pricier areas of Kent might be out?

As a quick guide having just looked at Zoopla, other areas that are easily commutable to Maidstone, you’d be looking at the following:

Borough Green and Wrotham - £450K+ for a 3 bed. 13 minutes by train into Maidstone and 45 minutes into London Vic. We (I live here!) have a bus that goes to Bennett’s. Closer still is Trinity which is also a Faith school and is about 20 minutes on the bus.

West Malling - circa £400K plus for a 3 bed in Kings Hill. 13 minutes into Maidstone by train, frequent buses too. 50 minutes into London Vic by train.West Malling town centre is very pretty with lots of restaurants, gastro pubs etc.

Larkfield & Snodland - 3 bed house circa £350K. Buses into Maidstone. I don’t think either has a train station but I could be wrong! Both are very built up areas but have easy access to countryside. You could look at Aylesford too which is very pretty and again, easy to get to Maidstone.

Thank you so much for responding and breaking down house prices in each area.

That’s fine! St Simon Stock is Catholic hence why I’m sure @Cattitudes was suggesting a house move near the school before allocation as you wouldn’t be ranked priority as Anglicans and the school is over subscribed.

Thank you for responding, we are not catholics. Bennett is an Anglican school not catholic. when I spoke to the admission lady at Bennett, she did mention that a kids that has a higher church attendance is more likely to be selected compare to a child that lives closer.

Yes but at Bennett being Church of England (Anglican) will put you into a higher category than being any other sort of Christian- Catholic, Methodist, Baptist etc. Most of those who live far away who get into Bennett will be CofE attending church three times a month. In a similar way St Simon Stock will prioritise Catholics over Anglican, Methodist, Baptist etc. If you are neither Catholic or Anglican then you should aim to live close by if you are planning to get a place by being 'another Christian denomination attending regularly'. If however you have been regularly attending a CofE church then you could probably live further from Bennett and get a place, possibly nearer to St Simon Stock if you want to hedge your bets. The type of church you attend now and the frequency will influence how near you need to live in order to get a place.

Do make sure that you return the supplementary application form to each school as well as the form to the LEA you currently live in.

Thank you so much everyone for getting back to me. We are very new to Kent and we are open to move anywhere to be honest. It is just that we don't know what school our son will end up going to. So we plan to move to move to Ashford or Maidstone for now and then move closer to the school when known exactly where he will be going for school.

Thank you so much

@MumDagKent

Thank you so much everyone for getting back to me. We are very new to Kent and we are open to move anywhere to be honest. It is just that we don't know what school our son will end up going to. So we plan to move to move to Ashford or Maidstone for now and then move closer to the school when known exactly where he will be going for school.

Thank you so much

But it does not really work like that. The address considered "in time" for the application will dictate eligibility or not based for a place on distance criteria for each school. Move near your highest preference otherwise he could miss out on a place there, or at any of the others. Faith schools usually have a Supplementary form with a submission deadline, have you checked when that is and any additional evidence required.

Thank you so much, yes our Pastor completed the supplementary forms for the all of the faith schools we applied for.

@Cattitudes

Thank you for responding, we are not catholics. Bennett is an Anglican school not catholic. when I spoke to the admission lady at Bennett, she did mention that a kids that has a higher church attendance is more likely to be selected compare to a child that lives closer.

Yes but at Bennett being Church of England (Anglican) will put you into a higher category than being any other sort of Christian- Catholic, Methodist, Baptist etc. Most of those who live far away who get into Bennett will be CofE attending church three times a month. In a similar way St Simon Stock will prioritise Catholics over Anglican, Methodist, Baptist etc. If you are neither Catholic or Anglican then you should aim to live close by if you are planning to get a place by being 'another Christian denomination attending regularly'. If however you have been regularly attending a CofE church then you could probably live further from Bennett and get a place, possibly nearer to St Simon Stock if you want to hedge your bets. The type of church you attend now and the frequency will influence how near you need to live in order to get a place.

Do make sure that you return the supplementary application form to each school as well as the form to the LEA you currently live in.

Thank you so much for this information. We will try to move very close to Tunbridge Wells

I’ve just had a quick look, Trinity want their form in by the 15th of November and you can apply through Essex Secondary Admissions. They want two years of regular church attendance and a signed form from your Priest. Only 50 % of places are Faith places and the rest are local children (and they only go out 1-2 miles on these according to local friends who’ve looked at Trinity).

Both Bennett’s and St Simon Stock want their forms back by the 31st. Bennetts count the home address as that as what it is at time of application, which in the OPs case will be Essex. They operate distance criteria when they are oversubscribed (and I think they usually are). Anglican kids get priority.

St Simon Stock and St Greg’s in TW want their form back and a baptismal certificate by the 31st. Non Catholic Christian children rank 7 in terms of admission criteria. They also want three years worth of church attendance at least three times a month. They do also operate distance criteria and ask that applications are made through KCC (Kent County Council). Children from the Catholic Primsries would rank above the OPs DS.

Have to be honest and apologies OP but that’s a lot of detail for your Priest to fill in for what might be long shots! Trinity sounds like it would be the easiest (comparably) to get into.

I may be wrong on this and I'm prepared to be corrected, but can you apply through multiple LEAs for schools? I thought you had to apply for all of your preferences through your home LEA, but were free to include schools in other LEAs within these if you wanted to.

If you are looking at Bennett (great school) definitely have a look over the border into East Sussex. You get more for your money in Crowborough, Wadhurst. Travelling in from Ashford or Maidstone daily would be a nightmare.

You will pay a premium for Tunbridge Wells. Areas such as Edenbridge, Paddock Wood, West Malling, Kings Hill are full of kids who commute into TWells for school. Definitely look at those.