Plan for a move to Surrey

[JLKL]

Hi all,
We are planning to move to Surrey and would love to hear some recommendations on which town/school we should explore for better chance to enter a good or above secondary state school? Our son is now studying in Year 3 and we would like to start planning ahead especially if we are thinking about buying a house there. It would be perfect if the location could allow a max of 60 mins commute time to London.
Thanks

Did I cause offence by saying Cheam is in the Sutton borough? As I said I don't really know the area but from experience some people do get very territorial about where they live. I have a colleague who lives in Thornton Heath but says they live in Surrey & another one in lives in the Balham borders but is actually in Brixton Hill 😆

Sutton grammar for boys is very close to Sutton high street and train station. The other grammars are not so well communicated.
And, yes, you get more for your money than in SW but still over £500k

Thanks @Lindy2 ! Addlestone and Chertsey both ticker some of my boxes!!!

Thank you so much everyone! Really appreciate the active discussion and advices! Now I’ve shortlisted these and will try to do more research on each of them but this is really a great start for me!! Million thanks

Dorking
Godalming
Haslemere
Farnborough
Addlestone
Chertsey
Effingham
Cobham
Reigate
Redhill

If your looking at Haslemere for secondary it's nothing amazing compared to Liphook and godalming.

I would seriously look at what 500k could buy you in Waverley. It's very expensive for decent family homes

I fear you will struggle to find anywhere within your budget in Reigate, sorry. In Redhill the good secondary is a faith school.

At the risk of bursting your bubble, £500,000 would go nowhere in Farnham.

It’s a 15 min drive from Dorking to the West Sussex border..

Have to say I’m a bit surprised you couldn’t find anything in Woking - what size house are you looking for? There are a few sub500k houses around Horsell, and lots more in other areas. Not huge ones, but worth looking at. Woking high is great, and kids attend from a wide radius.

On your budget I’d forget Cobham, Effingham and Dorking if it’s a decent sized family home you are considering.

Reigate for the Royal Alexandra and Albert state boarding school. You can attend as a day pupil, it has a posh feel, amazing grounds, excellent sports facilities including their own horses. Academically it is not outstanding but I know bright children who have done very well there indeed. It has, of course, many army families who use the boarding option.

You need to live close by to get a day place at RAAS(iirc they measure from a flagpole). Unfortunately not so cheap.

An hour commute means you could also look at north Hampshire, Basingstoke and Fleet are just under an hour from Waterloo, I imagine you’d get more bang for your buck.
Reading is only 30 minutes from Paddington, not sure about schools there but you’d get much more for £500k than in Surrey.

Fleet is very close to Farnborough and has excellent schools.

I wouldn’t go to Farnborough for state secondaries, they’re a bit hit and miss. For an hourish commute go into North/East Hampshire - look at Fleet, Hook, Liphook, and Petersfield. Alton is around hour and 15 minutes but you’re guaranteed a seat as it is the end of the line. All have excellent schools and they have been consistently good too. Your money will go further too.
Your money won’t go far in Reading but Twyford would be worth a look.

From your list I would strike Haslemere and Godalming. Very pricey. Liphook is a good suggestion. On the trainline and has bohunt school. Many from Haslemere travel to Liphook for Bohunt.

You could also look at Walton-on-Thames , Hersham and Molesey.

There's a new Heathside just opened in Walton, and there's Three Rivers which seems to do fairly well.

Your budget won't go terribly far but there are some three beds available.

Also- for Addlestone there's Jubilee High as well as the others a PP mentioned.

I wouldn't rule out Godalming, but it does depend on what you want for your money. If you want a new build or a detached then not a chance, but you could get a three bed semi. The market does move quickly. It is a lovely place to live, parts of it have a villagey feel. It just depends on what you are looking for.
Oh and you can usually get a seat on the train from Godalming or Farncombe. After that you're lucky to get one.

My kids go to Riddlesdown secondary in Purley. 30 mins into Victoria on the East Grinstead line. My boys have left and did extremely well, DD in year 10. The education is excellent in my opinion. Some normal secondary school behaviour issues go on, like all state schools no doubt. But my kids have not been affected by anything like that

Lol that’s because Croydon has a Surrey postcode but it’s part of London so it’s definitely not Surrey. The Surrey border is near my house (I work in Croydon) and it’s in Whyteleafe which is over 8 miles away!

Cheam Village is very nice, excellent schools. It's also expensive. A four bed detached ranges from about £950k to £4.5m. The parts of Sutton close to Cheam village are also very nice and a little cheaper. Sutton is on the up imo. It's very well connected.

North Cheam slithers into Morden and has a very different vibe. All areas are part of the London Borough of Sutton and have an SM post-code.

I was going to suggest Glyn School in Epsom which is excellent for boys but it's a small catchment and there won't be much for £500k if anything.

Blenheim which catchment takes in some of West Ewell is a good school and there may be properties in the £500k range and Ewell West is about 35/40 minutes to Waterloo. The children in the Blenheim uniform look very neat and well behaved.

Sutton has now been flooded with people from Hong Kong because they like the good schools there. Therefore, most, if not all, good schools have been oversubscribed already.

Have you looked at Epsom and Ewell?