Moving back to London. Where?

[justagirl13]

Hello,
Last year I moved from London to a city near Amsterdam with my 12-year-old child, dog, cat, and grandma to live with my boyfriend. However, I'm not very happy with the current situation. While I'm just 30 minutes away from Amsterdam, it feels more like the countryside with cows and sheep. Additionally, adjusting to living as a couple after many years of being single has been challenging.
My child is currently attending an international school but is willing to move back to London, as we don't feel really at home in my partner's house. He is very controlling and doesn't really accept our dog or my mom.

We used to live in Chiswick. I understand that prices in that area have skyrocketed, but my main concerns are finding a family-friendly and safe neighbourhood. I'll be single and ready to enjoy the nightlife, so I don't want to be too far from it. I'm also looking for a good neighbourhood that isn't overly expensive and has good secondary schools, with the possibility of enrolling my child for Year 9 starting in September 2024.

Does anyone have any places/schools to suggest?

I think to give any useful advice ppl will need to know your buying or renting budget and how much space you need tbh

Budget: max £3000pm. 2/3 bedrooms

London Borough of Richmond

and bear in mind that anywhere in UK good schools are oversubscribed and there is waiting list to those schools.

Sorrt it didn’t work out, that sounds incredibly difficult.

No advice on areas but I wouldn’t write off Chiswick, I know families renting there who aren’t well off. What about emailing estate agents in Chiswick and asking their thoughts on if your budget couod work there?

Quick Rightmove search in Richmond shows quite a lot in your price range. Certainly ppl mention the area on here often as having good schools. It's a bit of a way out of town and nightlife tho.

Caveat: I have no idea whether any of the RM properties are near any good schools - and also ofc those good schools are likely to be full. But a similar search in Chiswick brought up hardly any properties.

@clary "It's a bit of a way out of town and nightlife tho."

Richmond Borough has its own nightlife! Who wants to schlep into central london when you can have anight out locally?

@justagirl13 Try Twickenham or Teddington or north Kingston/Petersham.

But generally, good schools come at a price.

I'm sure it does. Just the OP said she wanted to be close to the nightlife - which I took to mean central London.

As a Richmond borough resident with children in school, I can say that the local state schools are not all good. Be wary of living in wealthy boroughs where many parents opt for private education over their state alternatives. I'm sorry you feel you have to move back and hope things work out for you.

@newyorkbreakfast

OP is after secondary school. Only twickenham Academy and Hampton High are not the best. The rest of secondary schools are just great

Kingston or Sutton? I think quite oversubscribed though

Hampton High is a 'good' school, well respected, over subscribed and there has been a waiting list the last few years. It's not the under performing school it once was.

@Thatsshallot1967 I am afraid you are not up to date. I wish that school well and that they retain the Good Ofsted as resultingly they will have inspection within few months.

Y9 is really full. High birth year!

My concern tbh is to decide for an area that I enjoy more (like Chiswick or Richmond, as eg) and then don't get any placement around.

Private would be a possibility...but also, checked a few schools or the deadline gone or they are selective with tests

feels like the chicken and the egg. I have to choose a house first but then if the school is not around...i would prefer to live near the school as I wfh.

yes, more like not too far from south Kensington, chelsea, mayfair.

You can't guarantee any state school will have a place until you get a firm address. If I were you I'd aim to be near top of the waiting list of your preferred school (usually by being closest to school, but check the policy as some are different), but also try to be in catchment for at least one good backup. Then be prepared to either "home school" for a while until you get a place, or else take whatever is offered but stay on waiting lists for higher preferences.

Places do come up in year 9 because some families want to move their children before GCSEs start.

One thing worth checking - which languages are offered for GCSE. Some schools only offer one, e.g. Spanish, so if your child has been learning e.g. French they will be behind the curve.

@drumbin thanks for the advise. I will make a list of the schools and try to be near.

You would get a place in Twickenham Academy as it has been never oversubscribed but that is not the best option. I would try calling Teddington school ( 1400 kids) if they have any free places in Y 9 if you were local....

Isn't Orleans Park school the best secondary in Richmond?

Hampton high is not a well respected school locally. It is very much an uderperforming school with a below average progress 8 score and a below average attainment 8 score, which is pretty shocking considering the area and how well the local primary schools perform.

"Best" is subjective - it depends on your perspective. It's overdue an Ofsted inspection, so who knows whether it'll retain its aura of "bestness". Probably a good idea for the op to make their own mind up on that, based on what they're looking for, and their budget. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to afford a property within catchment of the most popular schools.

Right now, I think I'd be choosing Twickenham School over Hampton High, given the choice, but last year I might have said the opposite. Things change from year to year. Orleans Park has had bad years in the past, and certainly used to be considered inferior to Teddington. Ofsted ratings can change perceptions, but they're not always accurate.

I was going on most recent a-level results in 2023.

I agree though it’s all quite up and down

Depends on what we looking for. If you looking at academics then it is very good in the last years but equally good GCSE results had Grey Court and Turing.
If you looking at pastoral care then several school have good pastoral care.
If you looking at facilities then Teddington has probably the best, but Twickenham and Turing also have grand facilities.
And then there is also Ofsted report but many of those schools had no visitors for years so it is not very reliable

Having said that I wasn't recommending the best schools but the one that OP is most likely to get a place. There are waiting lists to the top borough's schools even in Y9