Moving from US to London - In Year Secondary School - Which Areas to pick?

[MovingLady]

First time poster and appreciate your inputs.

Moving with 4 kids from the US to London for SO's job in June 2025. My partner will be moving in April 2025 to rent a place so we can start applying for oldest son's (Turns 12 in Feb 2025) secondary school (year 6).

Could you please advice on which areas to stay based on following criteria:

1. Rent range - £4000-£5000 for 3/4 bedroom.
2. State secondary school that would be easiest for placement after admission process has closed.
3. 45mins to Farringdon for SO's work commute
4. Younger kids are 9,9,4 and hoping to get into a state primary school.

We have it narrowed down to the following areas: (1) Ealing/Acton, (2) North Dulwich Triangle, (3) Islington/Angel (4) Notting Hill/Maida Vale.

Should we consider other areas or are these good enough to start getting in touch with rental agents?

Also, how do state schools view someone that is moving from overseas in making exceptions?

Thanks!

https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/find-a-school-in-england

A useful website for you, allows you to compare various statistics to national and local averages. Both Primary and Secondary data now up to date with last summer results.

Also if your 4yo will still be 4 by the time he starts school in September you might need to be applying as soon as you he a rough location as that is a normal admissions round not an In Year Admissions round.

Agree with this. You can apply for this with your US address and will probably be allocated a place because many primary schools are currently undersubscribed (falling birth rate). When you get your rental address in April you can update it on the application.

Numbers 3 and 4 on your list are v expensive areas and probably out of your budget. Ealing is great for schools and you could live a 20-25 min walk from Ealing Broadway and still get to Farringdon within 45 mins. West Ealing and Hanwell are also on the Elizabeth line and you'll get more for your money. Hanwell has a lovely park and nice village feel. In this direction you have Drayton manor and Elthorne which are great secondaries. Primaries are mostly excellent in the borough, secondaries can be trickier. Might be worth calling the schools you're interested in to see how much movement they tend to get in year. Check out the school prospectus on the Ealing gov website.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/153882785?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=lettings&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_LET

First thing I would do is look at your husband's work location on a map. If the nearest station is Farringdon, it may be that other stations are also close to widen transport options (though Farringdon has great transport links). For example Chancery Lane and Moorgate are both nearby, in opposite directions, one of them could also be near your husband's work. Moorgate being near would also open up the northern line and you could look at areas like Finchley, which I think would get you something in your budget (agree with others that Maida Vale, Notting Hill and Islington are unlikely to get you anything big enough in your budget).

Mill Hill side of Finchley is a quick commute to Farringdon anyway on Thameslink (or change at Kentish Town from the Finchley stations). Plenty of good secondaries in Barnet (council), not sure about primaries.

Farringdon on the thameslink line, I lived at Tulse Hill (direct service to Farringdon) or look to the north, harpingdon or St Albans where you'll easily find larger houses. They have to find school places but be prepared to need to have them them at multiple schools at least initially

Thanks. These are points I hadn't considered. I didn't realize there would be an option to enroll the kids for a month in June/July. I'm worried that we might get allocated schools really far away if we enroll in June/July vs waiting for the September cycle.

Thanks. Didn't realize I could apply from the US. Will get this started asap.

Places come up sporadically throughout the year as families move away. Some families may try to time their move for the summer break, but that's not always easy to do. If they leave in June/July, then those places will be allocated to children who are ready to start immediately ahead of those waiting for a September place.

In London boroughs you can specify up to 6 preferred schools on your application form, in order of preference. If places are available in any of them you will be allocated your highest preference. If no places are available, your local authority must allocate your child a place at another school within the borough. The DfE issues guidance (see screenshot) to local authorities on reasonable travel time, but within a London borough, schools are unlikely to be very far away.

The cohort your son is joining had a high birth rate, so some boroughs may find it difficult to find a place for him. However, if he is out of school for 4 weeks without an offer then something called the Fair Access Protocol will be used. This is where a panel of local Headteachers get together and decide which schools should be required to take additional students even if they have no vacancy.

As I mentioned before, if you turn down an offer, they're not obliged to make you another, but you can always stay on the waiting list for higher preference schools.

There is no September cycle. It is an obvious starting point as beginning of academic year but In Year places are just as likely in June as September. You will struggle to get your 4 yo a place at a school of your choice until you have an address, even if you can apply now. Are your 9yo twins? There may be a consideration to allocate them places together, even if it takes the class over numbers.

Does it have to be a London location? If work is near Farringdon then there are many options outside of the City.

As a PP said, anywhere there are lots of places along the Lizzie Line that might be within the commute time, likewise, going up into Hertfordshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire - where you might get more for your money. Locations along the LNER route from Peterborough south would be worth considering for schools.

"You will struggle to get your 4 yo a place at a school of your choice until you have an address, even if you can apply now."

The OP needs to know which borough she'll be living in, but doesn't need a UK address to put in the application. The deadline for "on time" applications is January 15th. Many good London primary schools are likely to be undersubscribed which means you could apply from anywhere in the world and still be allocated a place in a school that would have been very oversubscribed 10 years ago. The drop in birthrate has been very dramatic, and is blamed on the combination of Brexit, Covid, home working, and the cost of living in London.

Farringdon is very well served transport wise. You can go out North/South on Thameslink and East/West on Elizabeth Line. Do you specifically want to be in London? You can for example go out as far as Hitchin for a 45 minute commute, great schools and money will go much further property wise. In almost all cases you can’t apply for school until in the country, that's the child too. Other than at entry points (Reception, Y7 & 6th form generally with some variations) it's only possible to apply for September start from mid July - places have to be available for anyone moving and needing an immediate school place, not held for the next school year. You will need to be flexible and possibly consider home schooling for a time or a school change in order to place 4 children in state school. In your position I would focus search on schooling/housing availability. You obviously can't completely discount one person's commute but everyone else's needs are also important with many factors out of your control. If the DC do activities research suitable options too. (6 international moves, many schools, housing and activities worth of research later)

Not sure if it’s worth putting in an application now for your 4 year old (assuming they don’t turn 5 until 1 September or later). The deadline is in less than 2 weeks, and you don’t yet know where you’re going to live, so it’ll be a total guess on what schools you put down and even what borough to submit the application from. I’m also not 100% sure you can apply with an overseas address, though others may be more informed on that. Of course, if you do apply and your youngest does get a school place, you can always change your mind and apply to different schools once you’ve moved. But it seems like a lot of stress and random decision making right now. Once you know your address and an idea of what schools you want, you could submit a late application for them. If the schools are undersubscribed anyway, it won't matter whether you apply on time or late.

I am a Relocation Agent (not in London) and if you do plan to get one involved the earlier the better.
We usually have knowledge and contacts that you don't, plus we are experts in the area and can come up with suggestions you won't have thought of.
You WILL need to sort the address before the school though and hope you can find places not too far from you

Also as others have said, school places can come up anytime. If you wait until September, it’s likely that you won’t have a place for at least a week or two because the schools are closed over the summer break and often don’t offer places until the next school year has already started. So in many ways it’s better to take the place early. Even if you accept a school place further away than you want, you can remain on waiting lists for closer schools. Accepting a place somewhere doesn’t preclude you from a waiting list place later on.

"I’m also not 100% sure you can apply with an overseas address, though others may be more informed on that."

Best not to comment if you don't know as you will muddy the water. I do know for certain that OP can apply from abroad because I'm a school governor and see the applications for our school.

It is the parent's responsibility to verify their child's immigration status before applying: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/schools-admissions-applications-from-overseas-children

Extract from the above link:

@widgetz thanks for providing documentation on this - that's why I said I don't know as I don't recall seeing evidence in this thread that you can apply from overseas. I know in other threads others have claimed that in their local authorities you cannot.

But reality is without an address they are likely to be refused places at oversubscribed schools. So they maybe allocated a place distant from where they end up living and need to go on waiting lists or appeal.

This. You would be hard pushed to find a really poor school in Barnet.

But most London primary schools aren't currently oversubscribed in reception, as mentioned above. All the primaries in my borough are Good or better and only a tiny number are oversubscribed.

The op has nothing to lose and everything to gain by putting in an application before Jan 15th. Applications received after that date willbe treated as "late" and will only be processed after all the on-time applications are allocated places. For now, she only needs to decide which borough. If she changes her mind later, she can modify the application. After the initial round of offers on April 16th she can apply to as many schools as she likes, in any borough.

If he turns 12 in Feb 2025 he'd already be yr7 here so you will need to apply for year 8.

The usual way of choosing secondary schools is by checking the exam results: GCSE at 16, A-level at 18. And also university admissions, which are dependent on A-level results, although you may not plan on staying that long. Catchment area plays a part in this choice too, as schools usually fill from their closest areas. Unfortunately, the schools with vacancies in Year 8 may not be those you would choose. If you move to a grammar (ie selective) school area, there is little likelihood of admission in Year 8.