Newcastle relocation: choosing a secondary school

[Pumpkinsiesta]

Hey, not sure if this is the right topic, but looking for advice on moving schools pre GCSEs.

We are relocating to Newcastle, we have not decided where to live yet but it must be within 30mins of the RVI. I would prefer to not be in the city itself, maybe towards Hexham. Two kids are in junior school, and whilst I think they have their own complications, the secondary school is the one causing the most stress currently therefore the school will influence our choice.

Currently my eldest is at a state school with no uniform. She has ASD and this works really well for her. I realise that there will be no schools without a uniform, but are there any with a relaxed attitude to it? Her current school has already picked it's GCSEs - so she will already have dropped a lot of subjects (including languages) by next year. A school with a strong arts focus would be the dream. Or a strong link to the outdoors.

I would love any advice on moving during y9/at the start of y10 - I really don't have a clue where to start. Around here a lot of schools are over subscribed - is that the case in Newcastle?

Thank you!

I don’t know about schools in Newcastle specifically, but I think you could usefully start by finding out where there will be space. Once your DD is at a school (is she currently in year 9? so this is for this September?) you won't want to move her.

Where I live (East Mids so not helpful – tho there is a local secondary with no uniform) you would have a very limited choice of schools unfortunately, and it may well be the same in Newcastle. I would call the LA and find out, as the location of school spaces may give you a steer on where you want to live.

If you mean your DD is currently in year 8 and you are hoping to move in (say) six months’ time then the pressure is less.

I would also suggest that if you are moving end of or middle of year 9, you need to make sure the school does a two-year KS4 not a three-year one.

Sorry I can't be more specifically helpful but I would certainly contact the LA to find out possibilities before setting your heart on a specific school (I am assuming she does not have an EHCP?)

We live in Gateshead and my DC is in Y8 and has ADHD XP in Gateshead is a different sort of secondary school with no uniform my DC have friends from scouts who go there and love it. We looked and whilst I did like it wasn't the right fit for ours.

Thank you for taking the time to respond - that’s really useful actually - I hadn’t thought of calling the LA.

She’s y8 currently - and for some reason I also didn’t think about schools starting GCSEs next year (despite that being the case in her school - around here it’s a bit unusual). Honestly, it’s the simplest things that I am just forgetting about because the task seems so mammoth.

Traffic is a nightmare in Newcastle and the surrounding area.

30 mins is doable from here, according to AI, used to take me 50mins from the coast to Gateshead. The Tyne bridge and central motorway are full of roadworks currently.

Ponteland: An affluent village to the west/northwest, typically a 28-minute drive via the A696.
Cramlington: A large town to the north, roughly a 30-minute drive via the A1.
Whitley Bay: A coastal town to the east, normally a ~39-minute drive via the A1058, though commute times can increase in heavy traffic.
Central and Northern Suburbs: Areas like Jesmond or Gosforth are much closer (under 15 minutes) and sit well within the 30-minute window.

I.live in Whitley Bay. 3 tier, only one high school always oversubscribed. Gosforth is 3 tier too, again very popular. Gosforth High usually over subscribed but Great Park less so.
Lots of very good private in Gosforth and Jesmond, but no first hand experience.

If you are considering Hexham, the school would be QE. It’s got a good academic reputation. However, they weren’t brilliant with our kids needs and uniform was a constant issue. They may be more enlightened about ASD etc nowadays.

Hexham is a minimum of 45mins on a good day. I do it regularly for work

I guess it depends on when you travel & where you want to go. I sail past on the bypass, and reckon 20 mins to the end of the A69 from that point. The bit from the A69 into Newcastle centre can take forever. If OP fancies the train, 30 minutes might be enough.

We live in Ponteland and kids go to school near the RVI. The school run takes me 20 mins in the morning and I get them there for 8am, home is around 30mins following a 3:30 pick up.

are you only looking at state schools or are you open to private? As there’s a private school 5 mins walk from the RVI.

Gosforth can be walkable to the RVI, as can Jesmond. But traffic around there can be a nightmare

Year 10 is a very bad time to move, as gcse subjects are chosen in Y9 abd classes start at the beginning of Y10 at the latest. If you can move school by Y9, then you’ll have the best choice over GCSE subjects. Options are usually taken by Feb half term of Y9, and allocated by Easter, or shortly after. If you move in Y10, your GCSE subject options will be limited to those with spaces left in the classes.

Thank you all so much, this is all very insightful.

No EHCP - but on the SEN register etc. Not that that accounts for much. It's a tough move because we're really happy with the school we have currently. I wish we could afford private school but I don't think it's really in the budget.

We live in a city now, in an area probably like Jesmond or Gosforth, we're using this forced move as a bit of a chance to change up our lifestyle a bit and move out of the city. The major desire is just to have some space! But obviously that will involve a lot of driving. We cannot move immediately now as we have other commitments so it will definitely be a move mid school year.

I think I will call up the LA and ask them what they recommend/what our chances are in various areas. It's given me a starting point!

@Pumpkinsiesta I’m not in the NE, but my LA publishes a list of schools and what years there are vacancies. Obviously popular schools it’s 0 throughout but not everywhere. They update the list pretty regularly. So you will have a good idea about where to start. I think most LAs do this or there could be a lot of wasted applications and time.

I have found the info for Newcastle, but not for Northumberland. Distressingly there were only 2 secondary schools in Newcastle with space.

I'm not surprised there is limited space; I believe the current year 8 is a particularly big year across England @Pumpkinsiesta which is not going to help you unfortunately.

What would be a good idea tho is to identify where might suit your younger DC and move near to that school (as long as the journey to the available school for DC1 is feasible) as that is something you can influence.

Do you need to drive (I'm guessing you will if on shifts) or would the metro work for getting to the RVI?

Sadly that doesn't surprise me at all. Good schools are usually oversubscribed.
Look at North Tyneside and maybe Gateshead as well as Northumberland.
Emmanuel College is very well respected, I have friends with kids there, but it dies have quite a strong Christian ethos if that is an issue.

If you move mid-year 9, she's likely to have to pick up a language again for the rest of year 9. There are also some schools that insist on a language for GCSE. It's probably not too late to change your mind about doing a language next year in her current school, and it might give you more options when you move. Other subjects she might be dropping are less of a worry, as they're probably easier to pick up again after a gap.

I work at The university ( opposite the RVi). Live just outside Morpeth. Takes no more than 30 minutes straight along the A1. King Edwards is the secondary school there. Worth taking a look. Like others have said, Hexham may be a bit of a slog commuting.

@Pumpkinsiesta I agree. The Northumberland info is woeful! They have an application form for in year applications and do provide an interactive map detailing where the schools are. It’s not giving spaces though. There are phone numbers and contacts so I’d contact them. They seem bothered about catchment and transport! Catchment won’t matter if you are the only applicant and a school has 10 places - they take you. It’s poor they don’t have better info for in year or non standard entry.

Be aware the NE has a mish-mash of 3 tier and 2 tier systems. Northumberland has retained 3 tier apart from Ponteland (which makes me sad as Pontrland Middle was a great school!), Newcastle is almost entirely 2 tier now apart from Gosforth (GEMS is a brilliant school), although the Catholic schools there are 2 tier. I think North Tyneside is also a mixture, and Gateshead and Co. Durham (which could also be an option for you) are fully 2 tier. If you have a child in Yr 5 to 8 you'd be looking at Middle Schools for them in a 3 tier area.

There are so many variables 😔 I am going to start tackling it next week when I am not melting. I can sense it’s going to involve some sort of spreadsheet with schools, places and whether or not we want to live in the area/can meet the 30m radius. One of the younger kids has more complex sen so that’s also a consideration - but they are likely to school refuse.

Thank you all so much - especially in this heat. If anyone does check back here (to save me posting on the property board) do houses in the area usually go under or over asking price. Where we live houses tend to sell in a couple of weeks and usually go to a bidding war. I need to ramp myself up for that level of stress.

In Gosforth, yes to bidding wars, but not all areas will be like that. If I were to move back to the NE, I would definitely choose to live somewhere on the Metro, so I could commute without worrying about traffic, and teen children weren't reliant on me for lifts everywhere. My dream would be a lovely Victorian terrace near the front in Tynemouth, but they are so gorgeous I imagine they also have bidding wars!

LOL @AndresyFiorella that's my dream too but £££££, that's why I live in a 80s house in Whitley
@Pumpkinsiestahouse prices and sales are very school catchment dependant

Out of interest, which 2 schools had space?

I live about 5 miles west of Newcastle, on the edge of the Tyne Valley, my dc go to the local academy which is producing excellent results, they do have some decent SEN provision but they are very strict on uniform!

@Lovelynames123 i think it was Kenton and benfield for her year group.

@Pumpkinsiesta Eek, don't know Benfield but not heard anything good about Kenton recently...