OMG - decided to move back to UK. Kent? Surrey? Schools???? Head hurting already, please help. Please please please. And breathe. Anyone?

[ErnestTheBavarian]

OK, Been out of UK for nearly 10 years. Decided to move back. Want to be there in time for ds to start secondary school, ie September 2010.

Lots of Q & compölications - any help or thoughts?

Area

thinking Kent or Surrey. Need to be max 40 mins commute to London (Waterloo). Need to be south or river as have family in Dorset, Wimbledon & NW Kent.

Want good secondary schools (& primary too).

Schools. Making my head hurt already.

How do you find out what's a good school? I can't make head nor tail of league tables. I mean a school having 50% A-C sounds pretty dismal to me, but is that not condiered good or OK? I take OFSTED reports with pinch of salt. How on earth do you find what are good schools, especially as we're not in country and can't visit.

WHich is better school wise, Kent or Surrey? Does Surrey also have grammar schools?

I heard Surrey state schools maybe not so good as so many in. schools?

To start in September 2010, we have to buy (& live in ?) house in desired area by October 2009, is that right?

If we aren't in place by then, we go on waiting list/get allocated to school we don't want, is that right? It's really hurting my head, because ideally I wanted to move just before start of school, so even with 1.5 years notice, this won't be possible will it?

Finally, ds1 is 1 year out of sinc, ie he is in year 3 when he should be in year 4. Would he be able to stay 'out of sync' or will he be forced to join officially correct cohort?

Shite, it's just too difficult.

anyone know how i find out what a school catchement area is, or what a secondary primary feeder is? God, it's all so complicated

for Surrey the info is all on the council web pages here. Presumably Kent (if you're still considering Kent) will have something similar. It's all split into the different districts within Surrey, and then indivdual school with special arrangements within that. For example, Oxted School has a map of the catchment area, plus a list of the feeder primary schools (going to one of those puts you up a category in admission priorities).

Is that ernest who's been on mumsnet for ages. If so Hello Ernest!

Colleague at work lives in Epsom. V easy to commute to central London from there. Loads of trains. He has a FAR FAR easier commute than me and I actually live in (outer) London.

Schools there seem fine too. His all go to state school and his wife teaches in one of them. Don't know which ones but could find out if necessary.

yes, it's me, hello You've got a good memory.

I must somhow arrange to come over and look at areas (& maybE even schools) as I'm narrowing it down, and building it up in my head, then I might turn up and hate it. Seriously considering Sutton, but the whole UK education set up, type of school (voluntary aided, GM, feeder primaries,... I haven't got a clue!) and it all seems so competitive, tutoring kids from age 6 for the 11+ , and there's us, waltzing in 'from abroad' naively thinking I'm going to find decent school and housing when I don't know the areas in question at all. I'm not even clear what year group my dss should be in (well, with ds1 I know, and even that's a bloody battle, sigh)

it isn't easy, even for those of us who've lived here a while

but it will be far easier if you come over and do a trip and go and speak to people

at the children's school, we have a lot of families who go abroad for years and come back (and vice versa).

Best person to talk to is someone in the admissions department at the council (you can ring them) - they are actually very helpful and are probably used to people calling up and asking the sort of questions you need to ask!

I think you asked re catchment areas - depends on the council but if it is a 'who lives closest' scheme (which a lot of them are), what you'll need to do is ask what happened last year (though it's only a guide) and then you'll get a feeling for where you want to be.

In some areas, you may find that you are just allocated a space, wherever that may be.

I think you'd need to come over, see what you think then choose a house and go from there.