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Where would you move for schools?
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BaroqueAroundTheClock


Posts: 1
Joined: Aug 2015
Post: #1
18-08-2015 08:41 PM

Hi there

I'm hoping somebody might be kind enough to give me some insider local info. We're looking to buy a house nearby, hoping for a three bed period for around £850k but apart from that are really flexible as long as it's near great schools.

Where would you look if you were in our situation? Is there an area where you get brill primaries and secondaries (I imagine that might be a tiny slither of a few streets were the areas overlap?!) We are very happy to consider surrounding areas too, even as far as Kent.

Thank you so much

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rshdunlop


Posts: 1,111
Joined: Jun 2008
Post: #2
19-08-2015 06:43 AM

There are plenty of excellent primary schools in the area, others will be able to advise you on catchment areas.

However, whether or not you should take that into consideration depends on how soon your child or children will be attending these schools. Bad schools improve, good schools lose their senior managers and start to slide down the league tables. Those league tables themselves are misleading. I wouldn't buy a house purely on the basis of current catchment areas, as those also change year-to-year.

In terms of secondary schools - by that age, most kids will travel some distance to school (mine get two buses to Streatham every day). Many secondary schools don't use catchment areas for selection. I wouldn't factor that in at all.

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chezbubbles


Posts: 14
Joined: Aug 2013
Post: #3
26-08-2015 05:51 PM

On the contrary, I would say that many secondary schools feature distance in their admissions criteria so it's worth taking into account. The area of Tooting Graveney (Wandsworth) is a prime example. To get into one of the local primary schools you need to live in the schools priority area and then to get into the local secondary other than getting a selective place you need to live within about 1/3 of a mile or you have no chance.

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rshdunlop


Posts: 1,111
Joined: Jun 2008
Post: #4
26-08-2015 06:41 PM

Some secondary schools take distance into account AMONG OTHER FACTORS. Some admit only a certain proportion of children based on distance. Some do not take it into account at all - such as Kingsdale. They (supposedly) operate a lottery. Generally, the catchment area for secondary schools is much larger than that for primary schools. My point was that if you are just at the stage of looking for primary schools, I wouldn't be worrying about being in the catchment for a secondary school. Things might be very different in seven years time.

I don't think Graveney is a good example of how secondary admissions generally work. It is very oversubscribed and in a relatively wealthy area so has been able to discriminate in this way. Most other secondary schools don't have such tight catchment areas.

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chezbubbles


Posts: 14
Joined: Aug 2013
Post: #5
27-08-2015 06:50 AM

I used that area as an example because it meets the criteria the poster describes - an area with good primaries and a secondary school where you need to live within a certain distance.
It's true that distances for getting into secondary school is not as tight as primary however most schools feature distance in their admissions criteria and random allocation is far less common.

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