House location in London for a young family

[expatathome]

The area around Hobayne is definitely family friendly. Yes Hanwell is a mixes area so there are council estates around but they are further back - on a map more toward Castlebar road. Hanwell broadway itself is not that great. There's a nice arts cafe fir the kids and a cheap and cheerful gym. However Hobbayne school is about a 15 min walk from there on a fairly busy but nice road Greenford avenue - Selection of local shops and a couple of restaurants, cafes. You also have two fab parks - Cuckoo park (the community centre in its grounds used to be a Victorian workhouse where Charlie Chaplin stayed as a kid). Then there's Brent Lodge park aka Bunny park which I think I mentioned before has a cafe, maze and free animal centre with a butterfly house, wallabies, peacocks, monkeys and more. ALso a golf course with a bar - run by a lovely American guy called Tom.

Basically if you go onto www.streetmap.co.uk and put in a local postcode eg W7 1NH - the box with the arrow in it is roughly where you want to aim for. Poets corner- including Shakespeare, Milton road and others, Framfield road, then the other side of Greenford ave the roads near Brent Lodge park eg Cuckoo lane, Golden manor road.

Hanwell has a fab community feel and is super friendly. We've just had the annual carnival!

That said if you can afford Pitshangar lane well worth considering. Not sure what schools serve well but I think they're all ok. Again look at a map and check out area between Ealing broadway station and Pitshangar lane, around the cricket club, Mount Park road, etc - all v nice and convenient for Ealing Broadway station and shops, about a 10 to15 min walk away. Good for bus routes too. Expect to pay at least £2000 per month to rent a 3 bedroom house round there - prob £200 to £400 PCM more than Hanwell.

Northfields is lovely too but yep prob not so convenient for transport as it'd be quite a walk or a bus ride to EB station.

[riding-high]

thanks again, going through all the streets/maps you indicated, i feel like i am an ealingiite already! cant wait to get there.

[riding-high]

the other options i m looking at are close to the grange school, which i heard is decent. i could then get them on the waiting list for little ealing.

second option is ofcourse near north ealing school, considering that pitshanger is a nice place as u have written. and get them on montpelier's waiting list.

unfortuately, have noticed that hobbayne doesn't have a decent back-up school nearby (unlike the above two options). so may find that the kids may have to go to study at a far off semi-decent school until Hobbayne okays them.

[helenmarino]

Sorry to put a dampner on this thread - and you have been very helpful - but in terms of schools the reality is that you will have very little choice. Most schools with an OFSTED rating of outstanding or good are totally oversubscribed and in addition to this to be top of the waiting list you will need to live approx 200-300 metres form the school maximum. In the UK the waiting list goes off proximity to school, so you could have been waiting for your preferred choice for 6 months and be top of the waiting list, but if someone else joins the waiting list and lives nearer to the school they will 'jump the queue' so to speak. You will most likely be allocated a school in the borough and you will have little choice unless you live very close to the school.
I have just done a property search for a family in Richmond and they were top of the waiting list but only because the property was practically next door to the school!
Also most local authorities will not let you even apply until you have an address (i.e. signed tenancy agreement) and you are physically in the country.
There is a real shortage of rental properties at the moment so be prepared to act fast, I'm not sure you will get much more than a 2 bed apartment for £2,000 pcm.
Sorry if this does not sound very optimistic but unfortunately it is the reality of the situation at the moment.
Please reply back if you need any more clarification on schools, if your children are 4 & 7 they will be coming in at Reception and Year 3.
Thanks, Helen Marino

[expatathome]

With respect you refer to Richmond - one of the most expensive boroughs in London!

In Ealing and especially Hanwell it IS possible to get a 3 bedroom place for around the £2,000 mark. I pay £1,750 PCM for a 3 bed, 2 bathroom place with a garden a few metres away from an outstanding rated school. Distance is probably as you say a factor in why we've been told our kids will definitely get a place at that school.

OP - knows places in London are v competitive for the best schools and that's why she's talking about back up schools. On that note back up school for Hobbayne would be Mayfield - a smaller school, not outstanding rated - but don't read everything into Ofsted - parents of numerous kids I know who go there are all v happy with it and it is smaller. If you can in anyway claim you or your husband are Catholic (not sure how strict they are) st Joseph's catholic school down the road also very good.

OP - best to start looking at websites like right move to get an idea and call your favored schools ASAP to get advice directly from them.

Don't deny that you're coming at a very awkward time for schools as you need to get accommodation sorted before you can apply (think/ hope I mentioned this before). If there's anyway you can get over a bit earlier to sort that out than it might be a very good idea.

[riding-high]

thanks helen for your concerns. this is precisely the reason why we would seeking to rent a place next to the top schools (Hobbayne/Little Ealing/Fielding). Perhaps you could help in the search? We land on sep 5. And hope to see as many available furnished rental properties (2/3 beds) as close to the schools as possible. Once we have the tenancy agreement ready in that week, we go the In Year Admissions Team of the Ealing LEA. We have already talked to them, and they required the children to be physically present when we apply. Therefore, there was no point in doing an earlier separate trip. They have assured that even if we dont get a place in our top school, they will place the kids within 2 weeks to some school till such time that we get into our preferred schools. I am also monitoring the in-year waiting list updated every week for Reception and Yr 3.

In the meantime, I have looked at various advertised properties, to get a feel of the prices. And expatathome is right, we can make do with a decent place in 2,000 pcm. And thanks, Mayfield does like a very decent school. I noticed a majority of kids are Black African, should that be of concern? Any views on st. marks down the road?

[expatathome]

St marks is other side of Uxbridge road in old Hanwell which is nice and meant to be good. Backup school there is Oaklands I think which is just ok I think.

Re Mayfield - prob quite a few of African origin yes but people I know with kids there are mixed - East European, British, African and Indian descent. There's a site somewhere my husband found when we were looking (maybe ofsted or council) that gives you ethnicity breakdown but I don't think Mayfield is too composed of any one particular nationality though prob more East Euros than Hobbayne as they tend to be on lower incomes if newly arrived and that is the slightly cheaper end of Greenford avenue. Honestly have only heard pretty good things about it. Although not rated as highly as Hobbayne some like the fact it is smaller - as primary schools go Hobbayne is pretty big with several classes per year.

Good luck - it's stressful enough moving to another country, without doing so at the start of the school year but I'm sure you'll all be just fine.

[helenmarino]

Great advice from expathome re the different areas. As you are coming into the school as an in year admission it is really a question of how long is a piece of string as you will be allocated a place on a 1 in 1 out basis at your preferred school. Existing pupils siblings will take priority and then it is off proximity. Catholic schools are not often an option unless you are catholic, in which case you will need a baptism certificate and proof of church attendance from your current priest - very strict entry requirements these days! Recently some authorities have made special 'bulge' classes i.e. an additional one off extra class in Year Reception where the authority is struggling to place everyone.
You will be allocated a place however it may not be at the school of your choice. I am presuming your children will not turn 5 or 8 until after September? In which case as I said they will be YR and Y3.
****
Helen

[riding-high]

thanks folks. we r not catholics so that option is off the table.

[expatathome]

Well it was a long shot - neither are we but it was worth mentioning just in case.