Hello!
I'm expecting my first child in about two months, so I'm guessing we'll have to move from our West London one-bed flat at some point in the next two years. And that means trying to find an area with "good schools".
But how do you find a "good school"? Is there a list somewhere, rated by postcode? Or does it involve secret negotiations with dodgy teachers in car parks somewhere? π
Thanks for your help!
House price used to be an indicator - the houses closest to good schools were priced higher as you got closer, but they've now introduced the 'lottery' system to randomise it, so even if you are very near a good school, I don't think it guarantees entry to it these days.
You'll want to check out the league tables for the area you want to move to. Alphabetical listings for primary school league tables are here with a guide explaining how to read them.
Gooner
League tables are a good indicator but the best source is word of mouth - talk to parents of the older children, visit the schools and definitely talk to the Head Master.
Remember a school with good results now may change in 5 years and vice versa so look at the schools website and watch out for things like changes to their leadership teams
tables are not always a good indicator. You might have the best facilities in the world but without teachers who care about the children it is useless. I was at what was regarded as one of the best schools in the area but looking back there were a lot of teachers who didnt care, a lot of the good results were because children had to try a lot harder, this may be suited to some children but maybe not yours. Word of mouth is by far the best indicator, you can only get a good opinion from a parent who has a child in the school.
Hello!
But how do you find a "good school"? Is there a list somewhere, rated by postcode? Or does it involve secret negotiations with dodgy teachers in car parks somewhere? π
Thanks for your help!
I've just come across this post. I realise it is quite an old thread but I thought I would share with you our website all the same. It is designed exactly for people in your situation. It's called www.locrating.com
I'm a dad myself and I created the site because when we last looked to move home we discovered it is really difficult to find out information about schools - we spent hours each night trawling Ofsted and other government sites. So I decided to do something about it.
With the site you can enter a postcode or location and the map will show you all the schools in the area, coloured by Ofsted rating. It shows school details, exam results, pupil to teacher ratios and has links to latest inspections reports, schools' website, local authority sites and lots more. You can even filter schools by religious character. It covers both state and independent schools.
I'm sure you've made your decision now, but I hope this post will help someone else in the future who comes across this thread as I did.