11 Plus Exams Forum

Our DS got an offer from skinners (OOC), we are currently exploring all options to move from London.

A few general queries

a) Recommended living areas near to school ?
b) Stay bit away from school area, any suggested location and transport facility etc
c) Commute to London - what are the mainline stations ?
D) Does anyone know of any groups of skinners parents? like FB or whatapps group etc

Tunbridge Wells would be an obvious choice! Trains to London, lovely houses (but pricey), beautiful parks, good shopping, theatre, etc etc. Or would you prefer to be in a more rural location?

Tonbridge is nice too, close to TW but cheaper and nearer to London. Sevenoaks is another mainline station, fairly pricey housewise I would think. My son has a place at Skinners and will be travelling from Orpington - mainline again, just in Greater London. Where are you living now?

Sounds like researching reliable public transport for all the family is a must. Almost anywhere will involve serious traffic; last time we visited TW we got caught up in it. So somewhere walkable to train stations and schools.

Be very cautious about the reliability of Arriva school bus timetables, particularly in rural areas. If that is your preferred option, download the Arriva app and track the bus your child will be using in real time. Around here, the delays are regularly over half an hour.

If you at considering Sevenoaks or its surrounding villages the bus company to Skinners' and the other TW schools is Go-Coach not Arriva. Their website is excellent and they tend to use the A21 which means the journey is quicker.

Both my DS are Skinners' boys (one left last summer) and have always used the bus. Any questions just ask or pm me.

If you're not within travelling distance and only researching moving now, I'm guessing that Skinners wasn't your top choice and you had a decent chance of a higher preference school? Are you still going to be on waiting lists/ appealing for higher schools or are you now opting for Skinners and moving asap? Will be easier to move in time if you don't have to sell/ buy obviously, but only six months till term starts.

jesica wrote:Our DS got an offer from skinners (OOC), we are currently exploring all options to move from London.

A few general queries

a) Recommended living areas near to school ?
b) Stay bit away from school area, any suggested location and transport facility etc
c) Commute to London - what are the mainline stations ?
D) Does anyone know of any groups of skinners parents? like FB or whatapps group etc

Minor point but there is no OOC/catchment area for Skinners', this will only come into play from 2019..

I live in Tunbridge Wells and have done so for years, and personally I would avoid living anywhere near to the school. The St John's Rd and surrounding area is an absolute gridlocked nightmare most of the time. Southborough and Bidborough also suffer as a result from this traffic and getting in to town from there can take forever. Villages around TW are lovely, including Groombridge and Speldhurst. You could also look at Rusthall, Frant or Langton Green. Train service from TW to London is decent, but more frequent trains from Tonbridge/Paddock Wood/Sevenoaks. If you're adamant on central Tunbridge Wells itself, then I think the south side is nicest for families - but expensive. Depends what your budget is, I guess. Maybe rent first and see what you think...6 months until September isn't long to find something and get moved in...good luck!

Thanks for sharing all your valuable information and it is quite useful.

As of now i am exploring various options and try to get a balance approach on all aspects(renting would be nice idea initially)

The upside of living in TW, and very close to the school (as I do) is that my son takes approximately 3 minutes to walk to school, it's easy for me to be involved in the life of the school, parents' evenings are brilliant when the boys book appointments an hour apart so we can pop home in between, and you don't need to use the bus/train or annoy local residents by rat running to try and beat the St John's Road gridlock

(As a wider point, my DD is at TWGGS and having the children at schools on the doorstep and living this side of TW is brilliant - we can walk into town in 15 mins, my husband walks to the station in 15 mins, the sports centre is very close, the children can use the buses to get further out to see friends or go to the cinema and the area is very friendly and full of young families....A friend of mine who teaches at another grammar locally says you can tell the children who have long commutes - especially the Y7s by the end of the week - they are "practically asleep at their desks and their homework deteriorates as they do it on the bus/train on the way home". )