Moving to the UK - finding school places for your children

Nov. 7, 2012 - PRLog -- Citrus Relocation is now providing upgraded education services for clients who are concerned and require places at good schools for their children. One of the most emotive topics that we find when people are moving to the UK is the issue of finding school places. To obtain a school place you must understand how schools are set up in the UK between the state and private sector or independent schools. There is also a level of understanding required in finding the right school places for your child’s ability and how it fits in with finding a property in the right location.

When moving to the UK it is useful to first determine whether you are going to require a place at a free state school run by the local authority or a private independent school which is funded and run wholly by the school of for which you pay fees for your child’s education.

Within the state sector although free they form the vast majority of schooling in the UK. There are subsets to these schools such as religious faith schools but on the whole they are normally free and available to all children of school age.

However there can be issues where schools are oversubscribed and just because you live close to the local state school does not mean that our child will be guaranteed a place there.   A good school is measured by its reputation and its results plus parents consider the Ofsted reports following school inspections.  Sometimes the best schools are not even accessible to parents who have lived in the area all their lives.  However it is possible if your child is not offered a place for you to make a formal appeal to overturn the decision.

The private or independent schools provide around 7% of schooling in the UK, with many schools being in the London and the South-East. The cost for many people is prohibitive but what these schools can provide is in many cases a guaranteed place and smaller class sizes and a certain standard of attainment.  Although this is not always the case. The range of these schools are vast in size such as the ‘public schools’ Eton or Stowe compared to smaller establishments. Be aware that these schools can also have waiting lists and be oversubscribed and many will have some form off entrance examination. These private schools may not always be in close proximity of where you wish to live so it may be a matter of compromise in how you configure your transportation, distance to work and school.

To help you make sense of this our upgraded education department have for many years assisted assignees finding the right schools and working with our Homefinder team we can help you find the right school and the right property and put together a short list based on your requirements. We are members of the Association of Relocation Professionals and we abide by their rules and regulations making sure our delivery is consistent and providing the best possible support to our clients. For further information please review our website www.citrusrelocation.com.