Bex66

Hi Jane,

Thanks for your comments.

Nothing going at Newbold College in Binfield sadly. My hubby is doing a bit of freelance, marking etc and research but nothing stable.

Reading Grammer we have no chance of getting in. We missed the entrance exam fo 13+ and were advised not to hold our breath for a place to come up. While it is free it is so oversubscribed it is unreal. The only private schools around here are in the region of £4000 a term, we were paying that per year for two kids. Anyway, when you are unemployed even a £1000 whould be too much We have tried and hubby, bless him, would still apply for a job if one comes up in the next couple of weeks. Funny though, this time of year in Perth he would apply for a dozen or more - now we are here not one has come up - education cuts are biting!

Thanks though, and I thin kyou rae right about hubbys ties - I asked him if he would be so keen to go back if his parents were alive. He appreciates the point!

Becky

Danny B

Am I the only male contributing to this thread?

JaneandJim

Oh well, they might have had a lucky escape. Apparantly boys turn into little monsters once they go there .

Take care,
Jane

fishfinger

I'm from Wokingham and I would say there are some great state schools there with good results. My friend sends her daughter to Edgbarrow and is very pleased. Charters in Ascot is very good too. There is Ranelagh if you have church connections. You should look in the surrounding areas of Reading, I think you would like it more.

Bex66

hi

thanks for this. We have looked around but where we are in Woodley we only have one option, Waingels School. Don't know if you have heard of it? it is the local comprehensive for Woodley and not too good. The last OFSTED report was polite but pointed out a lot of areas for improvements. There are better schools around, in Earley and Reading but all are over subscribed. If you don't want to go to your local school it is a case of going on a waiting list along with many many others. Any private school here is way out of our reach - we have looked.

Thanks though, and we like Reading - great shops!

Becky

fishfinger

Yep, I had a friend who lived in Woodley and her parents wouldn't send her to Waingels. She went to The Holt instead. Have you considered moving out of Woodley? (I must admit I don't like Woodley at all) We're going to be searching for a senior school for our son too so I know what a concern it is. I'm actually trying to get him into Ranelagh but if not I will probably go for Edgbarrow.

Reading shopping is great! I can't wait to get back to that

Bex66

I only wish we could move!!! We wanted to be in Didcot - over by Oxford but when we arrived back from Oz we realisedwe had a serious probelm with renting. With no jobs an agency wouldn't touch us and there was a real shortage anyway of three be houses in the area. Anyway, to cut a long story short, my second cousin has a cousin who was looking to rent this house in Woodley, was happy for us to have it with no references or jobs etc s oit was just the easiest choice. After 4 weeks at my parents we were desperate!!!!

Good luck in your return.

fishfinger

That's a shame. We will be staying with my parents too for a while so I'm hoping we won't have to make a rash decision. I hope it all works out for you.

St.Georges Girl

All teenagers turn into little monsters from another planet, didn't you know?

My sister lives part time in Tilehurst and she says the same about the shops. I was thinking of maybe looking around that area when we finally come home, that is if my sister is still there.

LouiseD

Did you try offering them a few months rent up front instead of the job requirement? We had the same issues when we came back but the agencies we contacted understood our predicament and said they could work around it by either rent up front or guarantor. We also found that private rentals advertised in the local press didn't want credit checks at all.