Buying agent and mother of two Lucie Hirst explains why families leaving London should choose the school before the house, and the practical considerations that can make all the difference to country life.
When we left Notting Hill for the Chilterns in 2020, I was heavily pregnant with my first child and schools were a distant thought. What I wanted was space and, above all, a driveway where I could park the car and lift a baby in and out without circling the block. It's a small luxury that still delights me six years later.
We rented, intending to move again before school age. It was only because I'd worked for years with Richard Northey of The Education Consultancy, the schools adviser many of my clients now use, that a conversation before my son was born put a prep school near Thame on our list. Both my children are there today.
Twenty years of helping families buy homes have taught me that those who settle happily outside London tend to make their decisions in a particular order: beginning with the school.
Start With the School
Choose the school, or a shortlist of two, and then draw a circle of about ten miles around it. On country lanes, that usually means half an hour each way which, made twice a day, is as far as I would want anyone to drive.
The prep years tie a family to a place more tightly than any others. Small children cannot take a bus, rarely board before eight and need collecting at an hour that bears no relation to anyone's working day.
Most independent prep schools take their largest intakes at three or four, and again at seven or eight, with popular schools filling earlier than parents expect. In the state sector, the logic is stricter still, since primary places are usually allocated by distance or catchment, so the address can effectively determine the school. In Buckinghamshire, grammar school entry involves a test taken at the start of Year 6.
Drive the School Run in Term Time
Mileage tells you very little. Before committing to a house, drive the school run at eight o'clock on a term-time weekday, and again at half past three. A lane that's empty in August can be a procession of tractors and four-by-fours in October. My own run takes twenty to thirty minutes, with the occasional roadworks and a single traffic light, which by country standards is something of a triumph.
Think about winter, too, when it's dark before four and a village at the bottom of a valley can be cut off by flooding for a morning. A beautiful rectory forty-five minutes from school becomes a very different proposition by the second winter, once you're making the journey four times a day, with a fifth trip for a Wednesday match.
Be Honest About the Commute
We chose the Chilterns partly because the drive into West London, where we both work, takes under an hour, and the train from Princes Risborough reaches Marylebone in around thirty minutes. It also keeps dinner with friends in town perfectly possible.
Time the whole journey door to door and find out when the last sensible train home leaves. The question I put to every family is who collects the children on the days both parents are in London. A commute that works beautifully on paper can come apart at a quarter past three.
Choose a Village You'll Actually Use
The prettiest village isn't always the easiest one to live in. A shop for the forgotten pint of milk, a pub that welcomes children, reliable broadband and other families with children of a similar age will matter more on a Tuesday than a perfect view.
The families I've seen settle most happily chose the school first, compared two or three villages within reach and drove each school run before making an offer. Often, they found that the less obvious village had half the class living within a short walk, with all the shared lifts and weekend friendships that follow.
Consider Renting First
Renting is an underrated first step. A year or two in the area teaches you which roads flood, where the school-gate friendships gather and whether you love the country in February as much as you did in June.
We've rented for six years, which I wouldn't prescribe to everyone, though it has given us room to change our minds. Good rental houses in the most sought-after villages are scarce, so start looking early and be ready to move quickly when one appears.
Think Beyond Thirteen
By thirteen, the geography loosens because many of the senior schools country families favour either offer boarding or run bus routes reaching well beyond the ten-mile line. In my own case, there are no senior schools near us that I would choose, so another move lies ahead, well before my children reach that age. I'd far rather plan for it now than have it forced upon us.
When you visit schools, ask about pupil numbers alongside results and pastoral care. Rendcomb College, near Cirencester, closed this summer after more than a century, a reminder that recent years have been hard on independent schools. A house within easy reach of good schools also tends to appeal to the next family, which matters if you may one day be moving on yourself.
Lucie Hirst is the founder of Lucie Hirst Private Clients, an independent buying agency representing purchasers of homes in London and the Cotswolds. With around 20 years' experience in property, she specialises in advising buyers throughout the purchasing process. She lives in the Chilterns with her family and writes the weekly Substack The Art of Living Well.