Rochford, Essex

nish50

Can I have some thoughts on Rochford Essex as a place to live for a family? We are looking at renting and I need to know what the schools are like in the area.
Thanks

pimento

Hockley is better.

phill99

Hawkwell is even better!

margaretclare

They all have a website.

Rochford Primary School next door to the Nursery School, at the back of what used to be the old hospital.

St Teresa's Catholic Primary School.

Watermans Junior School.

King Edmund's High School.

Are you by chance going to work at the airport?

nish50

No, not going to be working at the airport. just moving down to the area soon and we are moving from the south west so don't know much about where is good to live. Hubby has a job in Southend.

margaretclare

nish50 wrote: »

No, not going to be working at the airport. just moving down to the area soon and we are moving from the south west so don't know much about where is good to live. Hubby has a job in Southend.

I mentioned the airport because they're taking on a lot of new staff - new rail station, new passenger terminal, new contract with Easyjet. New airport hotel nearing completion due to open this summer. There's a lot going on.

I've lived here for 21 years and have been happy, no plans to move anywhere else. When you said 'schools', what ages are children?

Because of new staff moving to work at the airport, house prices may rise.

pimento

Rochford might be under the flightpath. Hockley (and Hawkwell) isn't.

Hockley has a very good secondary school (Greensward Academy) and three very good primaries, Hockley Primary, Plumberow Primary and Westerings Primary.

nish50

Thanks for your input. Primary school is what is needed. My little one will be due to start next year. Overall would you say Hockley a nice place for a young family to live?

pimento

I like it!

We moved out from London in 2001 mainly for the schools. I work in London and travel up every day on the train. There's a small high street with a few shops but usually we go into Southend if we want a real High Street with a full range of shops.

My son really benefited from the schools. He's away at university now but Greensward Academy were (are) really good.

Rochford is nice too but I'm biased.

JR4

Hi i have lived in hawkwell for the past 8 years and have just moved to hockley they are both great areas to live i have a daughter in greensward (secondary school) it is a great school and three children in primary school again good school it is a fab area for a family and i would not move away.

hope this helps.

sunshinetours

The area in general (Hockley, Rayleigh, Rochford, Benfleet) benefits from some very good schools at all stages. As with any school performances can vary depending on intake and more importantly teachers and head teachers so use the Ofsted and good schools guides as a starting point

Rochford is generally more affordable than the surrounding towns such as Hawkwell and Hockley and has always been so. Its is a much more socio economic mixed area than those two which may be a plus or a minus for you. Like Hockley and Rayleigh, Rochford does have its own station which takes you into Southend Victoria in 10 minutes at most

Other areas with more affordable house prices and easy commute into Southend by train are Benfleet (some parts are more affordable) and Westcliff on the Southend Central line and Wickford on the Southend Victoria line
Eastwood is not far from Southend but doesn't have its own station but house prices pretty affordable.
one thing to be careful of for secondary schools is that closwr to Southend you will be in grammar school zones, whoch means there is a huge competition for places at the two main grammar schools or Westcliff and Southend (boys and girls school for each) - this does have a knock on effect on other Southend area secondary schools often who have a far more mixed intake due to some of the suppsed "cream" being taken by these grammars.
In Rayleigh you have FitzWimarc, Benfleet - King John and Appleton and Hockley - Greensward, which outside the grammars are some of the best performing schools in the area so you really are more spolit for choice than many areas of the UK in this field without the huge oversubscrpitions for example

Best thing is have a recce trip around some of these areas - its like anywhere there are good and bad areas in all these places and they (like anywhere in the UK) have their share of youth and other problems - and that certainly includes Hockley, Hawkwell whcih historically often have been thought of as "nicer" areas aswell