Extract from Sunday Times 20 May 2012:

Educational opportunities remain a key factor if your children are a little older, which is why the borough of Tonbridge and Malling, in Kent, comes top of the list for this stage of life. “The two reasons people tend to come to Tonbridge are the schools and the mainline station, which is about 45 minutes to Cannon Street,” says Mike Evans, assistant manager of Howard Cundey’s estate agency in Tonbridge. “I’ve even had one client coming out [from London] to raise her children locally before going back.”

Tonbridge Grammar, which is about to adopt an exclusively International Baccalaureate curriculum for its sixth-form students, regularly places as one of the top state schools in the country, while the voluntarily aided Judd School, which is mixed at sixth form, was rated “outstanding” by Ofsted in its last report in 2010. If you want to go private, Tonbridge School is one of the best, but you have to be prepared to fork out: its fees are among the highest in Britain, at £31,120 per year, compared with Eton’s £30,981.

Family housing in Tonbridge varies widely in price: a three-bedroom semi-detached property averages about £300,000, while a larger, detached property is from £500,000-£750,000. Surrounding villages tend to be a little more expensive, with large family homes going for £1m-£2m.

,Posted by Simon Harrington 29 May 2012