With a planned move from London to Hampshire, all Susannah Warren had to do was find a good state primary and put her children down for a country prep, thereafter. Sounds easy, right" As she discovered, it turned out to be anything but…
They say moving house is right behind death and divorce in the list of most stressful life events, and if recent experience is anything to go by, it could well be true. We?re only going an hour down the road to Hampshire, but the whole process has sent my cortisol levels into orbit.

It turns out that moving to the country is a bit of an ordeal when you have school-age children. (Our six-year-old daughter has just finished Year One at the West London Free School Primary, in Hammersmith, while our four-year-old son will start Reception this year). State till Eight
We had always planned the ?state till eight? route, so envisaged sending them both to the village primary school when we moved. The idea was to keep things low key, get to know people nearby and have a few extra years to save for school fees. A foolproof plan. Or so we thought? Unfortunately, the general perception that it?s easy to get a place at outstanding country schools turned out to be false. We soon discovered that the best village primaries are almost as oversubscribed as the schools near our old house in Ravenscourt Park, west London  ? and names have to be down for independent schools years ahead of time, too.
There?s a reason why everyone tel...