rexina

Recommend a 3 bedroom apartment in London for family of four for 12 months. If possible near a Catholic high school for girls. Thank you.

janisj

W/o knowing what part(s) of town and how much you want to pay - how could anyone help? Give us more info like where are you'll be working? (If you are transferring to a firm in London they will be able to find accomodations for you.)

where2

Plus the schools are MUCH different than American schools - especially at the high school level. I am an American in London and I have small kids - one just entered primary school and it is a whole different thing. We had to bid on a placement for the public school and the burough you live in chooses where you go. The Catholic schools are public (at the primary level) and the one in my area has strict admission regulations and is VERY difficult to get into, even for long time parishoners. (Not sure about secondary schools) Plus there is a maximum student allowance so even if you are moving next door to a school, if there are no spots they can't take you. If you have 2 girls, you would be looking for a spot in 2 different grades at the same school, which may be hard to find. You may have to go private and the private schools in London tend to be very expensive - I know lots of Americans on short term assignments whose companies pay for private schooling.

Example on the differences in the schooling - a teenage babysitter of mine goes to a catholic girls' secondary school. The school ends the year you turn 16. Then you likely enter "college" for 2 years, after which you go to "university". But there are lots of exams that are different from American exams and she is forever studying up so she will be admitted to "college". (And she is from a well off family who I would assume would automatically send a child to university.) It seems many people stop schooling at 16.

If you have high school kids I strongly suggest you read up on the educational system here and see where your girls fit in and what the requirements are. Check with schools to see if they have a place BEFORE picking an apartment - many times a school is harder to find than a flat.

I am by no means suggesting that you don't come - but be prepared for your kids to do extra work for SATs/ACTs and to learn Americanized education if they are going to British schools. Alternatively there are several American or International schools here which may be better for a high school student - it also may help socially as they have a lot of kids moving in and out.

Carrybean

Find the school you're interested in & after you've investigated that & your girls are accepted, they can recommend a rental agency in the area. Here's the google search for Catholic girls' high schools in London:

http://tinyurl.com/oucun

W9London

Aside from school transcripts etc from your children's US school, you might also want to ask for a letter of reference from your priest/church. We are in Westminster, and most catholic schools require records of church attendance. Most tends to be girls-only rather than co-ed.
If considering state schoools (ie public schools in US term), you might want to check local councils or OFSTEAD websites for school inspection reports. Also if they're in last few years of high school, you might want to do research on A-levels vs IB.