Relocating to Bath

Finding the right school for your children, as well as relocating to a new area is an exciting time but can also be somewhat daunting. We understand the challenges this can present, so to help you along your way we have put together some information which we hope you will find useful. If you have any more questions after reading you can contact our Admissions team, or you can arrange to visit the school or attend one of our open mornings.

Why Bath?

The Bristol and Bath region is home to 1.1 million residents and comprises Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. It is a hugely diverse region where stimulating urban living sits comfortably alongside rolling countryside, spectacular coastlines and heritage stretching back thousands of years.

- Invest Bristol & Bath

Bath is ranked as the best UK city to raise a family, according to a survey by MoneySuperMarket based on access to local schools, green outdoor space, average salary, house prices and possibility of good job opportunities.

It is the only city in the UK with UNESCO World Heritage status and it's Roman heritage, Georgian architecture and surrounding areas of natural beauty all add to the appeal for those looking to move away from the hustle and bustle of larger cities.

Culture

Bath is renowned for its packed festival calendar, independent shops and iconic attractions and offers a lifestyle to rival the UK’s big cities.

A calendar of popular events includes major festivals dedicated to literature, music, film and comedy. There are also events celebrating fashion (Bath In Fashion) and also food (The Great Bath Feast), as well as one dedicated to the first lady of Bath Jane Austen.

The city’s five leading theatres – Theatre Royal, Ustinov Studio, the Egg, the Rondo Theatre, and the Mission Theatre – attract world-renowned companies and directors, and together host a lively and incredibly varied programme of events.

Bath Abbey provides the largest concert venue in the city, staging many organ recitals and concerts every year, including Monkton's own carol service each Christmas.

The Forum, a 1,700-seat Art Deco venue which started off life as a cinema, hosts regular gigs and shows and in recent years has attracted an audience of over 1000 from the Monkton Community for our House Music Festival.

Bath has long been a city bursting with independent artisans, business owners and makers, who make shopping and dining truly special. From hands-on experiences to marvellous markets, there are plenty of wonderful independent activities and events to discover. 

Add to all of this the Roman Baths dating back to AD43, architectural masterpieces like the Royal Crescent and the Circus, the Jane Austen Centre, a variety of museums and galleries and the city's proximity to nearby sites such as Lacock and Stonehenge and you start to understand how Bath blends the historical with cosmopolitan and that you will never be short of something to do.

 

Travel Links

Bath has excellent transport links with mainline train service to London Paddington every 15 minutes and taking 75 minutes to reach central London. Bristol Temple Meads is just 15 minutes away by train. It is a major hub for travel to all other parts of the country. A number of services to Bath Spa will change at Bristol Temple Meads including services from northern England, Scotland, Devon and Cornwall.

The motorway network to the north of the city is also excellent with easy access to the M5 heading both south to Exeter and north to Birmingham and beyond. Junction 18 of the nearby M4 heads east towards London and west into Wales.

Bristol International Airport is a short drive from Bath and connects to locations throughout the UK, Europe, the US, Canada and Africa.

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Property in Bath

Bath and the surrounding areas are blessed with a variety of impressive residential properties to suit every need.

Central Bath offers classic Georgian and Regency townhouses in much sought after locations, such as The Royal Crescent, The Circus, Lansdown Crescent, Cavendish Crescent and Great Pulteney Street. While Widcombe, Bathwick Hill and Claverton offer large houses overlooking the city.

Family homes can be found in areas such as Combe Down, Weston and Larkhall and offer those relocating to Bath a great choice, while still being in close proximity to the city centre.

For locations close to Bath, you may consider Bradford on Avon, Winsley, Midford, Freshford, Wellow, Combe Hay, Hinton Charterhouse, South Stoke, Limpley Stoke, Westwood and Monkton Farleigh. While the surrounding countryside offers every kind of rural property you could wish for, in numerous delightful market-town and village locations.

The area also has a number of new developments including Holburne Park and Mulberry Park.

Estate Agents in the area:

Tynings                           Crisp Cowley                      Whiteley Helyar                Allen & Harris

Savills                              Knight Frank                       Hamptons                           Fidelis

 

Business and employment

Bristol and Bath is one of the UK’s most balanced and successful economies, with a population of
1.1 million people and a workforce of over 600,000. It contributes £33.2bn to the UK economy.

It has an advanced business infrastructure and a huge talent pool which is educated far above the national average with a significantly higher employment rate than any other major English city. It is the most productive of all the core cities.

This highly skilled, diverse workforce contributes to a thriving and extensive connected business
base of over 42,000 businesses.

The Bath area has:

  • Above-average levels of employment in creative, digital and ICT-related employment - particularly across the arts, and in publishing and software development
  • Above-average levels of employment in health and wellbeing, retail, leisure and tourism employment
  • Huge potential for growth in knowledge-based occupations, thanks to the co-location of creative industries with technologists, engineers, professional and financial services, and leading research centres at the University of Bath and Bath Spa University.

Read more about the area's economic profile.

Why Monkton?

Monkton is one of the best private schools in Bath and the South West, combining excellent exam results with strong pastoral care and Christian values. This creates a true sense of family and community at the school and allows us to help pupils to settle quickly in new surroundings which may have taken them well beyond their comfort zone. Our boarding houses play a key role in this and all pupils whether full boarders or day pupils are attached to a house where they form lifelong bonds with their peers.

We have a long history of welcoming pupils who have relocated to the area and we fully understand how hard this transition can be for a family. Below are some blogs written by parents who have been through the experience at Monkton.

Parent Testimonials

"After 20 years in London, our jobs became more internationally focussed and it wasn't so important for either of us to be in the capital anymore. We've always loved Bath – it's well connected, has wonderful architecture and facilities and is close to the countryside – so we decided to relocate. It was important to us that our children, aged 6 and 14, went to senior and pre-prep schools that were part of the same family. We visited all of the independent schools in Bath, and they all seemed wonderful in their own way, but we were attracted by Monkton's stunning location, the enthusiasm of the staff and the fact that there always seemed to be something interesting and fun going on. But most of all we were blown away by the two head teachers, both of whom showed strong interest in our children – talking to them as individuals and taking the time to understand their strengths and differences during their interviews.

Ultimately, we chose Monkton because we felt that the schools were led by people of character and vision – I'm happy to say that has proved to be very much the case. The school's slogan, "Monkton Thinks Differently" is demonstrated time and again. Our settling-in period was a little unique in that the country went into national lockdown just two weeks after we started at the school. We were again blown away at how well Monkton dealt with the crisis. Having kept in touch with many of our children's former classmates' families, we could see the difference in Monkton's approach – they did not miss a beat. From the very first day of home learning the support was outstanding, the communication clear, the teaching superb and the tech worked perfectly. Both children, although it was literally a brand new school, felt very much a part of the place and we commented many times that we couldn't believe our luck that we chose Monkton."

John and Johanna Schwartz