Schools and crime in George

[storm]

Hi, I finally figured out how to start a thread,that is not saying much for myself.
I am living in Scotland, Planning on moving July, Husband presently out sussing out areas and schools. We were originally going to move to Knysna, but He has heard from family that live there, that George is a better option for us, mainly cause George has less crime, and Knysnas crime is slowly getting worse, but still not bad, but would be reccommended we live in a gated community in Knysna, unless you are willing to pay an arm and leg, they are few to come by. I will be left alone at times when my husband has to go overseas on business, so therefore decided to move to George. I would like to hear from locals in both places if what I am saying is true, and is George a safer place to stay for someone in my position?
Will it also be necessary to still live in a gated community in George, or will I be safe in a house?
another Big issue is schooling. My kids are still young, 6 and 4, but would like to know opinions on schools in George. I have seen 2 English schools, Holy cross, and Glenwood house, which both tick all the boxes and are excellant. But there is the issue of there being more applications than there is space for these schools,so if I apply and get declined I will send my kids to an afrikaans/ English school, which I have no problem with at all. But do you think my kids will struggle? I am SA and speak Afrikaans, My home language is English, so my Afrikaans is okay, not fab. and what other schools would you reccommend after the 2 I suggested. I am also struggling to find Pre primary schools, My Daughter I would like to put her in in July, already Holy Cross has said they are full, we can try Fun in the son, can not get any info on the website, do they have a webpage/ or can you suggest more pre schools. Outeniqua is from P4, what school do they go to before that....

after my long story, I would like to know if George is that safe as they say, and advice on what pre school and primary schools are good.

Thanks for your time.

[HandMade]

Thanks for the post and welcome to the Garden Route .

I hail from Johannesburg where crime essentially forced me to move my family away to the Garden Route in 1996. Sadly, it would be untrue to say crime in our area has not increased over the last 13 years. It has, although I have never felt "unsafe" in my home town of George, nor at any stage of my frequent trips to the various towns along the Garden Route. We live in central George, have no fence and the biggest problem we have is visiting dogs who somehow find our lawn a good place to leave their processed food.

There are many factors that influence crime of which population growth and unemployment are major factors. In our area most violent crime is usually related to alcohol abuse and I cannot recall ever reading about a hijacking in our area. We are warned that incidents of burglary are on the increase and that we should be wary, isolated muggings in certain parts of town are on the increase and so on, but the reality is that our area is growing rapidly and sadly so is the crime. I would go as far as to say there are certain parts of town where it would be risky for a child or a woman to go walk-about at certain times, but I guess this would be true for every town in the world.

Living in a gated estate obviously is very secure and it is very popular and you would certainly be safe in both George and Knysna.

As far as schools go, Holy Cross and Glenwood Primary have excellent reputations. Knysna has less choice, simply because they have less people.
Personally, if I had a choice between a school in a bigger city or one in the Garden Route I would not hesitate to choose the Garden Route.

George is more industrial and has a larger business sector, whereas Knysna is far busier when it comes to tourism. Peak hour traffic in both towns is probably when the Mom's drop off or fetch kids at school.

Perhaps other locals can add their opinions to this post

Best of luck .

[storm]

Thanks for the reply, Basically it sounds safe by what you say, Muggings happen everywhere in the world, It sounds like if I am not stupid and do not go wondering streets (I would not) at certain times, keep my wits about myself, get my south african head back on, I should be okay, obviously nothing is 100%. Before coming to Scotland I was in Jhb, and was very aware there, so will just get back in that frame of mind. Just to play the safe card, and not think aaaahhh nothing will happen in George.
As for schools, hold thumbs, looks like a good chance there are places for Grade 1 starting 2010 at Glenwood Hse, pre school though is full, so just need to find some good pre schools, even full for 2010 for my son next year.
So anyone if you can ramble off some pre schools, I would appreciate that.

This site sounds a very friendly place, I hope this is an indication to what i am moving to, looking forward to it, 4 months and counting.
Thanks

[HandMade]

Fun in the Son has been around for quite as long as I have been in George and everyone I know speaks well of the school.

I feel I may have neglected to add that my wife and kids love George as do I. Each time I visit Jo'burg I am reminded of just how wonderful the Garden Route is and that the best decision my wife and I ever made was to move to George. The Garden Route is paradise and Jo'burg may as well be another planet .

[storm]

Is there a website for fun in the son, so I can have a look from here.
Thanks

[HandMade]

Hmmm not that I am aware of. The best I can do is try getting an email address. Will PM if I do

[Malamute]

Hi Storm -

I think I can also offer an opinion here .... my wife and I are both school teachers, although I left teaching a few years ago. My wife is the school librarian now at Holy Cross. I am also involved in the school as their "IT advisor" - I created their website and maintain it for them, as well as the IT school curriculum ...

The reason I say all this is that we moved to George about 5 years ago and did quite an intensive campaign to find "the right school" from an education point of view. We went to them all, asked all the right questions etc ... I have to say that we made the right choice and put our kids in a FANTASTIC pre-school ... namely "George Pre-Primary". For a pre-school and pre-primary, you would be hard-pressed to find better ... Rika, the principal is also a fantastic head for the school.

My youngest has just left the Pre-Primary and moved on to Holy Cross with my daughter - again ... a FANTASTIC school - I can't recommend them enough. I must also add that Glenwood is also a really good school with great Christian values and a good reputation. A little more difficult to get into, but if you apply early enough, you should still be successful. Keep in mind it's a private school, and their school fees are therefore a little higher than the surrounding schools.

If you, for some reason, don't make it into either Holy Cross or Glenwood - your only other alternative is Outeniqua Primary. Don't get me wrong, also a great school but a very big school with mostly Afrikaans speaking kids. They start from Grade 4 but their feeder school is right next door, George Preparatory school. (Not to be confused by George Pre-Primary - 2 different schools).

I take it you have already had a look at the websites for Holy Cross ( www.holycrossgeorge.org.za ) and Glenwood ( www.glenwoodhouse.co.za )
You can also go to Outeniqua Primary at www.outeniquaprimary.co.za ...
There is no website for the other schools though ...

Hope this all helps ....

Regards,
Carl

[kilos]

Is there a website for fun in the son, so I can have a look from here.
Thanks

Email : funintheson@absamail.co.za
http://www.brabys.com/search-InfoKey...In%20The%20Son

[yummymummy]

Hi Storm,
Just wanted to find out how the move from Scotland to George went. Im currently trying to organize a move back to George from Ireland and getting very annoyed with the fact that not many businesses and schools have websites.
so i was wondering if you had any advise or tips that you picked up.
anything would be appreciated.

thanks
yummymummy

[HandMade]

Hi yummymummy, please can you give us an idea of what age group your children are? Perhaps we will be able to get some ideas for you.

[yummymummy]

hi there, currently one aged 3 and one under construction. will be moving back home in 18 months or so. i know from friends who have moved back to sa and oz that if u just up and move and deal with everything when u get there, it can end up being a nightmare. and im not keen on tearing around George when i get there with my banbinos. This move needs to be as stress free and organised as i can possibly manage. Ps i have another child of the canine variety to bring with as well. i think im more worried about him than anything else! In Ireland if you dont have your childs place booked in at a school you could end up missing out on the first year of school. most people have their name down at serveral schools just to make sure that you can get a spot. im sure it isnt that bad back home in George but i still need to sort through which school to send her to. In Ireland she will be starting school in sep 2013 if we havent managed to get out of this place before then. have forgotten what age they start school in sa. thanks for any input and help,

[HandMade]

Hmmm I can't speak from experience when it comes to registering young children at a pre-school in George, however I am not sure one can compare George with the likes of Ireland or any of the major cities. Although growing at an amazing rate, George remains a small 'town' compared to Johannesburg or say Cape Town. I appreciate and agree with efficient planning, but long queues are not something often seen in the Garden Route . Having said this, running around any town with 2 young children would drive anyone insane. Where this is concerned, my therapist can probably confirm this as a main reason for my insanity. Seriously though, Home Affairs and SARS are probably the only places where any actual queues may exist in George, but for the most part they are a walk in the park when compared to Jhb.

Why not send a mail to Fun in the Son. You may be pleasantly surprised. When it comes to animal lovers and conservationists, the Garden Route would probably reject your applications for residency, as there are just too many of your kind around here already. Its a good bet you are into cycling as well and will end up driving a rusted bakkie with a dog on the back, take long walks on the beach with your kids and dog and seldom wear shoes, but when you do it would be of the really sloppy kind. Anymore of your type in our area and we will definitely be at risk of losing the tourists we worked so hard to attract .

[yummymummy]

Thanks for the reply and all the advice. It has made me slightly less stressed and will defo be mailing Fun in the Son. Will let you know how things get on.

[Linwill]

Hi Everyone, how did you all get on with move to George? We are moving from the UK in 2 months and would really appreciate some advice. Any advice please ?! Our children are 4 & 2.

[HandMade]

Personally, I can say that moving to George was the best decision we made as a family. Our children were older, but after 6 months in the Garden Route our faith in humanity was on the mend. The big city essentially robbed us of our joy over time. The Garden Route was like a breathe of fresh air and it began a process of allowing us to dream.

I must also add that it was very tough in that we had to accept serious change both financial and lifestyle. Having older children this was easier as they were part of the decision, but one can never underestimate the trauma of drastic change. I think we all understood that the change was necessary and a positive attitude goes a long way to making it a good thing.

Once the initial anticipation was over the wonderful people we met made it the best decision for all. The Garden Route is a haven for good people wanting to get away from the rat race and wanting to give their kids a chance at an honest life away from the concrete jungle.

It worked for us .

[Driscol]

Oh lucky you Linwill! Good luck with the move from the UK, I am sure you are going to have a brilliant experience living in the GR.

[Angelique]

Relocating to George will honestly be a great move and one you will surely not regret. The surroundings are absolutely breathtaking, as I’m sure you already know! Compared to other parts of the country (especially where we are from), the area is very safe with children still playing in the neighbourhood streets and in the parks, like in the “old days”, without you having to constantly worry about them. Bare in mind that, as with any other place in the world, you do have areas that best you avoid. The majority of the people here are very pleasant and ever so friendly – it must be the feeling of “being on a permanent holiday”. I, along with my partner, a wedding photographer, and 9 year old daughter relocated to George from Nelspruit – we just love and appreciate every moment alive in this beautiful part of South Africa. The only less enjoyable experience we had thus far was with the relocation itself. We relied only on the internet and suppliers on this side for information and assistance as we did not have any friends or family in the area. Sadly we were let down by a number of people and did not arrive to what we had anticipated. Luckily the beautiful surroundings and the many friendly faces on the streets soon soothed our wounds and we were our old self’s in no time. I have since started www.relocationbuddy.co.za and made it my mission to assist others with their move to the Garden Route. Please feel free to get in contact with me or post on this forum should there be anything that I can assist you with in order to make your move a little easier!

All the best with all the arrangements and packing! Travel safely!

Kind regards

Angelique Aucamp

[HandMade]

What a great idea Angelique. Well done. I hope it bears much fruit .

[Reachme]

Hi, we currently live in Cape Town, would like to move to George & I need infomation re English Primary Schools (GR4) in George central & South
Thank you

[HandMade]

Hello in Cape Town, our site gives quite a pretty long list of schools in George, which is probably very confusing for someone new to the area. In reality there are only 3 primary schools I can recommend towards George south.

The recommended schools are:
Outeniqua Primary
Holy Cross Primary
George South Primary School

All schools come highly recommended and have excellent reputations. IMHO Outeniqua Primary would probably be best suited for the age and area. George South, although being predominantly Afrikaans, is a bilingual school with many English children attending. Holy Cross is obviously a Catholic School.

I hope this works for you .