Families moving to London England from the United States often worry about their children’s education and rightfully so.  There are many choices in education in England especially in London.  Understanding the distinctions is the first step to making a decision before moving to London England.  Unlike in the States public schools (or schools paid for by the government and free to attend) are called state schools.  If referring to a ‘public school’ in London one means a privately owned and operated school.

Overall the state school system in London does a good job preparing students for college and beyond.  Over ninety percent of London children are educated in state schools.  Families moving to London England should give state schools a serious consideration when making educational decisions.  Although the British state school system is similar to the United States public education system there are a few subtle differences that parents moving to London England need to understand before making decisions for their children.

• Primary Schools: These are the UK’s version of elementary school.  Children ages five through eleven attend primary schools and the curriculum is very similar to a United States public elementary school and most moving to London England will be pleased with this option.
• Middle Schools:  Not all children go to a middle school but there are a few scattered about the country.  They are for children nine to eleven and would be similar to fourth and fifth grades in the States.
• Secondary Schools: Secondary schools are for children ages eleven to sixteen.  Much like in the United States students are placed in levels based on their age, not their abilities.
• A-Level Education:  This is where things get very different from the US.  At the end of secondary school (which is the equivalent of tenth grade) students have the choice to go on to A-Level or join the work force.  A-Level students must take an exam to enter (GCSE exam) and then focus on three or four subjects that they want to pursue at the university level.  They stay there for two years before moving on to a university.

Special education is also available to children who qualify and are separate schools from regular state schools.

When moving to London England with a family deciding on a school is perhaps one of the toughest decisions and should be thoroughly researched to avoid problems down the road.  All families moving to London England should consult with a London relocation agent prior to the move to make sure they are aware of all education options.

After moving to London England many Americans not only want to participate in cultural events but also want to slim their waistlines to blend in with the notoriously fashionably thin British crowds.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with getting health and the weeks and months for Americans after moving to London England is the perfect time to reach that goal.

First of all most people realize quickly after moving to London England that the British walk much more in their daily lives than the majority of Americans.  With the average London family not owning a vehicle and relying, instead, on public transportation walking long distances becomes second nature in no time at all.  Just by abandoning the car most will quickly shed some unwanted pounds and build muscle shortly after moving to London England.

Another fun way to get into better shape after the holidays and a stressful international relocation is to run in the 2012 Virgin London Marathon.  This annual event started in 1981 after dedicated London runners experienced the New York Marathon firsthand.  They were so inspired by the camaraderie and spectator encouragement of the world famous marathon that they set about to create one equal in stature to London.  In 1981 there were fewer than 7,000 runners but the event was a success nonetheless.  Over the past three decades the event has grown and in 2010 over 36,000 runners from around the world ran in the marathon.

After moving to London England setting a reasonable goal is a good way to get settled into a new way of living.  Like many other marathons there are training teams for the Virgin London Marathon that train either year round or a few months before the event.  Joining one of the groups will not only help prepare a newcomer to marathons but also introduce one to new people in a new town – a welcome gift after moving to London England!  Whether one wants to lose ten pounds or thirty, wishes to increase their running stamina or just wants to get healthier all the way around they are in the perfect location after moving to London England.

Many Americans have one tourist destination in mind after moving to London England – Buckingham Palace.  The home to England’s queen and backdrop to several centuries of British history, the palace epitomizes the British experience to so many American expats.  Now, thanks to a special limited time opening private tours are made available in Buckingham Palace.

The process of moving to London England can be exhausting for families coming from the United States.  After adjusting to the weather and new time zone a break from all the stress related to any move is much due.  This January those moving to London England are in for a fabulous treat when the doors of Buckingham Palace are open for a very select showing of some of England’s greatest treasures.

Built in the early eighteenth century Buckingham Palace (known then as Buckingham House) was the residence of the Duke of Buckingham.  During the nineteenth century it was enlarged and used by King George III as a residence for Queen Charlotte.  It was finally adopted as the official residence of the British monarch in 1837 by Queen Victoria.

Included in the tour is a walk through nineteen staterooms and guests will be able to admire some of the palace’s finest art, up close and personal.  After an approximate two hour tour of the palace visitors are invited to enjoy a glass of champagne on the West Terrace which overlooks the palace gardens (weather permitting).  After the chore of moving to London England a tour such as this is just what the doctor ordered.  For those unable to get tickets to this exclusive tour several other palace tours are ongoing or seasonal throughout the year.

After moving to London England making time for oneself can be difficult.  London relocation agents recommend to help ease the transition new Americans to the city should try and explore as much as possible between juggling a new job and family commitments. Visiting the palace would be a perfect date night event for busy parents.  Part of the excitement of moving to London England is experiencing firsthand the history of England and seeing sights that one has only been able to see in books.

After moving to London, England and settling into one’s London flat, getting a handle on the weather and transport system and chalking Oxford Street Christmas shopping up to lessons learned, new expats should get out into the country for a day to visit one of the most important and fascinating homes in the country. Moving to London, England can be one of the most exciting times in a family’s life and they will have the opportunity to experience the pomp and ceremony of everything that is British and the magnificent history that surrounds this country.

Most Americans moving to London, England are familiar with the story of Henry VIII, the eccentric and possibly mad King who had many wives (and got rid of a few of them when he got bored or wanted a new one!) making this palace is a must-see for families after moving to London, England. In fact, the gatehouse that is the entrance to the palace from the river is known as Anne Boleyn’s Gate after Henry’s second wife. Construction was still underway when Henry, tired of Anne had her executed!

Hampton Court Palace became a royal palace in the 1520s when King Henry VIII took it over from Cardinal Wolsey. Down through the centuries it has been a favorite residence for Kings and Queens and as such has ensured that is has one of the finest collections of tapestries and other furnishings including its collection of art, which today is an important part of the largest private art collection in the world. The Royal Collection is the property of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The collection and exhibition at Hampton Court Palace shows art from the16th, 17th, and early 18th centuries.

After moving to London, England and learning one’s way around tube stations the trip to Hampton Court Palace will be an easy one.  Hampton court is easily accessible from London by bus or tube and South West Trains runs from Waterloo Station in central London to Hampton Court with a relaxing journey of only 30 minutes.

One of the best ways to enjoy Hampton Court and the surrounding areas after moving to London, England is to book one of the many superb boat cruises from the palace to Richmond or Kew to enjoy the famous gardens at Kew and the remarkably rural setting of Richmond on the river. River cruises to Hampton Court Palace run right from the centre on London making this a day trip with a difference – perfect for families adjusting to moving to London, England.

Relocation to London is a Surefire Fashion Immersion - Image via Wikipedia

If you are a lover of style and moving to London, I am sure you are excited about being part of  the greatest fashion scene on earth.  London has long been known for the fashion sense of its inhabitants, and your relocation to London is a surefire way to add some cool to your own wardrobe and style.

You should brush up on the latest British fashion trends before moving to London.   Your local book store offers a wealth of resources, as does the internet.   Pick up a copy of British Vogue or check it out online at www.vogue.co.uk.   Look through a book about British fashion designers, such as Encyclopedia of British Fashion and Designers or British Fashion Designers, and learn about such icons as Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, and John Galliano.

Blogs are another great source for information on the British fashion scene.  Check some out before your international relocation to get aquainted for your move.  Trends for men and women are blogged about daily on www. britishlifestyle.co.uk.   A popular fashion photography blog,  www.stitsh.co.uk, shows that animal prints, floral, and all shades of tan seem to be very “in” right now!

Pick up some of these trends before moving to London.  The website of Topshop, a very popular British store for the fashion-forward, has plenty of great pieces at bargain prices.

After your relocation to London, the streets of London are the best place for fashion inspiration.  One weekend day, perch yourself on one of the walls overlooking Camden Lock and soak in all the style that the ultra-cool shoppers and retailers offer at this diverse and popular market.  “Camden Girls” are renowned for their fashion.  Check them out on a Sunday, the market’s busiest day, by taking the tube to the Camden Town or Chalk Farm stops.

If you are feeling stressed because of your recent international relocation, head over to world-famous Oxford Street and engage in some retail therapy!  Over 300 large retailers are located on this street, along with shopping of every other variety.  If you have seen it, you will find it here.  The hugely popular Selfridges department store is an anchor on Oxford Street, where you can buy almost anything you need for your home along with high fashion clothes.

Whatever your level of immersion is into the London fashion scene, there is no doubt your wardrobe will be more stylish because of your relocation to London. There are many London relocation service companies that will be happy to supply you with information or maps on other London shopping districts.  Happy shopping!

Edward VI, King of England - Image via Wikipedia

Author:  Colleen

Welcome back, Weekend Warriors—I trust all is going well with your international relocation plans? If not, please do call one of our London Relocation agents if our London relocation services may be of help. But to get on with our weekly British history lesson in case it’s of interest when you make your London move, last week I finished a 3-part series on King Henry VIII. Today, we’ll meet his only son and male heir, Edward VI.

As we learned a couple weeks ago, Edward VI is born to Jane Seymour, one of the wives Henry VIII actually seems to care for. Sadly, she does not survive her son’s birth, but she does bring her husband great happiness in finally delivering a male heir to carry on the House of Tudor’s royal line. Edward is only nine years old when he becomes King of England in 1547, and he is rather sickly in body though strong in mind and faith. Prior to his death, Henry VIII had deemed that a council of regency would rule on behalf of his young son, but Edward VI‘s uncle, Edward Seymour (Duke of Somerset), thwarts that when the time actually comes—he instead installs himself as Edward’s protector. Together with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the pious young king, Seymour works to secure England as an officially Protestant state, issuing the Book of Common Prayer in 1549 to lay out the new mode of worship, a handbook that is further enforced by an Act of Uniformity.

The peasantry isn’t having it. They revolt against the prayer book and socioeconomic injustices. France also declares war against England at this time. John Dudley, Earl of Warwick, enters stage left to help suppress the rebellion and take down Edward Seymour as Protector; Seymour is arrested and executed. Dudley assumes his role in duty if not title—now the Duke of Northumberland, he effectively rules England and young Edward VI’s finances. He further promotes Protestantism with a 1552 Prayer Book and new Act of Uniformity that is even more strict; church territories are confiscated and religious imagery destroyed as the new orthodoxy is rolled out.

Meanwhile, Edward VI is falling ill with tuberculosis. Dudley seizes the moment by getting Edward to agree to a new order of succession that bypasses his sisters Mary (daughter of Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon) and Elizabeth (daughter of Henry’s second wife, Anne Boylen) by declaring them illegitimate. He agrees to giving the throne to the Duke of Northumberland’s daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey. After battling illness his entire short life, Edward VI dies in 1553 at just under sixteen years of age.

Henry VIII, King of England - Image via Wikipedia

Author:  Colleen

Hello, Weekend Warriors! Time for our third and last installment on Henry VIII. Now that we’ve gotten all those distracting wives out of the way, I want to give a brief nod to this king’s other pursuits.

To start, the younger Henry VIII is actually an attractive man with much charisma. He is highly intelligent and writes books and composes music; before he grows obese in his later years, he is also athletic and fond of hunting, jousting, and tennis. Politically, I’ve previously discussed how he leads a successful campaign against the Scots in 1513 and an unsuccessful one against the French that nonetheless results in peace with them in 1520. We’ve also seen how he creates the Church of England so that he can finally divorce his first wife who couldn’t provide him a male heir, though his religious ideals still remain essentially Catholic—modifications to worship are slight, as opposed to a total theological overhaul. Nonetheless, his action is pivotal to England becoming a Protestant nation. Around this same time in the 1530s, Henry VIII is also responsible for uniting Wales and England.

Henry is a fairly extravagant spender, his two+ week meeting with the King of France in 1520 at the “Field of Cloth of Gold” costing a pretty penny, for one (this is an extravagant occasion of feasts, entertainment, and gift-giving, with tents and costumes made from cloth of gold, which is woven with silk and gold thread). He expands the naval fleet from 5 to 53 ships during his reign. And much money from the dissolution of England’s monasteries goes toward wars and strengthening aristocracy, leaving apparently not enough left over for when he goes after France again in the 1540s and requires forced loans and depreciated currency to finance it, increasing the country’s inflation.

All in all, Henry VIII‘s reign increases government bureaucracy and secures more absolute power for the monarchy. It is also characterized by his preoccupation with succession; having a male successor has been so critical because the Tudor dynasty is still fairly new (Henry VIII is only the second monarch to reign under it), and it’s thought that a queen might not sustain her power, especially if married to a foreign power who could then dominate rule. For all his fuss over obtaining a male heir, however, when Henry dies in 1547, all he leaves behind is one sickly son, Edward, and two daughters, Mary and Elizabeth.

London Tapestry – History and Literature Woven Together - Image by Orchid Junkie via Flickr

One of the many fun things about moving to London is the delight that comes of seeing the city you live in mentioned in a book. That applies to any city really, but even more so with London given how often it appears in literature. And so, here is another in a series of blogs about books with London as a backdrop (the first was about Neil Gaiman’s fantasy novel, ‘Neverwhere’). With this blog, we’ll take a look at Kim Newman’s horror novel, ‘Anno Dracula’.

Anno Dracula is probably unlike any novel you’ll have ever read. Set a few years after the ending of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the novel assumes that instead of Van Helsing and his band of novice vampire hunters defeating the Prince of Darkness, they fail in their mission. Dracula escapes, manages to make his way into the Royal House, marries Queen Victoria and turns her as well. An interesting take on the history of this great Queen with a dark and sinister overtone. Victorian London was like that; full of darkness and foggy nights. A perfect setting for a vampire novel.

After turning Queen Victoria into a sovereign vampire, no longer feeling the need to hide with one of their own in Buckingham Palace, come out of the shadows and soon, the whole of London is dominated by them, in business, politics as well as high society. And then a serial killer, called Jack the Ripper, starts killing vampire prostitutes and a panic descends over the whole city.

It is, by turns, gothic horror, thriller, Victorian romance, and social commentary. It is also gloriously fun at times, being the kind of novel where Oscar Wilde and Sherlock Holmes are given equal mention, amongst other characters from Victorian history and Victorian fiction. It’s also talks about other vampires from around the world, like a bandit cowboy in America called Billy the Kid. Elsewhere, you’ll see Dr Hyde and Dr Moreau as two rival scientists working together.

It’s a fun way of looking at the London you live in, seeing as it is a very alternate history of the city. If you’re in the mood for something that can be both thought provoking and entertaining (as as well as pretty gory at times) give Anno Dracula a shot, as reading about the city you live in can be an especially enjoyable part of moving to London.

After you’ve read this novel, you’ll have to venture out of your new London rental and explore some of the places that are mentioned in the book. Take a tour of Whitechapel and the world of Jack the Ripper, or walk the paths trodden by the famous Sherlock Holmes. One of the greatest things about living in London is the way that history has been woven into the tapestry of modern London, and it’s all there for you to experience.

Henry VIII, King of England - Image via Wikipedia

Author:  Colleen

Hey there, hi there, ho there, Weekend Warriors! I hope your planning for your upcoming international relocation to London is going swimmingly and that you’re psyched for another installment of our weekend British history lesson. Last week, I introduced a monarch you might have heard of—Henry VIII, I believe? Today, let’s continue his story.

Last we saw, Catherine of Aragon has failed to give Henry VIII a male heir, so he seeks an annulment with her so he can marry the intriguing and hopefully fertile Anne Boleyn. The Pope’s refusal to grant this isn’t to deter Henry; he goes ahead and does what he wants in 1533 at the price of excommunication. At this point, let’s cue Mel Brooks: “It’s good to be the king.” Because when you’re king, you can change the law, and Henry VIII deems it high-time that he break with Rome, enstate himself as head of the Church of England, and dissolve England’s monasteries.

And is she worth it? Well…Anne gives Henry a daughter (Elizabeth I, the future Queen of England), but not the son he’d hoped for. And, Anne, quite frankly, he’s just not that into you anymore. So Henry decides to take the easy way out of marriage this time and simply have Anne convicted of adultery and treason, thereby sentenced to execution in 1536. Now that she’s out of the way, enter Jane Seymour, who does give Henry his desperately sought male heir (Edward VI) the following year. Jane, unforunately, doesn’t survive the birth, and so another of Henry VIII’s wives is laid to rest.

Next in line? Anne of Cleves in 1540, who he divorces within months. That same year, it’s Catherine Howard until 1542 when she, like Anne Boleyn, is executed for adultery and treason. The last one on the roster is Catherine Parr in 1543, who Henry sticks with until his death in 1547.

But Henry VIII’s reign is not all about the wives; he achieved much politically, so to not be remiss, I’ll continue with this king next week.

Related London sightseeing: Tower of London, where Anne Boleyn was executed, and Hampton Court Palace, where the Church of England was born in its Chapel Royal (beneath the altar of which are buried Jane Seymour’s organs, where it was believed the soul resides) and Catherine Howard’s ghost is rumored to haunt the hallway of her bedchamber.

Henry VIII, King of England. Image via Wikipedia

Author:  Colleen

Well, Weekend Warriors, it isn’t often that I’m addressing a monarch of England that is as commonly known as Henry VIII. Last week, we met his father, King Henry VII, who was the first of the House of Tudor to reign over England. As of 1509, however, we’re singin’ “Henry the Eighth I am”…Well, I mean, I’m not, and neither are you, and neither is Jonathan Rhys Meyers unfortunately, so let’s get down to who is this man…

Henry VIII and his father both outlive Henry’s older brother Arthur, which is why Henry VIII succeeds instead. And it’s not only the throne he inherits…he also gets Arthur’s widow, Catherine of Aragon. Throughout his first years as king, Henry VIII isn’t particularly hands-on when it comes to matters of state—he entrusts much of this to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey to allow the king himself more time for hunting and such. He does also enjoy engaging in war, though, so Wolsey is instrumental in arranging campaigns, such as against the Scottish in 1513 (victorious for England) and a costly battle against the French that proves unsuccessful.

Wolsey has served Henry VIII well to this point, until the king’s need for a male heir leads to a massive rift between the men. It is now 1533, and Catherine of Aragon, you see, has failed to produce Henry VIII a male heir. She’s given him one surviving daughter, however: Mary. Henry seeks Wolsey’s support in procuring a papal annulment so he can marry Anne Boleyn, but such is not to be. So, the king who in 1521 wrote a treatise denouncing Martin Luther’s views toward the Church—and was thereby awarded the title “Defender of the Faith” by the Pope—is now himself on the verge of a religious reformation of his own.

Join me next week as we see the birth of the Church of England and the death of some wives…