Family-friendly parts of London?

Hi all,

I'm in London now and preparing to move my family over in a few months.  I found a nice temporary flat near work but will be looking for a more permanent (up to 2 years+) place to rent for our whole family.

We've 3 kids between the ages of 7 to 12.  What experiences have you all had with different parts of town?  For instance, in my brief stay here (a week) I know now to NOT move the family to the King's Cross area of town... or Leicester square area, etc. etc.

A house rental would be best but not imperative.  We're used to American townhome living already.  I've heard the East end of London (namely the Docklands and east of there) is building up family units, but I'm concerned that schools there may not be established well enough yet.

Kind regards

I'd suggest the North West, personally!   It's generally regarded as the most family-oriented area of the city.  

Hi, yes I agree with Wishstar North West is quite good for families esp Hampstead area, also West and South West - places like Kensington, Wimbledon, Richmond, Chiswick but I can't really advise on any particular schools, the government does publish school league tables each year ... not sure where you find those though, maybe someone else can help with a link for that.

Yep, try upmystreet.co.uk  

You can find school tables and just about anything of interest about a particular area there.