Primary Schools in Norfolk, VA

I'm asking on behalf of a friend in the UK, who may be moving to Norfolk, VA with her husband and 2 kids for a 2-year assignment with the Royal Marines.

Their kids are only small and the oldest in primary school, the younger in pre-school.  She's asked me to find out about how the schools are in the Norfolk, VA area and how the school year compares to the UK.  The oldest child will be in US 1st grade in the fall.

Right now they're weighing up their options, but she's afraid that if they doesn't like it they'll be stuck there for 2 years (mainly her and the kids).

(Please move this to a more appropriate location, if necessary.)

Any help would be appreciated.  Many thanks!

The school year is roughly late August-December and January - mid to late May for the 2nd half of the year. The school year has a set number of student attendance days, and while the State of VA sets certain standards, each school district gets a lot of funding from local taxes. Demographics play into the scenario as well, and sad to say, there are some 'no-go' areas in the Tidewater region.

The Norfolk area is quite diverse; Norfolk itself has vastly improved over the past few years, but schools are not the best. If I were headed in that direction, I would look at Chesapeake (which borders the City f Norfolk on the south) or the City of Virginia Beach, but in VB stay away from the water, and look generally south of I-64/I-264. Chesapeake schools are far better.

Much as I love the grubby old City of Portsmouth, avoid it like the plague for schools. I've got a ton of info on rental apartments in the Norfolk area because I worked for housing developers in the Tidewater region, but its a huge PDF file. If your friend gets 'serious' about the move, PM me and will find a way to get her the info. Similarly, Newport News and Hampton have 'issues' in some neighborhoods. Remember that in the US, a child attends the neighborhood school; accordingly, people tend to choose where to live based on the school attendance zones.

Thank you, Vadio!

Will let her know and keep in mind the rental info.  I'm not sure if they would have to rent or get base accommodation.

base accommodation is pretty limited, but might be automatic in their case. I'm not sure what might be set-aside for her specific situation. Just let me know if I can help in any way.