The location

For information on navigating London's public transport system, you can visit the Transport for London (TfL) website. It provides comprehensive guidance on travel options, including fares, timetables and service updates for the London Underground (commonly known as the Tube), the London bus network, the Overground, DLR and rail networks. 

There are different ways to pay your fare on public transport in and outside of London.

Oyster card

An Oyster card carries pay-as-you-go credit for public transport in London. To get an Oyster card you must pay a £5 deposit, this can be done at most stations or online. You can register your Oyster card with a TfL account to track your journeys, top-up, apply for refunds and generate expense receipts if needed.

Students can apply for an 18+ Student Oyster card if they are studying at a university in London to save 30% on TfL public transport.

If you have a Railcard (more information on this below), you can also connect this to your Oyster card for a third off Off-Peak Day travel.

Contactless

You can use a contactless bank card to tap-in for public transport in London and some cities in the rest of the UK, either using a physical card or mobile payments. You can register a TfL account associated with your bank account and track your journeys, apply for refunds and receive expense receipts.

Season tickets

If you expect to make the same regular journey by train, you may benefit from purchasing a season or flexi-season ticket through National Rail. Crick employees and PhD students can apply for interest-free loans to buy season tickets.

Railcards

The Railcard scheme offers a range of discounts for under 30s, families, couples, disabled people, seniors and veterans. Railcards offer 1/3 off rail fares. Students who are over 25 are eligible for the 16–15 Railcard as mature students.

One-off tickets

You can purchase tickets for journeys outside of your season ticket and the TFL zone online or at a station.

In addition to public transport, many Londoners cycle or walk to work. Citymapper is a good app for navigating London's street and transport system.

Cycling

There is a Crick benefit scheme for buying bikes. Alongside owning your own bike, there are a wide range of bike hire schemes such as Santander, Lime and Swapfiets.

The Crick offers a cycle route share scheme for cyclists to share their routes for getting to the Crick and find a buddy cyclist. There is also a secure bike park with a bike pump, tools and a bike lock storage rack at the Crick.

Walking
Many Londoners walk at least a part of their journey to work. You can find a map of the walking times between London stations on the TfL website. A helpful way to navigate London is to download citymapper, which will direct you to the fastest route by public transport, walking routes and can be filtered for any accessibility needs.

Visiting the prospective area at different times of day will give an idea of how safe it feels.

• The Metropolitan Police Force provides an online crime map to view crime statistics in a specific area.
• Or you can use this street checker to look up information about a specific street.

Early Years

This is for ages 3–4 and aims to ensure basic literacy and numeracy among all pupils as well as laying the groundwork in science, mathematics and English.

Primary school

The first two years, ages 5–7, are known as Key Stage 1. This may also be referred to as an infant school.

Key Stage 2 runs for the remaining years of primary school, ages 7–11. This may be called a junior school, and will usually be linked to an infant school. During Key Stage 2 a formal nationwide test called SATs (Standard Assessment Tasks) is taken by most children.

Secondary school

Ages 11–14 is Key Stage 3, with students being introduced to a greater range of subjects.

Key Stage 4 is the remainder of secondary school, ages 14–16. This period ends with the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), a range of external examinations taken by all students in their final year of secondary school. There are alternative examinations offered at some but not all schools, such as the Baccalaureate or International GCSE.

Further education

In England, after the school year students turn 16, they must be enrolled in one of the following until the age of 18:

• Full-time education, typically to gain A-Level or BTEC qualifications.
• Apprenticeship or traineeship.
• Part-time education or training and 20 hours or more a week working or volunteering.

There are many different types of school in Britain. 

Community or local authority maintained schools

These schools receive local authority funding and follow the national curriculum. Most schools are this type.

Academies and free schools

These schools are run by not-for-profit academy trusts, funded directly by the government, and are not required to adhere to the national curriculum.

Grammar schools

Grammars schools are similarly state-funded, but unlike the above, select their students based on academic ability and usually require an admissions test.

Independent and international schools

These schools charge fees to attend, rather than being funded by the government. They are governed and operated by the school itself, with some regulation and inspection by the government body Ofsted. International schools are also fee-paying, have a focus on languages and will typically use the Baccalaureate scheme instead of GCSEs and A levels.

Types of childcare

There are many types of childcare services available in London. 

Nurseries

Nurseries come in many forms. They can be independent or council run, and many are attached to primary schools. They normally offer full day and breakfast and after-school services. All are Ofsted inspected, with reports accessible here.

Childminders

Self-employed child carers who will look after children under 8 in their own home. Childminders are usually paid a negotiable hourly rate and must be registered with Ofsted.

Nannies and home carers

Are employed by parents to care for children at the family home. The costs can vary depending on whether they live in the home, how many hours they work and whether they perform any other duties, such as cleaning. Parents are responsible for checking their references as there is no regulator Ofsted inspection.

Cost of childcare

Costs vary but expect to pay on average £321 a week in London. You may be able to receive free childcare for your child aged 9 months to 4 years, for further information and eligibility see the government website, you can use this calculator to assess what childcare assistance you could receive.

Registered childcare is regulated by Ofsted (the Office for Standards in Education, which regulates services that provide education). To find out about childcare services in an area, the Family and Childcare Trust is a good place to get local information, or gov.uk, which lists what childcare can be used with free childcare support.