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Catchment for Watford Girls Grammar

28 replies

SidandAndyssextoy · 31/01/2014 11:51

We're considering a move to Watford and I'm trying to work out where it would be sensible to buy.

As a WGGS old girl I'd love my daughter to attend if it suits her, but as she's only 2 at the moment, that's a shot in the dark! But from my reading of the admissions arrangements a decent proportion of entrants come in on distance, so I thought if we bought near enough, we would have it as an option when the time came. But the furthest offer distance for last year is under 500m. Coming from London, stupidly tiny catchments are nothing new, but I can't see HOW there are so many girls so close to the school given that it's not in a particularly residential part of town. Am I missing something? The houses I've been looking at are about 0.6 miles away which I thought would do it!

OP posts:
FiveHoursSleep · 31/01/2014 12:50

I think quite a few people do move close to the schools temporarily but you have to live there for quite some time ( at least 18 months, I believe).
My DD1 got in from the Outer catchment, so we did it the hard way but from what I have seen, some ( not all) of the kids who have got in just on distance do seem to struggle a bit in these very academic schools. The schools work them very hard in order to get the best out of them , but it doesn't seem much fun for the kids involved.
If we had to do it again, I'd compromise and move into the inner catchment area and try from there as if you have a bright child, who wants to do well they have a pretty good chance of obtaining a place from there.

ThreeBeeOneGee · 31/01/2014 12:39

I have been wondering this about the boys' school. The distance cut-off last year was approx 360m, if I recall correctly. A lot of the land within a 360m radius is taken up by the school itself, its grounds, a storage company and part of Cassiobury Park. Can there really be that many 11 year old boys living on Shepherds Rd & Cassiobury Park Ave? Or do their families just move there for application year?

tiggytape · 31/01/2014 12:01

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