Info on Marlow, Henley, Thame, Chalfonts

We live near Thame and absolutely love it. Transport links are great with Fast trains to London in 40 mins, Birmingham is equally easy by train you can be at the Bull Ring in an hour. The town is on the Bucks/ Oxfordshire border so if you choose a village just into Bucks you can get into Aylesbury Grammar as well as Lord Williams. It is not as full of restaurants and boutiques as Marlow (but still an easy hop there for an afternoon of mooching). There are nice independent shops and free parking which makes it a very easy little market town to get to. There is loads for your boys to do - cycling on the Phoenix Trail, skate park, tennis , squash, cricket, football, rugby to name a few. It is a very friendly place - there are a few lovely art events such as Bucks open studios, Brill on the Hill art festival. Very easy to get into Ixfird for the museums.

I assume the grammars administer tests themselves after 11 plus if they have a space. There are several very good non grammar schools such as The Misbourne, The Amersham School, John Colet, Waddesdon, Great Marlow and a few others. There are some to avoid too! You could see if any of these have places and transfer to a grammar for 6th form or when a space comes up. Although the Chalfont is huge, it is a decent school for many children and again, better than some of the others.

When the admissions legislation changed so that the grammars had to take out of county children, the spare places dried up. Far fewer children get 121 in Aylesbury Vale so the grammar schools there have many out of county pupils. The least popular is Sir Henry Floyd in Aylesbury so you could look at living in Thame and seeing if SHF has a space. Haddenham is a popular village just in Bucks but close to Thane. Or Long Crendon. Good luck with all this. I know it's difficult.

I do know people who live in and around High Wycombe for cheaper housing and pay for private schools. A larger semi around there is cheaper than a 4 bed detached in Beaconsfield or GX and they then release capital for school fees. London families can get a lot of capital by moving out.

Of course good schools are full, there are plenty of other people wanting them!

If your youngest is moving into Y6 he would be taking the 11+ in a few weeks if he was in Bucks, he needs to prepare for that if you want to give him the best chance.

If you think both DCs would do well at grammars then you could post/search here in the Buckinghamshire forum to find out how often places come up:
www.elevenplusexams.co.uk

The Amersham school (not grammar) mentioned up thread does very well and has an inspirational head btw but I imagine has no spaces either.

Good luck.

No school can afford not to have buns on seats so outstanding grammar schools don't hold vacancies for arrivals. They may have a place or two if insufficient have got 121 in tbe 11 plus or got through the 12 plus. Sometimes Sir Henry Floyd in Aylesbury doesn't fill up. You could try them if Bucks admissions haven't ruled them out. I would move sooner to rented but it's very difficult to get a primary place at the better schools!

I think the co-ed grammar schools are not particularly liberal. Also my girls went to a single sex school and believe me, girls meet boys! Brothers of friends, neighbours of the girls, parties - all sorts of ways but just not in class. Doesn't seem to harm anyone. Generally the single sex schools get the best results so they must be doing something right!

I was assuming that if you were buying a 4 bed in Gerards Cross, Beaconsfield, Marlow etc, you had deep pockets. You could get the fees for school by moving further out and buying a cheaper house. You could easily save £200,000.

Shiplake is a small village with a butcher, a garage, a pub, a corner shop with post office, a tennis club, a church and a lovely church hall. It's got its own train station (with free parking) and is a 7 min drive from Henley town Centre.

I copied this from visit-Henley.com.

Henley Festival – Five wonderful evenings of music, comedy and culture on the riverside

Henley Fringe – Two weeks prior to Edinburgh many acts hone their material in Henley

Thames Traditional Boat Rally – A two day celebration of messing about in boats

Rewind Festival – Relive the 1980’s in the biggest celebration of music from the decade in the country

Henley Literary Festival – One of the best in the country with well-known authors from all genres telling their tales

Brakspear Festival – A week of music guaranteed to get you tapping your feet and snapping your fingers

Living Advent Calendar – A live performance somewhere in Henley every night during Advent

Christmas Festival – One night when everyone flocks to enjoy festive entertainment in the town centre

Festive Sunday Shopping – A special festive day for shopping on a Sunday before Christmas, with pop-up performances, discounts and offers.

I commented on your other thread.

Despite my NN I'm a bit sad at the comments about Henley. I would recommend looking at Marlow first but please don't rule out Henley. It's lovely too. 😊 I've lived in Henley for 15 years and although there are a lot of wealthy people I generally find people friendly, helpful and polite. I've don't find it racist. In fact I've found it to be very accepting of people from overseas. I also find there are a lot of community activities here. I don't get too involved myself but it's nice to know it there if I wanted. I think it has a more of an art and culture vibe than Marlow.

School wise lots of people chose to send their kids to Gillotts and from there it seems fairly easy for brighter kids to get into william Borlaise for 6th form if they want. I can't remember what the kids had to get but it wasn't too onerous at all. Plenty of bright local D.C. chose to go to Henley College though. (The maths and science departments seem excellent) It's very different to a traditional school but it suits a lot of kids.

I'd still suggest looking at Marlow first but I don't think you should rule out Henley if the schools work out better for you.

I meant to add that you really cannot pass up on single sex schools. You would be mad not to take a place at RGS High Wycombe if you were offered a place there for example. Or Beaconsfield High. The single sex schools are very sought after so I would review your views on this in the circumstances. You many need any option available to you so be flexible.

I know every single one of these places. Berko to Stoke Poges is quite a drive when you could be much closer. However you really must be guided about where you can get into schools. Posters suggest lots of good schools but are not much good if you cannot get in. Regarding grammars, you wouldn't be the only one on a waiting list either so you cannot bank on a place.

It's very difficult to get everything you want. Can you not buy a cheaper house and pay for schools? Probably less hassle!

Gerrards Cross is quite nouveau. Massive swanky houses.

The Chalfonts are good for commuters but don't really have a heart if you see what I mean. A parade of 30s shops.

Beaconsfield is lovely. Marlow great. Berkhamsted I don't know.

We moved to Marlow about 4 years ago and love it - although our DC are still primary age so I can't tell you much about secondaries.
(Generally, Spinfield & Danesfield are considered the best primaries.)

If you're considering BE Academy it might be worth joining the Facebook group It's a Marlow Thing and asking for views of the school there.

You may have looked at these already but to get a feel of life in Marlow look at

www.mymarlow.co.uk/

Also worth a look on the local area:

bucksoxon.muddystilettos.co.uk/

www.mumsaboutcookham.com/

chilternchatter.com/

Marlow doesn't have a cinema or theatre (like Henley) but those can be found in High Wycombe. Longridge outdoor centre in Marlow is fab for kayaking etc. Also a short drive nearby at Cressex is a John Lewis and a new big Waitrose & leisure centre.

Henley is also great (esp the Festival & Literary Festival)!

Berkhamsted is a very affluent town - has a few small ex-council estates on the outskirts but largely populated with children called Henry, Charlie, Olivia, Sophie etc!!!! Nothing like Chesham. It frequently appears in The Sunday Times as one of the best places to live in the UK. Lovely canal runs through it with pubs on it. Motivated parents and excellent schools. 90% of house sales are people moving out of London to give you an idea of population.

There are a lot of 4 bed houses but the summer holidays are always a quiet time for sales in the area. Northchurch borders the town - houses are cheaper as it's a 20 minute walk to the station. Half an hour into Euston.

John Lewis is in Watford 15-20 minutes away in the Intu Centre. You have a direct train to Westfield in Shepherd's Bush and there's also House of Fraser at Brent Cross. I also shop in St Albans a lot (20 mins drive) - White Company, Reiss, Cath Kitson etc.

If you didn't get a place at Ashlyn's then you could be offered Tring - another excellent school - Hemel Hempstead School (don't be put off by the Hemel name, it's a lovely school). You would be unfortunate to get one of the dud schools in Hemel as they try to ensure that all children in Berkhamsted are educated in Berkhamsted where possible but no guarantee. All these schools served by buses from the town. Herts County Council is the admissions authority.

I also share the love for Marlow. I think Berkhamsted could be what you're after so long as your other half is ok with the drive.

Hi OP don't think anyones answered your questions re: cookham etc.

Cookham is lovely but very small - smaller than Marlow and Henley by a long way. Much more of a village but also spread out so train station isn't right by the shops etc. Very nice though!

By the Platt school do you mean Furze Platt?
These are my opinions on the state schools in Maidenhead;
Newlands (girls only) - very good reputation and does well. Usually rather oversubscribed.
Desborough (boys only) - doing much better in recent years, Def been on the up.
Then there's Furze Platt, Cox Green and Altwood which are mixed comps. My opinion is that FP is the best, though it had a mixed Ofsted in the last few years. It is a typical comp though really. Lots of people very happy with it.

Hope this helps?

From your original locations I would choose Marlow.

Henley and Thame are in Oxfordshire so would not be in South Bucks so I guess would not fall in grammar areas anyway.

I am not sure why you have discounted Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield as they are very nice places to live and incredibly convenient for Stoke Poges.

Gerrards Cross is possibly one of the swankiest postcodes to have. Most kids I know there either go to Beacy High, RGS or either of the Challoners. Those who don't pass got to Chalfont or to independent schools.

My cousins live in Chorleywood and their kids all went to Clement Danes.

Chorleywood is lovely, on met line, worth a look, cafes, co op, Rickmansworth nearby with Waitrose