Becky High, Dr Challoners High, Aylesbury High, Wycombe High or Chesham Grammar

Cressex cannot provide the whole secondary school curriculum as it has no 6th form. Of course it’s different! Has very different dc. It’s fair it’s judged on what it does for dc it has. However it’s not a grammar and doesn’t provide one stage of education at all. Nor much MFL.

I’m confused when you say “Cressex to 16 cannot be compared to a grammar”?

Grammar schools are just selective schools - RGS and SWBGS are poles apart in terms of what they are like as a school. there is no single thing which defines a grammar school except for the fact that it selects at 11 (or 10 for the vast majority of pupils).

What there are are schools which provide good environments for students to learn, where students are safe, where students are nurtured and encouraged and can go on to flourish - this really is all it is.

Cressex and RGS both provide this environment (I chose them as examples as they have the same Ofsted rating) and therefore yes they are comparable- they will both allow students to have the best opportunity to progress to the next stage of their education.

I think you have just repeated my thoughts. Cressex to 16 cannot be compared to a grammar. As I said, a couple of grammars are Good but AHS is a recent Outstanding inspection. It’s true that some secondaries have a very chequered history with ofsted. It’s also fairly rare for grammar slt to move to secondary slt. Some secondaries just don’t get the best people applying. Some do but there’s definitely a pecking order of secondaries. So living near a good one matters.

@TizerorFizz sorry if I’m being dim but I’m not sure what your question is. Cressex is hugely over subscribed now only admitting to a radius of 1-2 miles. Yes it has a chequered past but has been excellent under the current and previous head.

Grammars - RGS is good isn’t it? The majority haven’t been inspected since 2014 / 2012.

A good school is a good school. It’s tricky to compare grammars to uppers as their cohorts are substantially different in very many ways.

I know nothing about Waddesdon so can’t comment but I do think Cressex and GMS provide great opportunities to students who go there. Cressex doesn’t have a 6th form (save for a small child care course) and many of their students transition to bucks grammars for A level achieving places in a whole host of top level unis.

As far as grammars my experience only stretches to where I work and where my children attended but again they are both excellent schools.

@KittyMcKitty How do these schools compare? Waddesdon is a fantastic secondary but all secondaries have many middle and lower achievers and therefore are not directly comparable. Cressex is rated Good. I can think of one grammar that’s Good. It has issues with MFL and too few dc studying one (thereby manipulating results and p8) so certainly not a grammar. Popular and well run overall though. 12 years ago: RI. No Bucks grammar has been RI. The secondaries do yoyo a bit. The grammars don’t.

Ok so maybe I should have said less then 4 miles if we’re picking holes or 3 point something miles? If I were to pick holes they are not recruiting from their Maidenhead catchment they are offering to qualified catchment pupils who do not fall under a higher admissions category up to a distance of 3.74 miles.

My youngest child is in their first year of Uni and this distance (so less than 4 miles) has been the case since they were admitted in year 7. Prior to that they would admit all of catchment and occasionally a couple outside of catchment.

Bucks gives numbers SWB recruit from Maidenhead. Catchment 3.74 miles on 1 March allocations.

I work at one of the schools listed. Essentially all of them will provide a fantastic education for students - as to which is best / most popular schools go in and out of fashion and if your children are still very young then things will change. Essentially though you can see their results and all are excellent.

Regarding diversity Bucks publishes details as to how far the schools offer to. Beaconsfield and the Chalfonts are less diverse areas then the others.

I would encourage you to visit during an open morning. We run many. You will see the school in action and also get a feel for the make up of the pupil cohort.

Also consider the non grammar school for various catchment areas as these can be more variable although there are a number of upper schools - GMS and Cressex to name just two which are fantastic and provide education comparable to the grammars.

A small part of Maidenhead is (and always has been) catchment for SWBGS. For the past 8 years SWBGS hasn’t offered to over 3 miles in catchment.

Yes and likewise you can, by law, take the 11+ exam for any grammar school in the country, it's just that it would be pointless taking it for a grammar school which also has catchment areas as a criterion, as some do

Which is where quite a few people come unstuck, making their DC sit Bucks / Kent / Medway - or all three. And more...Ooh, look at all those luscious grammar schools, just ripe for the picking by my super-clever DC. Without actually bothering to consider that these schools might have oversubscription criteria other than just I'm super clever and I beat all the others in the 11+🙄

You can also name schools in a different LA without intending to move, so long as you would be able to get your DC there and back each day, should they get a place

Yes and likewise you can, by law, take the 11+ exam for any grammar school in the country, it's just that it would be pointless taking it for a grammar school which also has catchment areas as a criterion, as some do. For the so-called super-selectives, you could in theory take a test from the other end/side of the country but as @MarchingFrogs says the onus is entirely on you to get your DC to that school every day. Grammar schools tend not to have a WFH option.

For UK state schools, you can get a breakdown on ethnicity here:

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics

You have to apply for state secondary schools in the same way that you apply for state primary schools, that is, by submitting a common application form (CAF) to your home local authority. From any LA, you can name any state secondary school in the country as a preference. So you could e.g. be living in Surrey at the deadline for CAF submission, so have to submit your form to Surrey County Council, but know that you are moving to Ipswich at Christmas, so name only schools in Ipswich on the form. (In that scenario, once you actually move, Suffolk County Council would take over the administration of your CAF from Surrey).

You can also name schools in a different LA without intending to move, so long as you would be able to get your DC there and back each day, should they get a place - and for quite a lot of people anyway, their physically nearest school may be in a different LA, if they live close to a border.

That's good to hear @BewitchedorBewildered and many congratulations to your DD. What is she doing now?

I hasten to add that DD2 didn't go to DCHS (though she had an option to go for sixth form), so I am only reporting what I have been told by some friends who did have DDs there. Very happy to hear a different story.

The best secondary option is probably Waddesdon but has a tiny catchment and selects by CofE. John Colet in Wendover, is good and well supported by parents.Also fairly small catchment. Both of these villages are in catchment for Aylesbury High. Plus Sir Henry Floyd which is popular too. Then you have the Misbourne at Gt Missenden and the Amersham School at Amersham. All good schools. All in catchment for girls’ grammars. I don’t know enough about High Wycombe to comment on their secondary schools but improvements have been sustained snd they are diverse.

My DD recently got four A stars in STEM A-levels at DCHS. I can't fault the teaching at all. My DD had a sixth form place at DCGS and opted to stay. No regrets. Lovely, nurturing school.

I don't think Becky High is terribly diverse, good school though it is. I haven't heard any awful stories, but the Secondary Moderns tend to have greater diversity – for example, the large Polish community in and around Amersham and the smaller Filipino one don't generally send their DCs to the Grammar Schools.

If you want specific thoughts, not everyone thinks DCHS is that fantastic for STEM A levels, but you can always go there for 5 years and move for sixth form should your DD be keen on science subjects. DCGS now takes girls in the sixth form and it is very strong in STEM, especially maths.

As @TizerorFizz says the Secondary Moderns do vary a bit, but the good ones are good. I can definitely recommend Amersham School from personal experience.

These are top notch schools. They are grammars. All schools can have a few issues but you seem to be looking for them. Lots of people move to Bucks for the grammars and lots don’t get in. Your best bet is to always look at the secondary schools. Always live in catchment for the best ones. Therefore do your homework. Beacy Sec as it was called might not float your boat. I would make sure I was in Amersham personally. Or Great Missenden.

They don’t want empty places! I can remember AHS not filling up back in the day. Dents in budgets not welcome.

Bits of Maidenhead are in catchment for John Hampden & bit of Slough are in catchment for Burnham. The schools seem to be scattered around the edges of the county.

Indeed it is, most kids in that village go to the neighbouring bucks primary and so auto opt in to the 11 plus but very few head down to Aylesbury these past few years. I've worked in one of the grammars for a long time and have seen lots of changes to where our pupils come from. Suspect I'll see even more given the amount of new houses being built around here.

It’s a rare thing! In another LA but can get places in an Aylesbury Grammar. Although Maidenhead dc go to SWB Grammar.

Yup @TizerorFizz and it's still in Milton Keynes and not Bucks. I'm not arguing the catchment just where the village is in terms of local authorities.