Grammar secondary schools in Buckinghamshire

[edim76]

Hello everyone!
My DS is in year 5 and attends a state primary in Islington London. We would like to move out of London (or the outskirts) but he would like to finish his Primary here first. Is the any chance he can apply to a grammar in Buckinghamshire? The best are oversubscribed, so I suppose not living there, they are out of the question? Or am I mistaken?
Do you think a grammar is harder to get in then an indepoendent? I have been looking at independents now and competition looks as fierce as grammars.
Thanks a lot in advance for any comment!
Kind regards

Well they are state schools and being grammars, they will be extremely popular and well oversubscribed from the local catchment areas. I don't think you'd stand a chance, sorry.

If you have a look on the Bucks County Council website you'll see the allocation distance offered for each school which shows you haven't got a chance to get in from your current address. You'll also find on there details about if you plan to move to the catchment area after your child gets a place when you will have needed to do it by. Spoiler alert - you'll need to have moved and have proof of your new address by 31/10 which is just 2 weeks after the 11+ results are published.

I'd recommend popping over to the bucks section of the eleven plus exams forum as they are a helpful and knowledgeable bunch.

I think you'd be better off moving for y6 anyway. Then he can find his feet in the new area and make a few friends before secondary.

Watch out for what school he would get if he didn't pass the 11+ though...

I think grammars are harder to get into because they are based on merit ( although undoubtedly there’s a lot of tutoring ) whereas independents just need you to have the funds.

My children are at (or one left last summer) Bucks Grammars. We live in Bucks (and have done since before they were born).

All Bucks Grammars are over subscribed- looks at secondary allocations on council website to see details.

Anyone can register for the bucks 11+ and if they achieve 121 are eligible for a place however you would not get allocated one from Islington based on distance.

The residency rules vary slightly from school to school you would need to look at individual school admissions policies.

Essentially if you want a place in a Bucks Grammar you need to be resident by a date in October of year 6 (can’t remember details) and to have properly disposed of your current property.

@ConsuelaHammock

I think grammars are harder to get into because they are based on merit ( although undoubtedly there’s a lot of tutoring ) whereas independents just need you to have the funds.

That's not entirely true. Each are self selecting to a degree, by location or financially. Independents vary considerably in their level of academic selection but can take sport, art, drama, music potential into account as well as academics and pay no heed to location. State grammars have more fixed criteria which are published by LA. Planning to move after year six would be unlikely to work for a Bucks grammar place in year seven but some other areas have schools which allocate a number of places purely on academic performance, even if applying from out of area.

So you are looking at September 2023 entry to secondary school? First step would be to sit the 11+ exam, you need to pass this to apply to grammar schools. From the Bucks website: "Early May 2022 – Secondary Transfer Test registration opens
Registration window will open in early May and will close in mid-June, exact dates will be confirmed in early 2022." "
Autumn term 2022– Practice and Transfer Tests
Test dates will be in the autumn term 2022 and actual dates will be confirmed closer to the time." If you don't pass there is no point applying so look closely at the non selective schools in your area before you choose. Many children in South Bucks also sit the Slough Consortium 11+ which opens up applications to the four Slough grammar schools. Berkshire children also access South Bucks grammar schools.

If you are fixed on wanting grammars you’d be better off going for areas where many of the places are allocated on score not distance. I think the Sutton area grammars all work like this (with some places set aside for locals but many places purely on scores).

Are you looking at moving?

Grammar school areas can get pretty jammed up traffic wise as everyone's bused/driven in to the grammar schools while the locals end up bussed out.

Pick an Area where the schools left behind aren't crap should your kid not get in.

@Whatwouldscullydo

Are you looking at moving?

Grammar school areas can get pretty jammed up traffic wise as everyone's bused/driven in to the grammar schools while the locals end up bussed out.

Pick an Area where the schools left behind aren't crap should your kid not get in.

I don’t think that’s really accurate in Bucks - the school my children went to / are currently going to hasn’t allocated out of catchment for many years and hasn’t allocated to a distance beyond 3 miles in 6 years - all the students are very local!

Its true fir some..o the bucks cc website ut shows distances anywhere from 2 miles to 15.

@LadyLazarus40 -I don’t think that’s really accurate in Bucks - the school my children went to / are currently going to hasn’t allocated out of catchment for many years and hasn’t allocated to a distance beyond 3 miles in 6 years - all the students are very local

Are your dc at a grammar?

Dd is at an Aylesbury grammar and kids come from Milton Keynes, almost as far west as Oxford, and Tring, as well as Bedfordshire...

That's going to be a big change for your ds - finishing primary in London then moving house and going to a new secondary without any of his friends. Does he want to move?

Bucks grammars are always over-subscribed. If you look on each grammar's website, it should have a page showing its catchment area.

Is your ds academic? Should he pass the 11+?

Dd is at an Aylesbury grammar and kids come from Milton Keynes, almost as far west as Oxford, and Tring, as well as Bedfordshire

Tring wouldn't be a bad idea actually. Close enough to get to the grammar schools in aylesbury. A half decent secondary school as a back.up

@whiteworldgettingwhiter yes both my children went to SWBGS from year 7 - deadest took A levels last summer.

As I said in my post they offered to 3 miles in catchment when my youngest child (currently year 12) started and it has been the same ever since - not all of catchment allocated by any means. All the children are very local. If they don’t go to SWBGS (or a few to WHS or JHGS) they go to Great Marlow. There is no mass shipping of children.

If you have people driving from Oxford to Aylesbury that’s total madness - no school is worth those sort of journeys.

OP here are the bucks allocations

www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/education/school-admissions/admissions-policies-consultations-and-statistics/allocation-of-school-places/

Eldest not deadest!!!

OP my advice is if you want to live in Bucks and attend a Bucks school (grammar or otherwise) then move now. If you are more of an education tourist there are probably better places to play the game then Bucks.

Be warned that some of the Bucks grammars have an admissions policy that states you need to be resident in the April prior to them sitting the test. Also, if you own another property within 20 miles of the address from which you apply, they will use that address as your main residence. So your plans for him to complete Y6 might not be possible.

The only way to pretty much guarantee a grammar place if your DC passes is to live in Bucks. Tring is a great idea but it’s in Herts. Last admitted distances are shrinking each year - there’s no guarantee.

Probably the “best” areas to live with a good secondary modern as a backup are Amersham and Marlow.

Is it REALLY worth the move though? We live in Herts and DD passed and got a place at a Bucks grammar but we chose another school that better fitted her needs. She is absolutely flying at her school and I have no regrets. Do your research properly (above and beyond league tables) before committing to a move.

@whiteworldgettingwhiter

That's going to be a big change for your ds - finishing primary in London then moving house and going to a new secondary without any of his friends. Does he want to move?

Bucks grammars are always over-subscribed. If you look on each grammar's website, it should have a page showing its catchment area.

Is your ds academic? Should he pass the 11+?

He makes friends easily, his best friend is moving away anyway. We will probably end up trying the entry exams of a few independents that do not consider distance. @ConsuelaHammock I wish independent schools were based on funds. Unfortunately you need funds and still pass a highly selective exam (80 out of 800 kids!). I will also look for some grammars closer to me as far as I know there is only Latymer and Queen Elizabeth, but I am aware that these are even more selective!

Unfortunately you need funds and still pass a highly selective exam (80 out of 800 kids!).

That sounds very specific, North Bucks has some independent schools that will just accept your money and are non selective.

My boys went to the John Hampden Grammar school for boys. Eldest is now at uni and the younger son is doing his final year of A levels.
They had peers coming from Slough, Wembley etc.

The pastoral support has been outstanding as well as the teaching. I couldnt afford to get a 11 plus tutor and Im pleased the boys got in on their own merit. They were both avid readers and that really helped with the entrance exams as there is a lot of synonyms, antonyms etc.

As another poster said the 11 plus forum is invaluable.

I went to granar school in Bucks and kids came from pretty far out - some from outskirts of London. But that was a long time ago so I'm not sure what the chances are now. Most of them are on direct train lines out of London though - Amersham, Wycombe, Aylesbury, Beaconsfield etc
(Lots of kids were from independent primaries too).

@UuijungKo

My boys went to the John Hampden Grammar school for boys. Eldest is now at uni and the younger son is doing his final year of A levels. They had peers coming from Slough, Wembley etc.

The pastoral support has been outstanding as well as the teaching. I couldnt afford to get a 11 plus tutor and Im pleased the boys got in on their own merit. They were both avid readers and that really helped with the entrance exams as there is a lot of synonyms, antonyms etc.

As another poster said the 11 plus forum is invaluable.

@UuijungKo - Was Mr Nokes the head while they were there? He was my History teacher (a long long time ago), he was really popular, known as the silver fox 🤣

Lots of useful info about applying to Bucks grammars here. DD is at one of them and although we're all very happy with it, I'm honestly not sure that being a grammar makes a school inherently so superior to a good comprehensive that it's worth the upheaval of completely moving house and area - unless you have other very compelling reasons to move. Also echo what pp have said that if you're aiming for a grammar it's vital to have a great backup school that you're happy with and guaranteed to get into, as the 11+ is not easy, and even a very bright DC can have an off day and not pass. This advice is generally echoed on the 11 plus forum.

It is depends on so many variables though car.
For some dc it absolutely will be worth upheaval. Maybe their personality doesn't suit their school, attainments, etc it's not the right fit.

I've moved my dc and touch wood, we are still early days but I'm so glad I did.
It's just a better fit for her, it definitely has higher aspirations. We know what's going on with her whereas before trying to get feedback was very hard.
We only get one life and sometimes good enough doesn't cut it.