Location of grammar schools with no catchment areas

[CrazyMaizie]

Hello,

We are reviewing our options for returning to the UK in a few years. We are not tied to any place and so technically could move anywhere. I would like to ensure good schooling. Is there a list anywhere of grammar schools that do not have catchment areas? I would like to be able to apply from overseas then, if a place is offered, move to that area. Is that even possible? We've been looking at private schools but realise in England a grammar school might fit the bill instead!

They are desperate ...

Just coming back to say,
nanechangedtoday, it was me who gave the information re Trafford admissions. I based it on a child I know well who is now Y8 at a Highly sought after Trafford Grammar. She lived in Didsbury when they applied and she sat the exam. They moved the first week in Jan and her parents were specifically told that they were fine and that her new address in Altrincham would be used. They did need to send in lots of paperwork and her parents had been in contact in the autumn to say they were in the process of buying a 'trafford' house but she got her place without issue.
I also know a child in Y7 at a Trafford Catholic Grammar who lives in Stockport clearly well out of catchment although they are practising Catholics.

I also know plenty of Children in Hertfordshire who nip over the border to Chesham or Amersham Grammars.

M4blues Yes they do but not in huge numbers because the local sibling rule is quite appealing ;-) (although the numbers are increasing due to the competition for SW Herts schools). However, there is a fairly large number of children in Harrow applying to Herts, Bucks & Berks selectives.

M4blues,

Myunderstanding is that there are specific arrangements for children applying for 'cross border' schools - basically, they apply to their own LA for a place in the neighbouring area, and the application is passed on. So e.g. the application form will have been completed for Hertfordshire, naming the Chesham / Amersham Grammars as preference schools.

The issue for the OP is that she isn't in a neighbouring area - she is hundreds of miles away, so there is no 'home' LA to apply to.

M4blues actually, children from Berko & Hemel etc. likely favour the Bucks Grammars over the SW Herts selectives so the numbers are possibly higher than I think.

Really? I lived in Boxmoor and knew children who travelled to Chesham. I also know a deputy HT in Berkhamsted and she tells me they send around 10 Y6s each year to Chesham. I don't know how many primaries there are in Berkhamsted but it's reasonably big so that must amount to a fair few kids.

Sorry, xposts there. Yes, I was talking about HH and Berkhamsted children.
And yes, I know it doesn't help the op much.

Crazymaisie
Here are the four secondaries in Winchester - if you move to the city you'll get one of them
www.beaufort.hants.sch.uk/news/?pid=3&nid=1
www.kings-winchester.hants.sch.uk/enrichment/residential-trips/holland-sports-tour/
www.westgate.hants.sch.uk/CelebrationsCongratulations
www.perins.net/news-events/news/
and here is the 6th form
www.psc.ac.uk/achievements/

Please ignore TV programmes about schools : the Bohunt one was a classic case of editing to the point that kids in the classes did not recognise the way it was portrayed

THe nice thing about Comp areas is that you have no risk of not getting into the Grammar school

m4blues if it's the highly sought after Trafford Grammar I think you're referring to, the explanation is probably that Didsbury is within the catchment (officially 8 miles from the school even though that extends beyond the Trafford boundary). So when she moved, post results but before offers, she wasn't moving into catchment, she was just moving closer in.

The Catholic grammars in Trafford are completely different - catholics from a very wide area (pretty much most of Manchester!!) get priority over non - Catholic children.

Hence the reason for reading the small print of the admissions policies.

What is a super selective?

'What is a super selective?'

It's a schools with selective places which offers them to the highest scorers irrespective of where they live (except perhaps by distance on the tie-breaking score).

Other selectives may have a defined admission area where they take all the highest scores within that area, and only if all those in catchment who achieve the pass mark have been admitted do they then offer places to highest scores outside catchment.

Kennington,

It is a term usually used for grammar schools - often in 'not fully selective' areas - which have no defined catchment area, simply taking the top X from their exam.

Some do use a 'distance from the school' as a final tiebreaker when deciding between the last people to be offered a place, but if you pass well up the list then it doesn't matter where you live.

X -post. Too slow!

No, she was just outside catchment. Just. But I suppose distance did count. However, they still told her parents very clearly in the January that they would use her new address. I don't know whether she would have still gained a place at the old address. You may be correct in that she shave done but she was most definitely just outside catchment on first applying.

How much of Didsbury was Withington 20yrs ago?

I must have only been about 7 or 8 miles away in Wilmslow but I don't remember any neighbours going. I guess the catchment stretched inwards. Anyway, I only had boys at the time so it wouldn't have mattered to me plus the getting there in the mornings. The one thing I do not miss about Cheshire is the traffic.

M4Blues they may have changed the policy since your friend started - certainly isn't the case now and therefore something the OP needs to be aware of if she's considering Trafford. In terms of Wilmslow, the official catchment is 8 miles from school (so that's the cut - off for being in catchment at the time of application but the unofficial catchment is about 5 miles. They haven't offered places to anyone living beyond 5-6 miles for quite a few years. They don't have the "out of catchment" places like the boys' school does.

Oh ok! So I guess that's means she probably would not have got in from their old address. Either way, it wasn't deceitful as they now live very close with 2 younger dd's who will also go assuming they pass.

But yes, it's important the op has up to date info. I no longer live in the NW at all although this thread is making me feel a little nostalgic mainly for the Metropolitan bar before it expanded its restaurant and became trendy. Esp December Saturdays with a bottle of red, the tree and the open fire.

That's the Metropolitan bar in Didsbury not the similar named place in Wilmslow with no manner of atmosphere.

All grammar schools will have some catchment area

Not true. Henrietta Barnett has no catchment. You just have to be in the top 93 of the 2600 that apply.......

M4Blues - you know you should head back to the NW . Can a November Thursday evening qualify for red wine drinking ??

My son goes to Altrincham boys we live in Stockport, they admit on score once catchment children who pass are admitted. The girls school have an 8 mile catchment but in recent years have not gone out more than 4-5 miles and it's getting smaller. Loreto and St Ambrose also admit on score once diocese children are admitted. Sale , Stretford and Urmston generally admit close to the school though Urmston reserve a number of places for high scores regardless of where they live.

Aaaah the Met , not been for ages...

Sorry I have just seen that I have parroted name changed posts!!