Schools outside London

[UMESH1]

Hi,

I have recently moved over to UK from India. My family will be joining me later this year. I have an 8 year old son & I am looking for an area which has higher probability to get him into a grammar school. I work in London so connectivity to London has to be good.

I have done some research however very confused about which area to consider. Would really appreciate your advise on the matter

Any area that has good schools with higher chances to go to Grammar or Outstanding secondary school will be great.

I'm confused as to what you mean. There are outstanding state schools around the country, not many of which are grammars as those are relatively few. Getting in is as much about proximity of home to school, possibly meeting religious criteria etc so even if you are in the right area you are not guaranteed a place at a specific school, nor may an "Outstanding" school necessarily be the best to meet your dc needs or interests. Are you looking for academically selective or not? The vast majority of state schools are not selective and cater for a wide ability range.

@UMESH1

Southend on Sea has two sets of grammar schools.

But you often find that in areas (outside the major cities) that have grammars, the other schools are pretty bad. Southend is one of those places. So it’s a gamble and you’d need to get tutoring for your child.

But some bits of the town are in your budget and it’s a London commuter town.

If you’re hoping for a sizeable Indian community - there’s a modest sized community (my dm being part of it) depending on your actual community). Might suit you, might not.

Note the Southend grammars are not the super selective London type.

Best of luck.

It's easier to get into an outstanding school if you happen to be moving and have the budget to move right next the school (so that will obviously depend!)

Schools are rated on a four point system, with Outstanding at the top. If that school is a non-religious state school, then they'll have a straightforward list of criteria they use to let children, broadly speaking something like:

1. special circumstances (e.g. many schools prioritise children in the care system. I think maybe they're required to do this). This will be a very small number of kids.

1. siblings of children at the school (this will, of course, vary from year to year)

1. distance - so obviously, the nearer you are, the better chance you have to get in. The local council School Admissions department can give you information (it's probably on their website) about how far was the furthest distance away that a child was accepted into the school, based on distance alone.

This system can be very competitive, with families buying properties near good schools school to guarantee a place. (And therefore driving up property prices in the area around the school).

But, especially if you're happy to rent at first, you may be able to move right next to an excellent school thereby guaranteeing a place.

Thank you all, you have been great support. I will be looking at Sutton as the area seems to have excellent Grammar as well as non selective state secondary schools. It is also easy to commute to London.

Thanks for all your help and support.