Grammars with no catchment

[hippoplotimus]

Covid has pretty much stuffed our family in a rather special way financially. The secondary private we had planned for our dd has swiftly gone out of the window.

We can move anywhere so are now considering grammars. Are there any without a catchment area that would enable to us to move if dd got a place rather than moving for a school and it all goes wrong.
Obviously I hope that would not be the case but I do like to plan. We are buying a place after renting so it will be quite a permanent move.

Tiffin is terrifyingly competitive. Children travel for miles.

Your fixation on grammar is a little odd IMO. I went to a grammar having been the brightest at my primary school and I absolutely hated it. No encouragement for anything other than academic achievement and actively encouraging competition and negativity around success in that area..hideous when you throw teenage girl bitchiness into the mix. Rubbish sports and music facilities so only fine if you are the kind of kid whose sole focus is being smart. I hear from teacher friends that it is still much the same as it was then.
My kids will be going to our local comp which has great results but also brilliant sports and ‘soft’ subjects.

@Beamur, have you got any information about Heckmondwike grammar school? I’m thinking about this one for my son.

Contrary to some other posters I do understand the focus on GS for a bright kid. I have 2 DS who benefit in different ways. DS1 from the fact that it's cool to be clever and he never gets bullied for it. At primary he never made any close friends as he was always seen as the clever one and as competition. This bothered him very much. Now he is in his element and excited about developing his skills and achievements in an environment that doesn't set him apart.
DS2 doesn't care about what other kids think but has a small group of friends who bounce off each other intellectually whereas in a non selective school they would probably not have this opportunity.
Having been through this system and thrived the OP is not unreasonable to want it for her own DC.
Personally I think you would be better to pick an area that has good grammars and good comps if your DC don't get in. Lancashire is good for this as there are very few grammars but if you live close enough to either Clitheroe or Lancaster you only need to pass to get in. If you live further away you have to score more highly. Many local people don't even try as they have an over inflated idea of the level that is needed to earn a place or they don't like the grammar system and choose one of the good local comps instead. Property prices are nothing compared to London and you are close to the M6 motorway network. Not sure about Clitheroe but the Lancaster grammars have good sports and extra curricular opportunities (when allowed)

Where would you consider living and what is affordable in terms of house prices and school fees to you?

The North Cotswolds have a couple of very highly regarded comprehensives (Cotswold/Chipping Campden). If you moved there you’d have excellent non grammar options, but could still look at Pates. FWIW, I’d actually choose either of those schools over Pates.

Contrary to some other posters I do understand the focus on GS for a bright kid. I have 2 DS who benefit in different ways. DS1 from the fact that it's cool to be clever and he never gets bullied for it. At primary he never made any close friends as he was always seen as the clever one and as competition. This bothered him very much. Now he is in his element and excited about developing his skills and achievements in an environment that doesn't set him apart.
DS2 doesn't care about what other kids think but has a small group of friends who bounce off each other intellectually whereas in a non selective school they would probably not have this opportunity.
DS had a similar experience, he had friends in primary but not close, no interest in football whatsoever didn't help. At his grammar he has friends like him. I was also worried about him as I knew statistically his chances of doing well weren't great (sole parent family and were on benefits when he was younger).

Tonbridge Girls' Grammar in Kent has quite a few 'governor' places allocated purely on score. Nice but expensive area to live.

You could just move to an area with no grammars and good comprehensives. We're very happy with DD's comprehensive, and she'll get to move on to one of the top sixth forms in the country. She's heading for top grades at GCSE, as are most of her friends.

Birmingham, some fantastic grammars and lovely places to live around Sutton Coldfield, etc

The Birmingham grammars have catchments now. Mainly because children were sitting from Oxford, Leicester, Nottingham, Stoke-on-Trent, etc.even from Glasgow.

This might already have been said upthread, but you need to bear in mind the possibility of quite a tricky Year 6 for your daughter. Around here in Kent, lots of families do something similar to what you're looking to do - take the 11+ as an out of county applicant, then move into area as soon as they get a good score (in the October of Year 6), so that they're living in catchment for the actual school allocations. However, they then find that there are no decent primary places available - so they have a very stressful time looking for a place, and potentially have to enrol at very unpopular schools for most of Year 6 or home ed until Year 7. Even if they do find a good primary with a place, it's still quite unsettling for a child to join a school just for a few months. If you do get a true out of county place (ie the school place is allocated regardless of where you live) then I guess you don't need to move until the summer holidays, but there are still plenty of challenges in orchestrating a house move in exactly the right six week window. You might feel all the stress is worth it in the end, but it's just something to consider.

Bromley has grammar schools (9 mile catchment) and some great schools too. House prices are not crazy and it's an easy commute to London. My dd tried for newstead, didn't make it, at the local girls school and loving it. I'm really impressed with it's education during covid. I wanted a private school as that's all I knew. But it's going well so far!

@sm40 can you share which school she's loving? We're in the area and keen to hear of other options!

All those recommending Colyton... its worth remembering that because it doesn't have a catchment people travel for miles, miles and miles to go there. This is itself is problematic for things like out of school social opportunities and after school sports etc. Someone I know used to lose whole days facilitating orthodontist appointments for eg and parents' eve would take hours when you factored in travel. The immediate geographical area is very rural with poor public transport and few facilities.

It really strikes me as odd that a high ranking school (data relating to others, not your child) would be the only priority when it's clear to me that 'successful' young adults need far more than a pushy school. Fine if all other variables are equal but this situation is bonkers.

@hippoplotimus , if you're already in London, have considered Barnet? It has grammar schools, Finchley Catholic High School & Henrietta Barnet, and some good comprehensives. People speak highly of East Barnet school. Or there is Ashmole Academy in Southgate, which is highly sought after, although I think that is in the borough of Enfield.

I also have friends who rave about Dame Alice Owen - damealiceowens.herts.sch.uk/admissions/local-priority-areas/ . Head over to the 11plus forum for more information about DAO, Henrietta Barnet, etc. www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/11plus/viewforum.php?f=71&sid=ccf3863c8aecb48d6a2e9bba07fe112f

South London has Nonsuch and Wallington Girls, both of which take top scorers regardless of location (85 and 100, respectively). Girls find out their scores soon after the second joint exam (unlike the boys) and there is time to move into catchment if the score is good enough for in-catchment but not OOC. You'd need to be sure the score was good enough to make a move, obviously, but there's a lot of data on scores from previous years. There is movement on the waiting list after March offers, in part due to the high number of girls' private schools in SW London.
Tiffin Girls has an inner and outer catchment I believe.
There are also good comps in the area. For comps, I'd look at Coombe Girls in New Malden and Glenthorne in the West Sutton area (which also has a small no-catchment intake for performing arts places).

I went to a Kent grammar and I also understand your preference. I found it a sea of tranquility and support in the middle of a turbulent home life. If you didn’t mind Canterbury, my understanding is they take the top 25% cohort from primary. So not terrifyingly selective. If you choose to live near the Canterbury west station there’s a 1 hour fast train to St Pancras.

@Eeve sorry for delay. Langley girls. Newish head. No complaints so far!