Move for school or for area

[Wasntmeanttobethishard]

Do you move to an area for a good school or for the nice area?

Without a family connection to anywhere in particular, we are trying to figure out how to decide where to move to (Only parameter being within an hours commute of central London for work). If it’s for school, do we focus on primary or secondary school for the focus? We imagine the schools will change by the time DC reach secondary.

Our area of central London has limited choices for state schools both primary and more significantly secondary. Private primary school fees are extortionate for what you pay for ie no grounds, outsourcing quite a bit at an added cost, not all prepare kids for 11+ so extra tuition required…

We’ve heard the Chalfont area is nice as is Surrey but, of course, these are wide areas and need to be narrowed down themselves.

looking for any insight or personal experiences! Our heads are spinning.

I know Bucks pretty well. Do you already have DC? That’s the big question as the leafy lane primary schools are usually full. You presumably know we have grammars and secondary modern schools. Bucks calls them “all ability” but they are not the same as the grammars and you need to be aware of what the alternatives are if Dc don’t get selected for a grammar.

You need to look at residency requirements for 11 plus. So move when you need to. Beaconsfield/Gerrards Cross has a quicker line into London. Wendover is friendly and look around High Wycombe. They all have grammar school access.,

Yes, we have DC already. We’ve just one yet to start school. I wasn’t aware of 11+ residency rules, so thanks for the heads up on that! How do you rate the private pre/ prep schools in the area - should we not get our older kids into state schools.

We can’t afford the space we need/ want in London hence the move further out and also hoping it’s more child friendly than central London. Kids are pretty sporty and musical too so it’s not just about academics. Younger ones are still to show their academic strengths/ weaknesses. Is the academic competition similar to London (tuition and competition both covert and overt) ?

Top girls private school is Godstowe in High Wycombe. Boys is Caldicott at Farnham Royal. Mostly Dc at these go on to board. You have other schools that prep for 11 plus. Boys also go to The Beacon at Amersham and Chesham Prep (co Ed) is popular and Maltmans Green for girls at Gerrards Cross. There are others of course. Some take sport very seriously, others less so. Generally the schools I’ve mentioned have decent sport and music. Godstowe gets art scholarships too. Pipers Corner is an all through girls’ school.

Im afraid most tutor for the 11 plus. Sometimes to a shocking degree. The state primary schools won’t and don’t give parents any indication if child might pass or not. The grammar schools are a consortium and commission the test. Bucks cc administers it snd Dc sit the tests at school. Bucks CC web site has all the rules. But Bucks grammars are not super selective and it’s not like London. Every child is entered though unless you withdraw. Some parents are obsessed with the 11 plus. Others just know their Dc is bright!

The key in Bucks is to live in catchment for the best secondary modern schools. Generally, south of Aylesbury, these are John Colet School, The Misbourne School, The Amersham School and Chalfonts (it’s large and a bit marmite!) The initial difficulty is getting Dc into good primary schools. The same school might be difficult in that area.

I don't know these schools but I would move for an area where you feel you will be happy as a family and put down roots. Schools change all the time and are so dependent on leadership. One of the schools my children went to had a change of leadership and lost half the pupils and is a shadow of what is was in every way apart from maths attainment.

But you won’t even get into many schools! Yes sometimes schools go off the boil but if there’s no places elsewhere, Dc have to stay.

We moved house so the DCs could attend a specific private primary school. But it was also an area that suited us - a diverse part of central London, good housing stock, well-connected and lots of activities on offer, and it was also walking distance to DH's office. A one hour commute would be out of the question for us (he has a 20 min walk now). It's in catchment for an excellent non-selective state secondary (which has been top-performing for decades, over several headships, so we expect it to continue to do so). But if it does suddenly get drastically worse, then independent options are an easy bus ride away.

I think a lot of more established schools like grammars or comps in very middle class areas have long-standing reputations and are more likely to maintain that, even if it's many years away. Personally I preferred to move to be well within the catchment/last distance offered of a good comp than move close to a selective state school, because we moved when the dc were too young to really know how they'd perform at 11+. It would be annoying to move close to an amazing selective school and then your child not manage to get in. And it would also be annoying to move near a good comp and then be just over the last distance offered! For us it made sense to target a school first rather than choose a vague area with some nice schools. Do your research well to make sure you meet all the admissions criteria (except with a grammar you can never be sure if your dc will meet the selection criteria).

Yes. The risk with Bucks is that Dc don’t get into a grammar. Then there’s the primary school issue too. The best ones are full.

Bucks grammar school children do no better than similar children in a good Herts/Berks comprehensive. But the Berks/Herts children didn't have to take the 11+ and risk going to a secondary modern. I too would just move as close as possible to a comprehensive in a market town that has had good results for many years (double checking what the admissions requirements and last distance admitted have been for the past few years). Ideally somewhere where you're likely to get a good primary school place.

Define similar children? Aylesbury High has amazing progress 8. Higher than Tring School. Where are the stats to say higher achievers do better in the border schools? I doubt there’s a huge difference but parents are happy with the best secondaries in Bucks and some of them are better than comps elsewhere. You just have to choose carefully.