Essex grammars

[Daylight7777]

Hello

i posted a similar thread re Bucks/Slough/Kent grammars. Where is it optimal to live for best access to these in Essex? I have a DS and need easy access to the City for work. Thinking of Leigh on Sea but not sure how the boys grammars there compare to the Chelmsford grammars…views sought pleae! Thank you

Leigh (or the Southend conurbation) gives you two Westcliff Highs (one for boys, one for girls) and two Southend Highs. The area has two lines into the City, one going into Fenchurch St, one into Liverpool St. You could choose to live somewhere with access to both lines to avoid problems if one line is down.

Not sure if the Southend grammars good as Chelmsford ones. You need to check. Chelmsford better for commuting I’d have thought.

If you are moving to get your child into one of the Essex Grammars, be aware that the marks they'd need for the Chelmsford and Colchester schools are a lot higher than the Southend and Westcliff schools (unless you are looking at Out of Catchment places for those schools of course.) Take a look at the 11+ forums too.

@ElvenDreamer thank you, I suspected that re the Southend grammars v Chelmsford etc.
personally would prefer to be in catchment for the Chelmsford Colchester grammars but like the idea of living in LoS!

Chelmsford is the county town (gained city status at the Queen's diamond jubilee) and has good rail links to the City of London. The grammar schools are King Edward VI Grammar School for boys (KEGS) and Chelmsford County High School for girls (CCHS). They are just a short walk along Broomfield Road from each other, and maybe a 15 minute walk from the city centre and the train station.

Two of my three DDs went to CCHS, which both liked and it is very good. I often heard the same for KEGS, although I have no boys.

When my DDs were at CCHS (the Chelmsford one, not Colchester 😃) it did not operate on a catchment area system, just what results you got for the 11+ or for your GCSEs (if joining as an external in sixth form). It didn't otherwise matter where you lived provided that your child could get to school, though it did mean that home - school transport wasn't state funded at all and we had to pay for it.

I suppose things could have changed though, so check that. The former headmistress did make rumblings about it now and then.

No idea how the Southend grammars compare to the Chelmsford/Colchester ones but we are in Leigh and have been happy with Southend High School for Boys.

I wanted him to go to Westcliff High but he chose Southend because that's where most of friends were going. He got great GCSE results anyway so we are happy.

It seems to me that Westcliff suits the more studious types and Southend the sporty and more socially confident boys. Westcliff seems more academically pushy to me. Southend is big on them being self starters which can be frustrating if ,like me you have a boy who often needs a rocket up him. The pastoral care at Southend has been very good in my experience.

There are other local schools that offer places in their grammar stream ( Thomas Moore and one other I forget the name of ) and the independent school Thorpe Hall in Thorpe Bay has just started offering a grammar stream too.

If you are looking at primaries in Leigh - West Leigh had a reputation for being a bit of an 11 plus factory but I've no idea if it still is. Chalkwell and North St also send a few each year to the grammars.

Leigh is a fabulous place to live and raise children and even the non grammar schools are pretty good options. You also have the option of King John school in Benfleet if they pass the out of catchment selection test. Eastwood school ( ofsted outstanding) also offers places for children who pass a selection test in the performing arts or sport.

Many Chelmsford kids travel to the Southend grammars as do many from the London boroughs.

The Southend grammars are great and in general I agree that Southend boys might better suit sportsmen and westcliff for academics. I know westcliff try to cater to certain special needs eg d nephew had dyspraxia, and got to Cambridge via westcliff. Kids travel from all over for the Southend schools with even Tommy Mores (Catholic but open to all) attracting lots of students from London.
Lots of kids swap about at 6th form and DS did his 6th form at Southend high school for girls as it was closer to home and he wanted a change. All excellent schools.

@Daylight7777 the CSSE website will give you lots of info too, that's the consortium that does the test for most of the schools, CCHS (Chelmsford girls) is the exception, they do their own test but if you only have a boy you won't need to worry about that! The Chelmsford schools are 95% catchment (which is something like a 12 mile radius from the school) in score order of course, and then final 5% on score only, meaning OOC have to have scores through the roof. Colchester schools are super selective so for example if you wanted to get best chance of either, get yourself in catchment for KEGS as there isn't a catchment for Colchester. My back ground is one DC in Chelmsford, one in Colchester (their choice) OOC for anything.