Grammar School

[reyansh27]

Hello,
My son is in year 3 and we are based in Pinner. I am very confused about all the grammar schools (admission procedure) should we aim to get it and when should I start preparing him for 11+? Is it worth putting him in Tuition classes from now and then he loses his interest by then?

Which grammar school I should be focussing on? I am unable to afford Private schools so out of the question. Can someone please guide me with the processes and the school and the tuition classes?

Thank you,
Anxious and worried mum

We did online group tutoring which was less expensive than 1:1 and my son enjoyed it.

We were late to the party so did not start til March in Year 5. One of the kids in his group had started in Year 3 and was doing private and group tutoring!

I guess its a balance of ; how smart your child is, what the competition is like, whether you have a viable fall back and how much tutoring they can stomach and you can afford!

@reyansh27 , look at the website elevenplusexams.co.uk for more info.

Pinner is not in catchment for any grammar schools. Your only chance (if your child passes) are a handful of schools with no catchment. More info on here.

https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/11plus/viewtopic.php?t=63212

Or you could move to Bucks which has a full county grammar system and not so academically selective. Some schools require you to be living in catchment two years before the application deadline though.

You are looking at starting secondary school in September 2027, for which, schools must determine their admissions policy by the end of February 2026. So two whole cycles of the possibility that the policy for any school can change significantly from what it is currently (for example, the formerly priority area-free Colchester County High School for Girls announced recently that oversubscription criteria for girls starting in September 2025 will include giving priority to girls applying from within a certain radius of the school - a pretty big radius, as state school priority admissions areas go, but nevertheless excluding the further flung boroughs of he eastern part of Greater London from where parents are currently happy to send their DC on a 90+ mile round trip every day, just for the cachet of a grammar school place).

Although it is highly unlikely that QE Barnet (the currently score-order only boys grammar usually targeted by those living in the Pinner area) will go wild and decide to prioritise their local population for places at the school - but then, probably not a lot of us around Essex would'a thunk it about CCHSG, to be honest - they have plenty of time to do so before 2027 entry. Going the other way, most (?all) of the grammar schools in Slough mainly allocate places based on priority areas, as do all the Buckinghamshire grammar schools and the partially-selective comprehensive schools in the SW Herts Consortium.

Possibly, the most sensible thing would be to start off by moving to an area which actually has grammar schools as part of the local system, if you are determined that your DS should have the opportunity of attending one?
(Cross-posted with @DibbleDooDah )

@reyansh27Move to Bucks. You might not get the primary you want but everywhere is catchment for at least one grammar. Not all have residency requirements but I would move asap. All the grammars are outstanding or good here so all are desirable. You need to look at secondaries though in case you don’t secure a grammar place or be within a decent commute to a private school, of which Bucks doesn’t have many. So planning is necessary.