Please help me decide home location: Bucks vs Barnet

[mumnme]

Hi mums, we want to buy a home.
Our kid will start primary school soon and we are academically oriented - going to send our child to state school only. And would like to give our child the opportunity to get into a grammar school if they'd prefer in the future. I understand it's too early to think about this but we do not want to be under pressure for moving houses at high school stage.
We commute to central london for work thrice a week.

I'd appreciate if you can help me with any of the following questions:

1. What are your views on on the area we should pick: Southgate vs Amersham?
2. Does the quality of state primary teachers and education differ in Bucks vs Barnet?
3. Any parents with first hand experience of Little Chalfont Primary School or Ashmole 'Primary' School.. I'd love to hear your reviews of the school(s).

Thank you for your help.

@mumnme I think the poster is confused. I suspect she’s talking about the school in Bell Lane, Little Chalfont that’s Chalfont VALLEY EACT Academy. It’s had a very chequered past and has turned the corner. Ivingswood in Chesham has also had decades of issues and various name changes and fresh starts! CV Academy is NOT Little Chalfont Primary. It serves a very different area and I have no idea if what the poster says is true regarding the CV Academy.

Little Chalfont Primary has been popular for ages and has fantastic results. My only reservation would be whether being average there might feel below average. You must live in catchment at YR application time for this school. If anyone is moving with a baby, it’s possible to plan. With dc already at school it’s highly unlikely some schools mentioned will have vacancies. Bucks c c maintains a vacancies list.

Oh gosh, you are completely right, I have confused the two schools.

I have just looked more closely and I don't know Little Chalfont School at all and it was Chalfont Valley that I was thinking of.

I should have noticed that posters were saying 2011 when the inspection happened, it was 2019 and they were rated as Good.

Apologies.

That’s ok! I’m amazed anywhere was last inspected in 2011 though! Obviously ofsted is very slowly working through outstanding schools but their data is good so I guess Little Chalfont has not been a priority.

Most of Southgate comes under Enfield but the rest is Barnet.

Many children living in Southgate, Enfield attend schools in Barnet and vice versa

@mumnme so ignoring the poster who made an honest mistake in confusing 2 schools, the truth is that Little Chalfont primary school is excellent and you needn't have any concerns about it at all.

As mentioned in my earlier post, Uber does not operate in Amersham, though other taxi firms do.

Thank you all for your help so far. We decided to go ahead with Amersham/little Chalfont region.

@thing47 , @TizerorFizz thank you for your amazing inputs. Can you also help me decide between “Little chalfont primary school (LCPS)” vs “Chestnut+Elangeni” ? Chestnut’s latest ofsted shows ‘good’ on a couple of parameters. It used to be outstanding on all parameters earlier. Elangeni is rated good. LCPS seems outstanding but last inspection is quite old. Would you say the chestnut+elangeni combination is still quite comparable to and at par with LCPS?

Would also love to hear from any other mums who might be able to help here. Thank you :)

Have you looked at other parts of Barnet? High Barnet’s really pretty and the primary schools are great. Quick tube ride into Central London and you can always get a seat.

The two of mine who were wholly educated in the area did the Chestnut Lane/Elangeni combo - it was brilliant for one, less good for the other (we had to make a fuss about their unwillingness to accommodate their disability, but obviously that was a specific circumstance relevant to us but maybe not to you. No complaints about the actual teaching).

Both have secondary school friends who went to Little Chalfont and we've never heard of any problems at all. So, yes overall I.would say they are.probably on a.par - both will give you a decent shot at the grammars (one of ours went, one didn't).

Disclaimer: mine are all in their mid-20s now so you may well find posters with more relevant recent experience!

They are very different areas to compare.
it depends if you prefer somewhere busier and more urban than quiet countryside.

I haven't got much experience of Chestnut Lane but Elangeni is consistent and a good school. The catchment is quite solidly middle class which means behaviour is rarely an issue. Some of the SLT are a bit up themselves I found. I preferred Chesham Bois as a supply, although I'm not generally a fan of religious schools.

I definitely am not confusing any names this time.