What are your favourite Oxford Secondary Schools and where do you live to get in to them?

[CrouchEndLovely]

I am coming to Oxford tomorrow to recce areas to live with my two children aged 8 and nearly 10 (we are moving from North London and I'm a single parent so this decision feels really quite big!).

It is really important to me that we are able to apply to a good state secondary but it is so hard to work out where to live to ensure a place. The catchments look so different to London on paper but I suspect there are the same oversubscription issues!

So I'd love to hear your views - Is Cherwell really the best? Do you love somewhere else and why? Where do you live, do you love it?, and what feeder Primaries ensure a place?

My location is really wide open right now and I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I have no personal experience as my kids are home educated. Cherwell is far and away the most popular, but I know some kids who really dislike it. I guess houses which are close enough to guarantee a place at Cherwell are very expensive.

The local primaries are bursting at the seams due partly to the change in demographics but also to the council's decision some years ago to close the middle schools and sell the sites, which now feels very short-sighted. So before you make your careful plans, check where the available primary places actually are. It may be a case of having to take whatever you are offered. Even getting both children into the same primary school could be a challenge.

Many people are preferring to avoid the whole headache by living in nearby towns where you can actually get a school place without too much stress.

oops sorry I thought this was a recent post! I guess you'll have figured it out by now!

Best schools wheatley park and Rye st antony if you have bright children mine got three A levels at A star