Moving to Birmingham and registering for primary school

[Goodish]

Hi Everyone,

I am a single parent with a 10 year old daughter currently living in Cardiff, but have accepted a job in Birmingham University. I'm looking to move by the beginning of October to Edgbaston, to be close to my place of work.

I had a conversation with Birmingham council over schooling (as I'm not familiar with the school system in England) and was left in tears.
Apparently, all schools in that area and neighbouring areas are oversubscribed but I have to apply anyway in order to get a rejection and then be referred to the council. I will have no say where my daughter will end up and even then the registration process can take in excess of 3 weeks, during which time, my daughter has to stay at home, without any schooling at all.

As a single parent working full time, I need my daughter to be in a school near my place of work so pick up and drop off will not impact on my working hours. I also need breakfast club and afterschool club facilities but apparently I'm not guaranteed anything and they can't implement different rules just because of my circumstances.

I am at a complete loss. Any help and advice on schooling or alternative schooling (such as private schools that are more likely to offer scholarships), would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks

[Goodish]

For Primary schools:- so far I have rung several council primary schools in the Edgbaston, Harborne, Selly Oak and Bournville areas and they are all full. As time is running out, I made the ultimate sacrifice and contacted Edgbaston high school for admission into their prep school!
I'll be paying full fees and the rest, funded by the sale of my current house :(! It's only a temporary measure to get her into a Primary school as painlessly as possible (for my daughter anyway)!

[Goodish]

For high school, I've put her name down for the 11+ test for grammar schools which will be in February 2018. The grammar school admission for KEHS, said to put Camphill as a first choice and then Handsworth and also a state school such as Kings Norton high. They also recommended that it may be best to live in Selly Oak or Bournville to get a better chance of getting into a decent high school. I've also applied for the entrance exam for EHS in the hope she will get a scholarship for future studies.

I'm renting at least the first 6 months in Edgbaston but then hope to buy a house thereafter but where is the question :(?

Does anyone know much about Northfield/Kings Norton as areas or Kings Norton high school?

Any suggestions for ideal areas to live for the purpose of getting into a decent state school in case the grammar and private don't work out?

[Didiusfalco]

If it's that difficult in terms of school places have you thought about living by one of the other stops on the cross city line? I know lots of people who work at the university and do this. It's a fast and frequent train line and might give you more options.

[KingsHeathen]

I don't think they meant Kings Norton High! I think they mean Kings Norton Girls'. Two very, very different schools.

[KingsHeathen]

EHS have a second hand uniform shop, so don't go mad buying, just get from there. (The uniform suppliers are quite £££)
Will she sit for KEHS as well? Their exam will be first Friday of October and cutoff for application is usually c.24th September.
Was it the Foundation Office that said about the order on the form? Only that KEVI Five Ways is between CHG and Handsworth in the scores order. It's mixed, not girls only, but I'm assuming she was at mixed in Wales?

[KingsHeathen]

And shave you signed a tenancy agreement already? If you want any chance of KNG, you'll need to be Bournville, Selly Oak, Cotteridge. No part of Edgbaston would get you a place there, it's highly sought after, and the catchment has shrunk considerably in the last few years.

[BackforGood]

Agree they would have meant Kings Norton Girls School. Kings Norton High is now closed / renamed / taken over by an Academy.

There is a cross City train line which - as it says on the tin - goes across the City.

To the South
....New Street (Main City Centre station)
.... Five Ways..... (ignore - you don't want to live there)
....... University (where you will be working)
...... Selly Oak (this is the heart of the area where the students live, so not great as a family home
...... Bournville. Now, anywhere around Bournville station would be fine - to the one side you have Bournville (land owned by the Cadbury family. Nice, but expensive place to live) - on the other side you have Stirchley, which isn't as posh but is certainly not bad, and has all amenitities and good transport etc.
...... Kings Norton station is really in Cotteridge...... Cotteridge is next up from Stirchley. Lots of terraced houses. Nice for a family. Lot cheaper than some areas (it might help if we had an idea of budget). Again, lots going on.
..... Northfield.... some will tell you it is rough, but Northfield covers a really big area with some really quite nice parts to it. Around Northfield station for example, is quite nice.
...... Longbridge.... is the last stop. Is where the Austin / British Leyland car plant used to be and there was massive unemployment 15 years or so ago when it finally shut down. Odd place for a number of years as had no High Street. They are now regenerating and is supposedly 'on the up'.

In Birmingham we don't have fixed catchment areas - it goes on distance from the school as the crow flies, so look at the 'furthest admittance' for last few years as it varies year on year.

The grammar schools in Birmingham are few and far between - only about 2% I think it is get place, not like a 'grammar school area' so keep that in mind, and also the fact that a high % of those that get in have been trained for the tests for years.

Kings Norton Girls - as mentioned - has quite a small catchment area considering it isn't universally acclaimed.

If you want to let us know what you would be looking to spend on a house (to buy or rent) we can perhaps guide you to some ideas ? Thing being, you can only apply once you have an address, I believe.

[SellFridges]

I think KNGS has a catchment of about 1km.

We are just round the corner, certainly in catchment, so tell if you need advice. You'd be looking at anything between £180k-£500k for a house round here. Two bed terraces closer to the Pershore Rd at the lower end and four bed Victorian or BVT houses at the top end.

[Goodish]

My worry is that I have to apply for high school whilst living outside the catchment, but it makes no sense to rent far from where my daughters school and my work is!!!

I can rent within walking distance of both as it stands.

I will have to inform the council that I have had a change of address in the spring in hope of getting to the right secondary, though not sure how they will take that. In Wales, we don't really have grammar schools, so she won't be prepared in the slightest for it, but she is bright as a button so I'm hoping she'll pull through, along with help from an overpriced private school off course!

My budget would be maximum around £260k after the sale of my current home. High on my wish list is a big garden as me and my mum frequently hold charity plant sales, which I hope to continue in Birmingham . Though head will always rule over heart!

[Goodish]

My daughter has a pre-admission assessment for EHS on Thursday 21st September, so that is my time to secure a rental house as I should receive my work contract earlier that week, or so I have been told.

I will also make sure I have a map with me and drive round the areas close to the station to get a feel for the distances and areas in general.

[Goodish]

I have spoken this morning to Bourneville School, that is also an option I guess if Kings Norton Girls is more selective.

[SellFridges]

Bournville School has recently been re-named and academised after a poor Ofsted I believe. It's is a straight through school - infants to secondary now though. It previously did not have a good reputation. Dame Elizabeth Cadbury would also be an option and some prefer it.

[KingsHeathen]

EHS will not prepare her for the entrance tests for grammars because a) everyone else sat the test last weekend b) they want their pupils to stay and continue with them and pay fees
KEHS have open morning on Saturday 23rd September, and that will be the last day for application for their entrance exams. However, if you want financial assistance, you have to apply with a slightly earlier date- check their website, it's very informative and comprehensive.
If you inform BCC of a change of address in spring, you will miss out on allocations, and be a late applicant for any school you want. Allocations go out on March 1st.

Grammar entrance isn't about being bright, it's about being fast at answering questions. Which requires preparation.

[Rookery]

Congrats on the new job. This does all sound stressful, but I'm sure you'll find a way through.

I'm assuming you mean the private school exam entrance test in Feb? As KingsHeathen says, the 11+ exam for 2018 entry to non-fee paying grammars was last weekend and, as far as I know, there's no option to sit it late.

Don't discount Bournville's neighbour, Stirchley, when you look: solid post-war housing stock around the improbably named Pineapple Road, with big-for-a-city gardens, but cheaper than Bournville or Kings Heath. Bikable to Bham uni.

I cycle into the city every day along a National Cycle Route and my kids walk up to Bournville to get the train to school. Loads of academics from UOB (and elsewhere) live here.

[KingsHeathen]

Rookery- I believe there is a small sitting of the grammar school entrance exam in Jan/Feb for children that move into the authority after the exam has happened. But of course, one has to "waste" all the choices on the common preference form on grammar schools without knowing what the child will score, as the deadline is end of October.

[KingsHeathen]

Meant to say also that KEVI Five Ways have their open evening tomorrow (Friday), KNG is on Monday. KEVI CHG and Handsworth will be soon too.

[Whatthesausage]

Northfield and Kings Norton are very similar, areas of affluence but then some very deprived parts, but some lovely primary schools in both, and about 10-15 mins in a car to university of birmingham, I know most the schools in Northfield are very well catered in terms of wrap around care, and very reasonable prices too. Good luck with your move. Happy for you to message if you need any specific info I know south Birmingham very well x

[Whatthesausage]

Also consider alvechurch and barnt green on cross city line too, very nice areas

[Frescoed]

No advice on schools, but we live at the Northfield end of Bournville, walking distance from Northfield and King’s Norton railway stations, both about 10 minutes by train to the Uni train station (and 20minutes into the city). Communte by car to the Uni would depend on what time, but probably about 20 minutes in rush hour traffic up the A38. Much faster if not. Northfield has a functional, though not smart, High St including an Aldi and large Sainsburys. Bournville is lovely, lots of parks and green spaces, nice community feel, etc. My neighbours are just moving up the road to Northfield proper and have bought a lovely house. You get more for your money than in the posh bits of Edgbaston/Harborne, and we have nothing like the parking hell that Harborne is.

[Frescoed]

Oops, plus we have a big garden! Bournville Village Trust houses (it’s a big area, not just the conservation area around the village centre) mostly have very good gardens.

[KalaLaka]

Bournville all through school would not be my first choice. Bournville school is very good, but I doubt there'd places.

Have you tried st josephs? It's catholic but may accept you if there's a place. All schools need the funding too! Are you catholic? May open lots of possibilities. Or cotteridge school? That's very good.

Secondary: uni of bham looks good. Weird selection process regarding small catchment zones. Kings norton girls is good. St. Paul's (edgbaston) is amazing but you'd need to be catholic. I'd avoid Bournville all through school and Dame Elizabeth, personally.

[Goodish]

Thank you so much for the helpful advice.

My daughter has been offered a place in EHS for Y6. The Headmistress was very open about the fact that my daughter is unlikely to pass the Y7 entry exam as whilst all her answers are correct, she is very slow to work through them :(!

My plan is therefore this: EHS for Y6 but then rent a house within 1.2 miles of Kings Norton girls so that she can secure a place there for Y7 at least!

I made the mistake of taking my daughter to the EHS open day and she is convinced that's the only school she'll go to. The Ofsted report doesn't show Kings Norton Girls to be particular better than any other state school! Does anyone have kids there who might be able to offer some insight into the school/pupils?

Any other state school that may be better for higher education?

[Goodish]

I'm back in Birmingham on Monday to look for accomodation and I hope to move the week of 9th October :)!

Looking forward and scared at the same time. I've never lived outside of South Wales before!

[cottonwoolbrain]

Goodish I've sent you a message - hopefully helpful :)

[SellFridges]

I'm glad you're on the way to getting sorted. We live very close to KNGS and I hear exclusively good things, the only complaint seems to be that it isn't mixed which I can't really accept as criticism! DD will go there assuming she doesn't get into grammar. I get a good feeling from the girls in a morning when they're walking past and the few older girls I know are very happy there - they are all involved in drama and arts.