Amersham/Chesham , bucks - schools?

[busymummy10]

We are looking at homes in the Amersham and Chesham areas but was wandering what the schools and results in that area are like? Do you have to live at the doorstep of a good school to get in as you do in London right now? My DD is 3yrs but we would want to stay long term so would be looking for good primary/junior as well as good secondary.
We think the house prices are reasonable than London but schools are a big issue for us.

Would be very grateful for any kind of advice.

I'll ask around... but given the choice of any local school in that area, I'd want to live near Chestnut Lane in Amersham, so I could get a DC in the Elangeni. I know catchment for Chestnut Lane is tight!

Hi I am also looking to move to Amersham from NW London and feeling a little apprehensive as I have been born and brought up in London. Just wondering whether anyone knows what the Grimsdell's Lane area is like and whether that would be close enough to get into Chestnut Lane?

My ds and ddil live in Chorleywood so not too far away.The Russell school is excellent for primary age and St Clement Dane's is one of the best comps in the country.

Thanks for all the feedback. We looked at a house yesterday on wood house road, nr Stanley hill (I think it was, just after the bridge anyway) house was nice but not sure which primary schools are around that area. It was near Amersham school. Are there any good primary schools on that side or should we really be looking at the other side of Amersham, it would be really disheartening to move near chestnut lane and then not get a place (although their results seem outstanding). Are there any other alternative primary schools/areas we could consider?

We were interested in Amersham because of the grammar and secondary schools. We are moving from busy London so a little hesitant about moving to a quiet area and wandering if there is lots to do around that area also.

We're in Chesham and the schools are OK at infant level and then you get Brushwood and Thomas Harding junior schools which are both outstanding. The town is in catchment for Challoner's boys and Chesham Grammar, though not sure about Challoner's girls.

Beware of the tutoring culture for 11+! It's endemic.

Yes it is quiet compared with London but you can easily get there on the tube or Chiltern line. There's a theatre in Chesham (Elgiva) which also has cinema nights. There's restaurants. That's it. Nearest cinemas are Wycombe, Hemel and Watford. Nearest big shopping centres are the same. If you are up a hill and it snows you can have interesting journeys especially if you drive. (Said with feeling!)
A lot of the pubs have closed down in the last 5 years. If I suddenly win £1m then I'll buy happily buy another house in the same area (though would probably need £2m these days). Probably in Chartridge. Good school there too! Hawridge and Cholesbury is also an excellent primary school I have heard.

Thanks for the tips. Will check out a Chesham as well. Will look into the schools you are mentioning. We definitely do not £1m or 2 to spare either!!!! I am kind of worrying as to whether we may get bored on the weekends.

Oh yes I have heard about the 11+ tutoring but I think it is the same everywhere. A little concerned about that. My DD is only 3yrs and I do want her to enjoy her childhood rather than being buried in books on the weekends. Do they start the tutoring really early? Around our way, I have heard of kids starting tutoring as early as 8yrs! Crazy!

2nd st Clement Danes

And I've heard that Hawridge & Cholesbury has just gone into special measures! So if you'd moved into the area a year ago for that school, you'd be feeling pretty fed up now. If you're moving now with a 3 year old, anything could have happened with local schools by the time she starts school, given the way Ofsted reports seem to be going at the moment. And if you end up with a separate infants and juniors, then all you need is for a Head to change and who knows what they juniors would be like in 4 years time.

I think that the Stanley Hill area is St George's Infants & Woodside Junior catchment, but don't quote me on it... I've never heard anything bad about either of them. I've only heard good about Clement Danes too - and being in Herts you don't have the whole 11+ madness to deal with.

I was once told there are no bad schools in Bucks, and on the whole I agree with it. There are better schools and less good schools, but the difference often comes down to individual preference & the social/cultural mix you are looking for. One person's bright, vibrant, multi-cultural school is another's nightmare.

If you are there for a long time, start with secondary. You need to choose between single-sex or mixed grammar schools (if you think that's where DD will end up). Although I think all the schools have very large catchments, I've heard that the school in Chesham tends to be less oversubscribed than Challoner's. I guess you've looked at prices, but Chesham is the cheapest option - and as the bigger town has a bigger supply of smaller houses. Little Chalfont (by Challoner's Girls) you can be paying £500K for a 3 bed semi.