Bovingdon Primary Academy

[londonkids]

We are looking at moving to Berkhamsted but have just seen a great house in a Bovingdon, but know very little about the area or schools. I looked online and it seems that Bovingdon has a great Academy but the Head is leaving after 17 years. Does anyone know the school and who will take over and do parents think this will be negative for the school? I am a practising Catholic so the other school we would look at in Berkhamsted would be St Thomas More, does anyone have any insight into this school? We would ideally want our children to go to Berkhamsted Private School for secondary or if they turned out to be bright to go to a Buckinghamshire Grammar, but I understand that they'd need tutoring, where we live now in London it's very hard to find an available tutor and you have to put your child's name down years in advance so I'm not sure what the deal is with tutor's in Berkhamsted / Bovingdon. Thank you very much for any advice.

Hi londonkids

We moved from Berkhamsted to Bovingdon 2.5 years ago, mainly due to Bovingdon Primary Academy. We moved as you get more for your money in Bovingdon. Many people in Berkhamsted don't get their first choice of primary schools.

Bovingdon is a village and Berkhamsted is a town, so it is not fair to compare the two. However, we are in Berkhamsted all the time. You don't have to live in the town to enjoy it.

My daughter has just finished Reception at Bovingdon Primary Academy. We are happy with it. It us a teaching school, now an Academy. Was rated last as outstanding. It is respected locally. Good key stage results. The children are well behaved, and my daughter is challenged academically. I know one person who moved their child from private to Bovingdon Primary Academy, as they couldn't see the value in private.

Bovingdon Academy is not a religious school,but does teach Christian values and pupils sometimes go to the church.

The deputy head is taking over from the old head. She has been at the school for many years. Time will tell what she brings, she has big shoes to fill, as the outgoing head is v strong.

One word of warning; the secondary schools are not great around here in my opinion. Though Kings Langley school is about to get a multi million pound overhaul in 2016. In Berkhamsted, Ashlyn's which is a state school is not fantastic either. We are thinking of moving to Chorleywood for St Clement Danes, or going private with Abbots Hill (all girls in Hemel)

I don't think there is such a wait for tutors here compared to London. Buses go from both Bovingdon and Berkhamsted to Chesham Grammar.

Good luck. Hope that helps

I can recommend you a really good tutor if you PM me.

I think that Bovingdon Academy is in a strong position as it is in a synidicate with another local outstanding school - The Hammond.

As far as secondary schools go, schools go up and down rapidly. People I know with children at Ashlyns and Kings Langley are happy with it. I believe that these schools are improving rapidly as children from the villiages are no longer able to get places at the Hemel Hempstead School. The Hemel Hempstead School seems to be entering a difficult patch and the replies on Parentview are quite negative. Since the OP is a practicing catholic she has the option of J F Kennedy School which has an excellent repruation.

Lots of Bucks parents don't have individual tutors as the Bucks 11+ is not Maths, English etc. There are tutors who take groups of children. You can have an individual tutor but bright children often don't need it! They need exam technique more than anything. They need to be quick and accurate. You could look at somewhere like Ley Hill in Bucks and then you would know what standard 11+ children in Buckinghamshire.