Worried about moving to Wokingham / Reading for primary school.

[babiesx3]

Hi all mums, (I am new to this site ).

We are slightly worried about buying a house (approx. £500k) and making the wrong decision about the school and area. We would like our kids to go to a grammer later on so going to a feeder primary with extra tuition is probably our best option?

My husband works in Reading, we have a 2.5 year old girl, a 10 month old baby girl and have another baby on the way . We have done a bit of research and thinking about moving from London to either Reading or Wokingham so any feedback from parents in the area would be good. We are looking to buy next month or January hopefully.

Why are you so set on a grammar school and having to do difficult commutes and not having friends in the neighbourhood?
If only about 2% are likely to get a grammar school place then all the grammar school ability children are in the local comprehensives.
If you look at Edgebarrow ( not a school I know) they had pupils go to Oxford this year to do biochemistry and English, one do Maths at Warwick, medicine at Imperial - I didn't look further.
You child is young. What if they were in Bucks and didn't pass? Have you contemplated that they might be in the sec mod?

We used to live in Crowthorne (after a stint in West Berkshire). It is an amazing area to bring up kids. So many fabulous things to do. You have access to the Royal forest right from your doorstep which is amazing for cycling, dog walking or just playing. I would thoroughly recommend it.

The commute from Reading can be busy but nothing unusual for the area and I wouldn't say it was a deal breaker.

I don't really know the schools as I worked in Wokingham at the time and DH worked at Wellington, however, I don't think you would go far wrong. The sort after comprehensive in the area is Charters but I'm not sure where you have to live to get in there- may be very expensive in catchment.

You would have to live in the Ascot, Sunningdale, Sunninghill area to get places at Charters.
Maiden Erlegh is in the top 500 state schools.
I should stop thinking that a grammar school is important and really look at the comprehensives in the area. Well over 90% of the local children will be in them.

That is the Times top 500.

Hi Op, just wondered if you had considered Twyford at all? It's one stop from Reading on train, takes about 10 minutes. Also on the main line to London (trains take less than half an hour at peak times) and due to get Crossrail if that will be of any use.

Primary and junior schools in the village used to be rated outstanding, as did the local secondary, I don't know if they still are.

I'd just reiterate what everyone else said, it is unusual to take the 11 plus in order to get to grammar school in Berkshire, just because places are so limited. The situation seems to be very different in Bucks, where I think everyone has to take the 11 plus. Everyone seems to really rate William Borlase in Marlow, but think the commute to Reading would be a bit of a nightmare and house prices in Marlow are high.

Twyford, Charvil and Wargrave are nice. Really easy access to Reading too.
Robert Piggot Secondary is one of the best secondarys around here too.

I live in Caversham and really rate it for being a nice place to live with lots to do. It's also a really easy walk or cycle into Reading as they've just opened a new pedestrian/bike bridge over the river from the park. The main downsides are the traffic and house prices.

But if is on your radar as a place to live, you'd need to look very carefully at the Council website regarding their allocations and the distances to primary schools as they are nearly all oversubscribed. Being in catchment is not enough.

Thanks again for the advice. After much thought we have narrowed our search down to two houses in two areas not far from each other within catchment of good schools (I hope) (we didn't like the Woosehill house):

Crowthorne
4 / 5 bed detached home which looks nice from the outside is 1,350 sq ft (126.5 sq mts) but has a very small garden. (see attached B&W map)
Nearest primary schools (in order) are Hatch Ride Primary, Oaklands Junior and Crowthorne CofE primary.
Nearest secondary schools are Edgbarrow School and
Ranelagh School.

Finchampstead
3 bed link detached home which isnt as nice from the outside but is bigger at 1600 sq ft (150 sq mts) and has a 90 foot garden. (see attached COLOUR map)
Nearest primary schools (in order) are Nine Mile Ride, Finchampstead CofE and Gorse Ride Junior
Nearest secondary schools are St Crispin's School, The Holt School, The Embrook School, Yateley School and Ranelagh School (not all close but in catchment I think)

Our top priorities are education for our girls followed by a nice safe family area. Your thoughts on these two areas and these schools is much appreciated . We keep flipping between the two and can't make our mind up! Are there pro's and cons between the two or are they pretty much similar?

Be aware that Ranelagh is CofE and over subscribed - you will need to be very active members of the church ( fine if you are already).
Be sure which catchment area you are in in Finchampstead - it may be impossible to get a place if you are not living in the wrong catchment. e.g it is not in the Holt (girls only) catchment.

Finchampstead is not all the same catchment.

It's also a cultural desert. Activities to do with your family in Reading are limited to shopping at the Oracle or sitting in traffic caused by other people who are trying to get to the Oracle.

That's not true. There's the museum (www.readingmuseum.org.uk/) - they've had some nice exhibitions. Blake's Lock museum (www.readingmuseum.org.uk/collections/seeing-our-collections/riverside-museum-blake-lock/), MERL (www.reading.ac.uk/merl/) - due to reopen early 2016. Good walks along the river and round the Abbey. Plus it's easy to get into London or to lots of other places nearby.

By the time your children are secondary age, the Bohunt School at Arborfield will be fully established, and probably your nearest secondary if you went for Finchampstead.

www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/bohunt-education-trust-run-new-9606793

Schools also change a lot. In 10/11yrs they may be completely different.

Kendrick is becoming more and more like a super selective. I wouldn't judge any school based on how many children they got into the Reading Grammars in previous years. You are 8yrs away from grammar tests. The school in special measures today may well be the outstanding beacon by the time your eldest tries out for grammar.
The Holt has a fantastic reputation considering it doesn't select. I think you should consider being in this catchment for a bit of security. It is still in catchment for Kendrick.

I also wouldn't judge how easy it might be by relatives who passed 20yrs ago esp those in other grammar areas. Some of the bucks/lincs/Essex grammars take around 20%; vastly different from Kendrick.
Thousands of girls will try out for less than 100 places. Many many very bright girls will not get in even if heavily tutored.

Sorry, I didn't read your last post. I much preferred Wokingham to Finchampstead as the latter just seemed like endless houses to me. Although I remember it was very green with lots of tall trees. Ranelagh is CofE and will really only consider families with a strong record of church attendance. I still think your best bet is buying well in catchment for Holt then at least you know that if Kendrick doesn't come off you have an excellent high achieving back up. The holt school has many very bright girls who just weren't insanely bright enough for Kendrick. Go and visit. I found it very vibrant.

All the comprehensives in the area have many extremely bright pupils- only a handful are creamed off to the grammar schools.

Finchampstead is nice and Yateley school has been fantastic for my DD, several children walking away with a pile of top grade GCSEs. No idea what it will be like by the time you get there though.

I was nearly run over in Yateley Waitrose car park by an elderly guy who could barely see. The police and an ambulance came for him because he seemed in shock and it became apparent that he could barely see beyond the front of the car.
He was very lucky he got away with a near miss.

No one can tell what a school will be like in 10years time- all you can do is hope that if it is good now it remains that way.

Agree with PPs. I think you're really overthinking the school thing tbh.

We moved 16 years ago to Bucks not even knowing it had a GS system (we were in a rush) and DS got into a GS here with no trouble. It turned out he loathed it and would have been much happier in the comprehensive in Henley.

Honestly, go for a nice environment for your children, focus on giving them lots of fun and extra support if they need it, if they're bright they'll do just as well at a good comp as in GS without all the stress!

I used to work in Wokingham and the Forest and Hurst have excellent reputations. I wouldn't go to Reading as the town itself is a bit meh. Twyford would be quite good, both for the nice environment and commute for your DH. The Piggot School at Twyford has a good rep.

Hi, this is very late I know but I've just spotted your message and had to respond as I may have some relevant experience.

We also moved from South Bucks to the Wokingham area, several years ago now - we were in a village near Amersham.

My children are at primary school in Farley Hill (amazing school, both flying there), I have a very academic daughter who is in Year 6 and she sat the Kendrick exam last year (and passed), but we've decided she's going to Bohunt for various reasons.

You've probably already moved by now and got children in to a school, but if any of my experiences would be relevant, do feel free to ask! Good luck with it all. :-)

Would recommend Goring Primary school (Goring station, just a couple of stops from Reading). Rank 50th top Primary school in the UK for SATS results last year (70% got level 5 and above). Good Ofsted report, academic focused. I think a couple from year 6 last year got into Reading Boys and Kendrick school. Good luck!

Hello we are thinking to move to wokingham area from norfolk, and i saw your post a while back and wonder which area did you choose at the end? Also which school are you sending your little ones to? many thanks for your help

Hello, we are moving to wokingham area and wonder if anyone can give some insights on where to live and which primary schools are good, both private and state schools? Its 2019 now, so im wondering if information posted here before is relevant? many thanks for your help