Primary schools in Amersham/Chorleywood

[Movingsoon21]

DH and I are hoping to move to Amersham soon with 2 yr old DS. We're hoping to move into the catchment area for a good primary but not too far from the station. We'd heard the schools in Amersham are very good, so I was very surprised to see that only 1 school (Chesham Bois primary) is rated outstanding, and the catchment area isn't really where we were looking to move to.

So a few questions if anyone knows the area... are the other primaries also considered to be excellent even though not rated too highly by Ofsted? Do the primaries accept kids from outside their catchment or are they quite oversubscribed and therefore strict on catchment? Any other pointers from anyone local?

We're also looking at Chorleywood in case we can't find a house in Amersham, so any pointers for there would also be appreciated!

Thanks!

Chestnut Lane infants in Amersham is well thought off although often very oversubscribed so being in catchment does not always guarantee a place. Not in Amersham itself but I believe Little Chalfont primary is also Ofsted Outstanding. Again, being on catchment will not always be enough for a place.

Most of the primaries in the area have good reputations. The village schools are more likely to take out of catchment children. There's some really good admissions info on the Bucks website which sets out which children were admitted each year.

The station is a tricky area as it’s in the middle of the three schools!

Most of the Amersham ofsted reports are quite old. The ofsted framework has changed several times since and so have the leadership teams of the schools.

I’d go around the schools and see which one you like most. They should have all have open mornings soon.

If you’re also considering Chorley Wood, bear in mind Amersham is Bucks which is an 11+ county, whereas Chorley Wood is Herts and has the comprehensive system.

It might seem a long way off, but in Bucks people start tutoring their kids for 11+ from Yr 4 and lots of people wish they’d moved to areas like Chorley Wood which have some excellent and high achieving Comps. Bucks is an area where it’s fully Grammar (about 30%) and Secondary Modern (called High Schools) and even in the affluent areas, some of the secondary moderns are not brilliant.

So whilst primary is clearly on your radar, do think ahead to if you want to go down the 11+ route or not. It works for lots of people and some move specifically for the Grammars, but the majority won’t get in, and with very small children now it could be very difficult to gauge now if there will be a good chance or not.