Bucks VS Herts state education (primary & secondary)

[Myrah20]

Hi,

We’re looking to locate towards either Bucks or Herts to be closer to my parents, who live in Harrow. I’m not interested in grammar schools for my child (if we go to Bucks), however would like to know if there are good non-selective secondary schools. DD is nearly 3, however has speech delay and is awaiting an ASD assessment. In the event she doesn’t have it, or we’re not able to get an EHCP (as it might not be as severe as others), my main interest is a reasonable mainstream primary/secondary school with good SEN support. We will continue with private speech sessions in Stanmore, Middlesex so hence why access to West London is ideal. Once she turns 4, she will also have regular tutoring to help her. Have looked into private primary schools too, however it’s not a must and am not sure if there is huge support for SEN from my online search?

We both drive, so commuting isn’t a huge issue (into west London), however ideally around the 1 hour time frame (or less). I work in healthcare, so would like to have options for NHS and private. Husband drives for work (public transport), so doesn’t affect him too much.

We probably wouldn’t want somewhere too rural, however London life is also too fast pace for us. So maybe something in the middle? Easy access to shops, lots of things to do for kids, with parks etc.

We have already visited Chesham, Great and Little Missenden, Amersham, Aylesbury, Beaconsfield, High Wycombe, Milton Keynes & Watford.
Have also looked at lots of threads on here, however now that we’re considering Herts too I’m getting confused as we have too many options.

Current aim is a good primary school, with good support from the schools regarding bullying etc is also something we would appreciate advice on. As we’re not able to move until late next year, we might have to apply for year 1/2 entry. Somewhere with a good community feel, and ideally families with young kids. Will be thinking of expanding family too, so hopefully there will also be nurseries locally. But once we have more ideas on places, further research will be carried out lol.

Likely renting first; once we’ve settled and get a better feel for a more permanent place, we will look to buy (budget around £380K 3 bed home). Budget might increase a bit once we’ve settled, as income will be a bit higher.

Please let me know if you require any further information. Hope I’ve given as much info as possible.

Many thanks in advance for any advice.

Letchworth Garden City is worth a look. Lots of parks, nurseries, shops etc. There are a lot of primary schools there and obviously it will depend on distance as to which ones you look at, but I'm sure there is lots of advice on here as to which are best for specific support needs. If you wanted to go down the independent route, you are near Kingshott school, which goes up to age 13.

Hey,
Thanks for the tip; I will look into it. Haven’t heard of Letchworth Garden City.

Any further ideas? 🙂

If you're not interested in grammar schools, I'd suggest to avoid Bucks. As much as it is a lovely place to live, it's a fully selective county so the non-grammar schools are generally less-well performing than good comprehensive schools in non-selective counties, especially in the cheaper areas like Aylesbury.

Hey, thank you for this. I think this will likely push us towards Hertfordshire. I will keep looking and start visiting some places soon.

Perhaps have a look at Tring? Really lovely town and very good schools. £380k might be too low for 3 bed though.

For access to west London bucks is definitely better. The m40/a40 is direct. Herts you might have to do the M25 first which would add lots of time to your commute.

Avoid Bucks if you are not looking for grammar schools. They distort the whole education system in the borough. Herts has a bit more of a mix although any borough with grammars will have a distortion in its "high schools".

If your budget goes up when settled is it likely to bring North Hillingdon or the outer part of Harrow Borough into scope? Close to parents and with comprehensive schools system, generally good outcomes. However with special needs check the local parents' networks wherever you go - they can be good or bad quite independent of the general quality of schools.

Letchworth is lush it really is. Slightly cheaper though are Hitchen and Baldock. Beds has middle schools which might interest you. Stotfold is really cute.

Letchworth also has private options of st Christopher School (I'm an old scholar) and St francis (girls)
My family are from north herts.

I live on the Herts/Bucks border (near Amersham and Rickmansworth). There's lot of good state schools but you'd be looking at a minimum of £700-800k for a 3 bed.

You can get the Met Line into Baker Street or chiltern to Marylebone in around 30 minutes.

Letchworth is cheaper than Hitchin as the secondary schools aren't great compared to Hitchin.

All of Herts (excepting Stevenage and surrounds) are going to be tough in your budget. Just to confuse things more... you could go to south Bedfordshire and then that's reasonable prices.

Biggleswade/ Sandy have great commutes to London

Meppershall/ Shefford smaller villages

My first thought was that Hertfordshire may be tight on your budget. Have you considered crossing the border into Bedfordshire. Lots if lovely small towns and villages to consider and you’ll get more for your money.

Hitchin is great for schooling. I’d avoid Letchworth. Baldock is definitely a better bet than Letchworth, but not in the same league as hitchin. Don’t think about Stevenage.

Bishops Stortford has excellent schools, but is maybe too far east?

Tring has come up a few times; we will definitely visit it soon to check it out. I currently use the M25 a lot as we travel up from Hampshire regularly. I’m also very familiar with the M40/A40 - both can be very busy. I think ultimately we will accept that travelling into west London can be long lol. Main priority is finding a reasonable place to settle, with access to good schools.

That would be ideal; is there anywhere specific you’re thinking of in outer parts of Harrow & north Hillingdon? I will check out some specific schools with SEN support for primary and secondary; as long as there’s good support, then it’s not off the table completely. I think houses start from £420k in Harrow, but that’s quite central Harrow. I used to work in Harefield, Hillingdon many many years ago. I remember driving past a village on the bus back to Uxbridge station. We will have to re-evaluate house budget anyway once we move, as we will earn more but might have more expenses too. 🤷🏻‍♀️ We’re also open to moving into a 3-bed apartment; it doesn’t have to be a house straight away.

Thank you for all these options; will definitely add them to my list to check out.
St Christopher School has come up a few times on my online searches. I will need to visit them to ask about any SEN support they offer. It’s difficult, as DD is making huge progress at the moment and is now finally speaking in small sentences! Need to wait 9 months for the ASD assessment, to see where she sits. But either way, I guess it would be better to find a school with good SEN support in case anything changes.

Whilst the grammar school system does distort Bucks, a number of children in the non-grammars go on to get 7s, 8s & 9s for GCSE, get to do the same wide range of subjects albeit perhaps with more practical options, get to play plenty of sport, put on productions and all of those sorts of things as well as having the usual opportunities to be prefects. Provided you're in the catchment for one of the better non-grammars, many parents are delighted with the offering from the school and some like the fact that their child gets the confidence boost of being one of the more intelligent ones in the school when that wouldn't otherwise be the case.
Also, if you're not thinking about sending them to a grammar school, then there is no need to even sit the 11+. All of those in Bucks primary schools are automatically entered to take the 11+ but it is easy enough to withdraw them and a number do each year. Some are withdrawn because they have no chance of passing, some because the parents think the non-grammar would suit their child better and don't want to put them through the stress, some because they actively don't want their child to go to the grammar school. Even with those who do pass, not all opt for the grammar schools. Yes, for many families getting their child to grammar school is a big thing but it isn't for everyone.

Thank you for your reply. That will be way out of our budget, even if we did try and make it work somehow. Do you mean Chorleywood way? That area is very beautiful and I wish we could live there. It’s very local to my parents; only a 20 mins drive.
I won’t be working in central London (zones 1-3). The aim is to stick to west London hospitals & there’s lots of choice for private places. I want to avoid travelling by public transport if I can. I will be picking up DD after work & even where we live now, it’s easier with a car.

North Herts (Letchworth and surrounding areas) is not really convenient for Harrow. It's on the wrong train line (the line heading in to Euston would be better) and it's a fair haul to drive.

Sorry only just revisited this thread.

I was actually thinking of Harefield and parts of Uxbridge around the town. There is also the large Hillingdon Hospital and smaller Mount Vernon Hospital (specialist centre for burns, plastics and cancer) as well as Harefield Hospital (heart and thoracic - the old Bromtpon chest unit as well) so a large NHS and private health employment area. In Harrow I was thinking of the Weald area but I think that has gone up in prices in recent years. If you have lived in Harefield you will know that you are likely to need a car - you won't get the "amazing" London transport in the outer boroughs. What there is all goes in one direction.

That said, it would still depend on what you could do budget wise. Its going to be tight finding three beds without going up a bit. However there are three beds in Harefield around for upper 300s and lower 400s - this is a three bed not far from the hospital and high street in Harefield. It isn't huge but there are houses and maisonettes around this price and lower: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/138634082