Does anyone know if there's a map which shows whereabouts in the country the highest achieving state schools are?

[myredcardigan]

Just wondered if anyone knows if a map exists showing 'hotspots' of high achieving (not just academically but social/pastoral) schools. ie those graded 1 or a mixture of 1&2.
Just interested as we may have to move again soon.
Thanks

May do that, Nancy, thank you!
I think we will rent and the company will pay the rent. That's what always used to happen. We moved lock,stock and barrel here though as this was suppose to be long term.

Nancy I am the Best, I am not bragging its just what Which Mumsnetter Awards said.

I suspect I am drawn to this proposition because you called me 'Lass' and no-one has doem that for years!

you see flattery truth, it is a keystone of marketing.

Just a bump in case anyone else has come across such a thing.

Just a bump in case anyone else has come across such a thing.

Just a bump in case anyone else has come across such a thing.

You won't get many places where all the schools are outstanding. You probably want a list of LEAs. I think The Times does one. Kingston and Richmond always seem to do well. The Scilly Isles are a safe bet!

No such thing, but here are the "top performing" state primaries based on 2007 results according to the Times, by location. It wouldn't be hard to plot them, but rather happily they are fairly widespread:

Farnham
Cheadle
Durham
Goole
Skelmersdale
London
Prenton
Bury
Preston
Blaydo n-on-Tyne
Bolton
Orpington
Northampton
London
Kidlington
Bath
Warrington
Liverpool
Oakham
Marlow
Machester
Wirral
Morecombe
Farnham
Leeds
Huntington
London
London
Tunbridge Wells

The problem with a list is that some of the places mentioned would also be on the 'worst performing' list!

Thank you both. It's just some LEAs (esp urban ones) can have a cluster of excellent primaries and be generally good overall whilst the LEA next door could be shockingly poor.
I'm in Cheshire LEA,our schools are good. Just next door is Stockport, again their schools are very good and include Cheadle, No2 on Jan's list. But just up the road a bit are Oldham, Rochdale, Salford etc where there are way too many failing schools (tho not all of course). So I guess I'm thinking if/when we move to another big city, which side of the city should I plump for?

Birmingham has grammar schools with competitive entry. Don't know about Bristol.

Basically my friend lives up the road in a nice village in Stockport. She is looking for schools at the moment for next year. Her village has 5 primaries. 4 are graded 1 (outstanding) and the 5th is a mixture of 1s and 2s. I think that's fab and when we move I want to move to that sort of area.

Ooh, sorry, was thinking about secondary. I can tell you about primaries in south Birmingham. Are you a churchgoer, as many of the "more desirable" ones are religious?

Thank you BS. I haven't thought as far as secondary yet,I guess I assumed that would just follow on.

We're RC though I'm not really looking for a church school.

OK. There are lots of RC schools that parents like in south Birmingham, but the popular non-religious choices are Harborne Primary (OFSTED URN 132261), Bournville Infant School (103446) Bournville Junior School (103445), Colmore Infant and Nursery (103189), Colmore Junior (103188). Can't speak about other parts of Birmingham!

Thank you,BS that is helpful. Good to keep in mind that South Birmingham would be a good choice.

Sutton Coldfield also has several excellent schools.
Whereabouts will your DH be working? (which area of Bham)
Do you prefer a small or large primary school (1 form or 3 form entry)?

Not even sure it will be Birmingham. It could be Bristol but there is about 90% chance of being in one of them by this time next year.
Sutton Coldfield was one of the areas mentioned to him by a colleague already in the B'ham office so it cannot be too far a commute.
All helpful, thank you.

Personally, I think Sutton Coldfield is fantastically dreary, but YMMV!

If you have a choice, then for education after 11 S Birmingham it has to be
Access to good quality state secondary education in Bristol is a bit of an issue at present
SW Birmingham (Edgbaston, Harborne, Selly Park, Bournville) is stuffed with university staff btw

If it's central Bham, then commute from SC is horrific most days!
Much shorter from Edgbaston/Moseley/Harborne etc. (still non-stop nose-to-tail traffic though) At least Bournville and Selly Oak have the railway.

Aha! Have you seen this?

Don't know if this site is any help?

I suppose you can get an idea of academic standards and then use the OFSTED site to get a broader view. We live in North Somerset (just south of Bristol) and are looking into Pre-schools for next September at the moment. From friends' knowledge I think there are some good primary schools in Bristol itself but I'm not so sure about 11+. There are a couple of very good secondary schools in North Somerset though.

Have a look at Portishead for North Somerset and Bradley Stoke for South Gloucestershire.