House near outstanding comprehensive vs Top 10 grammar school?

[estebancolberto]

Our kid currently is in nursery. We recently saw a ready-to-move well done property that we like near an outstanding comprehensive secondary school. We also saw another property that requires some work (£40k) that is near Top 10 grammar schools in UK. And, we expect the 2nd house will cost us £40k more than the 1st house. From a future-proof perspective, should we go for the 1st or 2nd house? As we are willing to stay in the house for 10-15 years, we would like to make a decision taking both primary and secondary schools into consideration.

Both schools are non-fee paying.

anything could change in 10-15 years, the schools could become worse and there's no guarantee your kids would like them or even feel they can learn in those environments. there's no guarantee you will gain whatever you think you will from these types of schools. the country is changing right now how education will be structured, a lot of what you've written probably won't even matter in a few years.

having said that, I would think about your family values and what you care about and see if the community (and i suppose the schools match this), especially since you're looking at "good school" areas anyway, which are only according to a bunch of adults (not the children themselves).

good luck

I’d go near the Grammar school to hopefully retain the value of the property if you sold, being near a top school often keeps the prices punchy. However as the other poster says you don’t know what’ll happen in the future and what school best suits your child.

Neither school might be appropriate. Labour are also talking if getting rid of Grammar schools, or were before the change in leadership.

Being near a good school either comprehensive or Grammar will
give your child a good start, if the schools are suitable.

We went for the outstanding comp, as it's pretty much guaranteed our dcs would get in (we're well within the last distance offered for the past 5 years, and birth rate is declining here). The school is one of the top fully comp schools in the country (after excluding the grammars and religious selectives).

Our nearest grammar is super-selective and has 3000 applicants for 104 places. So even if our dcs are bright, they might not get a place if their exam speed is poor, which you just don't know at a young age. It's a lot of pressure too and often not a nice environment for teens. And for us it just wasn't an area we were keen to live in- most London grammar schools are in outer zones which are a bit dull and suburban. It depends on your local schools really - I know the grammars aren't nearly as selective in other parts of the country (though you still need to be wary of the fact they might not get in, even with as much tuition you can afford).

Personally I think the most reputable schools (top 10 in the country) are fairly likely to stay good, especially if your child is in nursery (so age 3?) And you'd need to apply in seven years, so it's not that long for a school to change. So much depends on the cohort and other parents, and that tends to be self-reinforcing as the most engaged parents will want to send their dc there and then they will encourage their dcs to do well and produce good results and attract more engaged parents in later years. The political situation or staff changes won't change that. I've seen schools get much better or worse within 15 years but they were always more middling anyway - the very top schools from 15-20 years ago are still the most popular

@RoseBucket not heard of that Labour Policy ?

If you child doesn't get in to the grammar, what are the other options if you lived in that house. Even with the brightest child nothing is guaranteed when it comes to the 11+.

we chose outstanding comp as well. We’ll try for grammar but comp is our fall back position! Your child is in nursery and you have no way of knowing whether they’re grammar school level,

When was the outstanding comp last inspected? The local 'outstanding' school hasn't been inspected for years and isshit at controlling bullying. Still gets good results though.

Near the grammar school won’t necessarily keep your house value buoyant as the super sélectives (which I’m assuming it is, if it’s a top 10) don’t have as narrow a catchment window as an outstanding comp.

I’d go for the comp - grammar school entrance exams for the super sélectives are something else. You have to be bright, tutored and also very lucky to get a place. The numbers applying are just very high.

I hope they get rid of Grammar schools for good and this ridiculous notion of a "good school". All schools should be good! Honestly, what kind of world and "education" do some of you really want to be giving your kids?? No wonder we have such an poor education system here. It starts with the parents 🙄

If it's some top-of-the-range grammar school it sounds like it is a highly selective one that only takes a small % of children. Don't those usually have large catchment areas anyway? What are the odds that your child is actually going to get in? Are you prepared to do the very large amounts of tutoring your child will probably need?

I would live near the good comprehensive school.

My sibling lives in a grammar area. Three kids, three different schools as they vary so much in ability. Would have expected all to be at the best grammar based on the parents and relations achievements, but one has ADHD and one dyslexia (neither diagnosed until started school). We’ve gone for outstanding secondary on the basis that the only qualifying criteria is catchment area.

By the way, re pp, there is no evidence that Labour is going to get rid of grammar schools. I mean, I wish they would consider it (or at least allow a local referendum among all parents of young kids in the area or something), but they are not going to.

We moved to give our kids a chance at a grammar on the basis it has been good for hundreds of years so it's about as close to fee paying as you'll get. It's already not going to be the right school for one of them and there's no guarantee the others will get in. I'd find a house that covers both if it's important and make sure you check the bus routes too!

And ours has priority catchment areas and non priority so also worth checking.

When I was at grammar school in the 90's the rumours that Labour were scrapping grammars was doing the rounds then as well!

Pinch of salt.