Amersham Bucks

[HuntyGirl]

DH and I are looking for a new house in this area. I work in London so will be good for the commute.

Through my research, I see that there is Old Amersham and Amersham on the Hill/New Amersham. Old Amersham is more expensive but New Amersham is more convenient for travel into London etc. We are therefore looking at New Amersham for commutability.

My question is, is Amersham broken down further into smaller areas other than these two? Or is it literally only these two distinct areas? I would be grateful for any guidance on areas to avoid or what is better generally from those who know/have experience. Thanks!

Well your facts are wrong.

From DCGS website

'applicants are ranked in order of predicted GCSE aggregate score for their best eight subjects'

For my daughters year the minimum entry required was 70 points on this scoring system - which equates to 7.7 grade 9s.

So yes mostly 9s and as I said many also with all 9s.

As I said before half of the intake come from Bucks / Herts private schools in my daughters year. The others from other grammars locally or comps out of Bucks - all have cleared the 70 points boundary.

@TheGoldRobin would you be able to use the services of some reputable international relocation advisors? They could guide you more generally through the UK system, which is selective in some areas like Bucks, but non-selective (or, "comprehensive") in others. There are private schools as well, some of which have more vacancies currently than in the past due to some tax changes here in the UK, and which generally don't need a UK address. As you can see from the conversation here, the ground moves quickly from year to year. Again, all the very best of luck.

@PurpleBugz By waiting for a y5 child you could possibly move again when the child has settled.

If you have an address in London on the horizon, when do you actually want Bucks?

@TizerorFizz think you meant to tag @TheGoldRobin

Gold robin I believe you need proof of address to apply for a state school place. Think you can apply something like 6 weeks in advance of your move date and as proof you can use the exchange of contrat for purchase or a tenancy agreement for rental. I may be wrong. The information will be on Buckinghamshire county council website under school admissions page. Private schools may work differently Im not sure.

My post earlier was quoting from Bucks cc website.

@PurpleBugz Oops! Getting dinner!

Ladies got a fair idea abt admission process... What I understood is that we can apply 6 weeks before the child moves to London officially (her father is travelling 2 months earlier than us). We will have to rent a house first and then using that address check vacancies on council website, wherever vacancies are there we can list them as our preferred schools and then leave it up to the council to allot us a school.

One last question, let's say we do this entire process in March, then approx how much time it takes before any school is allocated (tentative)... Need to plan as keeping 2 kids at home for a working mother is tough, that too in a new country

@TheGoldRobin Why are you moving to London but want a place in a Bucks school?

You would be allocated a place at whichever school with a space appears highest on your preferences. You can list schools with no vacancy , but realistically you would join a waiting list. However if your address is close to the ideal school you may join the waiting list above some of those already on it. There is a 2/3 week break for Easter so could be late April/May before they can start. You do continuo to be confused between London and Bucks though. Anywhere in Bucks is a commute into London and it is outside M25 orbital motorway,

Hey mums...I am not confused between london and bucks, I am aware that bucks is outside london.... I chose bucks on basis of below research criterion

1. Staying in London is very expensive, our max budget - fully furnished flat - 2bhk is 2000 pm and comparative more space
2. Commute to London via public transport should be around 1 hour
3. More schools around that area considering we will be moving mid session (April 25) with 12 year and 9 year old
4. Some scope of getting 12 year old one in grammar school for grade 8 based on vacancies available in the next academic session (sep 25)
5. Strong community spirit

If you think from your knowledge there are some other that we can explore considering above criterion... Pls pls pls suggest... We just have 2-3 months before we move and we are really confused.

@sadierussell2 hello- just found and read this old post as I have been trying to find info about the primary school Chalfont Valley E-act academy as that seems to be the only school with in-year transfer vacancies at the moment. You mentioned about good number of kids go to grammars from there but some other threads I found highlighted negative behaviours of children and type of families (the school serves council estate?). Just wondering where you have heard about the positives and how do you check the leavers destinations? Your comment would be extremely helpful in making our important decision as to whether or not we relocate. Thank you

I'm not sure whether leavers' destinations are officially published, but there seem to be some commercial services, such as www.leaversdestinations.com, that claim to be able to give data on specific schools (how they obtain the data I wouldn't know).

What I do know is that Chalfont Valley does serve a very large council estate, built on land that was attractive to commercial developers, as it is right opposite a large radiochemical plant which stores low-level nuclear waste onsite. You can see the shipping containers where some of the waste is held, visible through the fence off Finch Lane. I'm a lifelong local and have met people who once worked there...much has never been made public, but my goodness there are some stories.

As such, historically Chalfont Valley (formerly known as Bell Lane) took in a lower-income catchment, with parents who had mainly not themselves passed the 11+, and so underperformed relative to other schools. I don't know how it does these days. Have you had the opportunity to visit, take in the atmosphere, observe the behaviour of the children in class, see their work on display? Wishing you the best of luck with your move.

Thank you so much!

@BuzyMumm It is hard to find data on 11 plus passes at Bucks schools. Marie Redmond Tuition has some data but it’s not up to date. You might find more up to date data on the Bucks CC web site.

Chalfonts Valley does serve the council estate in the area (White Lion flats were a bit rough) and historically was the school everyone avoided if they could. There’s absolutely no doubt about that. Even when it became an academy it still struggled. However recent data is far better. Geographically it sits between St George’s in Amersham and Little Chalfont Combined. Historically Little Chalfont was a great school with many 11 plus passes. Very different to the old Bell Lane/Chalfont Valley eAct.

However new arrivals cannot get into Little Chalfont. (Rarely could years ago) So Chalfont Valley becomes the only school available when starting mid phase and for dc not in Little Chalfont catchment. Don’t forget that many council houses have been sold and there always were private housing roads in catchment. As you will see, prices for these are not low! I think good leadership and a wider variety of dc has made a difference and if the 11 plus data is correct, it’s very very good.

Do go and have a look. Bucks does not have loads of spare primary places so you need to be pragmatic if you move. Or be prepared to live a bit further north,

land that was *unattractive to developers - sorry, typo.

Thank you. We went to explore the village last weekend to get the feel
of the place. So grateful for your commments!

@BuzyMumm Theres a lot of ribbon development there. It’s not really villagey for South Bucks. It grew around the railway station, like Amersham on the Hill. Nothing is old in Little Chalfont. Are you wedded to there?

As another long-term resident of south Bucks, I endorse everything that @earlyr1ser says historically and what @TizerorFizz says about the school more recently. Also bear in mind that Amersham School - which would be the. non-grammar catchment secondary school - is now very highly thought of and often over-subscribed.

I believe that the HT at Amersham School who, along with the SLT she has put in place, is largely responsible for the improvement there, was involved in helping out at Chalfont Valley for a few years so maybe it has benefited from her input too?

Anyway i would definitely agree with visiting and getting a feel for the place.

That's true too. They're commuter towns - with easy and (relatively) cheap travel into central London one of their primary attractions. Chalfont St Giles and Old Amersham are more villagey, but dont have their own stations.

I think Amersham School is an educational partner to Chalfont Valley but I’m not sure what support is offered. However it’s all positive!

We used to run one of the education nurture groups there years ago. When the LA had SEN money!