Moving for school - Brentwood or Bishops Stortford

[BlackBoyMum]

Apologies in advance for the long post, I want to give as much context as possible.

I am a mum of 2 boys - ages 3 and 1 and applying for September 2026 reception intake. We currently live in Harlow and for the last few months been looking strongly at a move to Bishops Stortford (BS). We were pretty sold on BS based on Boys High and we are planning this move early so DS can be in a feeder school.

Although only 15 mins away from where we currently are, I can’t help but feel I’m moving even further away from family who are in Thurrock. So now I’m thinking about Brentwood - similarly good primary schools it seems and closer to family. We’d probably get slightly less for our money in terms of house size and I’m not sure how secondary schools in the area currently perform. I’m aware of the grammar schools in Chelmsford but don’t want my hopes set out on them and unnecessary pressure on DS to score well in 11+.

Ultimately deciding between Bishops Stortford (not too far from where we are now so familiar with the area, but further from family) and Brentwood (closer to family, but not too sure on its community feel and activities for kids).

Would love to hear of experiences of others who considered or have moved to either towns? What were the driving factors and how have you found it? Experiences from local schools in both areas would also be appreciated.

Thank you!

Where specifically in Brentwood are you looking / what kind of primary school are you interested in?

Many of the ‘in-demand’ primary schools in Brentwood are either CoE or Catholic with associated church attendance requirements for at least 12 months prior to
application submission and/or have relatively small catchments.

Similarly, in regards Secondary, there are some good local non-grammar options however once again a few are religious (with associated church attendance requirements).

@Sunshineat5pm Thanks for your response! We don’t have a specific area in Brentwood in mind yet but would like to be relatively close to a station ( both commute to London 2x per week). Would be open to Shenfield too.

We are open to CoE schools and go to church regularly (although not a CoE church specifically).

If you advise on budget and requirements I’m happy to provide my personal view on location (particularly for Shenfield).

Commute from Shenfield to the city much quicker as on the main line, not Elizabeth Line (however more expensive train fares).

Regarding school admissions then if you are a regular church goer then (and this is just my understanding) most schools will allow your current priest to sign the admissions forms given you’re moving into the area, however I’d double check that for any of the specific schools you’re looking at. You have time for your smaller one, it’s next years admissions i’d be specifically focused on.

@Sunshineat5pm thanks so much for the details re. school admission. Didn’t realise the commute was quicker from Shenfield!

Budget is 750-800k and we’d be looking for a 5-bed house with at least 2 en-suites and a main bathroom. We’re not particularly set on being walking distance to a station, but no more than a 10 min drive away. Would like to be walking distance to a grocery store and nice scenery for walks would also be nice.

No advice but watching as interested in this too (for secondaries). If you don’t get many replies OP it could be worth moving to the Property thread.

Fwiw I’ve heard good things about both locations. We are considering Shenfield for the connections to the City, but will depend on how our 7yo develops over the next year or so as we would be aiming for KEGs.

Sorry for the delayed response!

With your budget and size requirements you’d be looking at Brentwood and the outskirts, rather than Shenfield (potentially Hutton but definitely drive to the station).

Very happy to look at any houses of interest to give my view on location as a starting point (feel free to DM).

Also happy to discuss Shenfield - have lived locally for majority of my life and moved back pre-kids for the ease of commute and access to countryside.

As an addition, commute is much quicker! One stop to Stratford then one more to Liverpool Street on greater Anglia compered to all stopper Elizabeth Line l(Brentwood). That equates to c.23 mins vs 45/50mins on Elizabeth Line.

@Ifyouknowyouknowyouknow Thanks for the advice! Will look to move this thread to Properties (once I figure out how).

Agreed re. aiming for KEGS, but I recently realised they don’t do sibling priority so would be banking on both boys getting high enough scores and hoping for the best

@Sunshineat5pm No worries! Thanks so much for all the info and will follow up via DM :)

Hi @BlackBoyMum , we've now moved your thread over to DIY/Property. Hope that helps.

My sister lives in Bishops Stortford and likes it. She has a 5 bed new build in Stortford Fields (I think that's what it's called).

We have lived in Stortford for five years, it’s such a lovely town with really fantastic schools. Genuinely, all the schools are excellent. Our little one goes to Manor Fields Primary and we all love it. It’s easy to get to London and Cambridge, and it’s handy to be so close to Stansted. I also love the green spaces and beautiful countryside on our doorstep. My nephew really loves Boys’ High. It’ll be a extra 20 minutes on your journey to see family compared to living in Harlow, but I really do think that Stortford is a great place to live! I’ve made some wonderful friends here, as has my husband - me through a theatre group, him via badminton.

@Expectinglittlebean2024 Thank you! That’s reassuring!

@ShiraShira Thanks, that’s super helpful and reassuring. My husband loved manor fields when we went to visit, we have put it as our first choice (despite living so far out) just because we are anticipating the move and he spoke so highly of the school. Glad you’ve found a good community, that would be our hope too

Hi just jumping in here

we are looking to move and have seen a house in the stortford fields. Do you know anything about the avanti schools? Looking to get my children into the primary and secondary

I live in Stortford and there has been some threads in local Facebook groups where some parents complained about Avanti schools because they only serve vegetarian food and the kids aren’t allowed to bring packed lunches. But the ethos of the school is supposed to be very good - big focus on mental wellbeing etc. I recommend you join the Bishop’s Stortford Mummies Village Facebook group as you can ask for opinions about the school etc

Thank you so much. Yes I’ll do that. That did originally put me off as my daughter is a fussy eater but she has loads of allergies so they will probably let her bring packed lunch. I will ask them on the tour.

Also do you like living in stortford? I understand it’s changed a lot since all the new estates being built but I would like to think it’s still a nice, safe place to bring up a family.

thanks in advance

I lived in Brentwood for years and my DS went to SHS. It’s a good school very sporty. St Martin’s is also a very good school - county high not so much.

Its not a cheap area though and I think you’d struggle to get the sort of house you’re looking in your budget unless you look at the outskirts and villages like Kelvedon Hatch or Doddinghurst (school buses run from both)

Yes we absolutely love it in Stortford! Moved from London in 2020. Great location with easy links to London and Cambridge, lots of green space and gorgeous villages. Made lots of friends through local theatre group and sports club. The schools are all very good too.

Great schools in Stortford. Lovely place.

If you are thinking about moving to any grammar school area, just do as much research now on the exam boards, admissions criteria and catchment/ distance. Also have a plan for what you would do if 1DC got in and one didn't.

I live in a Grammar school area and it genuinely shocks me the lack of knowledge parents have on the admissions. They put their DC through this rigorous process and even if they pass, they have zero chance of getting a place - all because they didn't read the admissions criteria and historic allocation information

The Avanti schools don’t allow anyone to take packed lunch. Allergies, ARFID, whatever the reason. They will not bend on this. They do not see it as a reasonable adjustment. They will not change it. If you don’t like the sound of this, you have to pick a different school, I’m afraid.

We’ve been in Stortford for a while. I would recommend it but I would also really recommend you closely study the admission arrangements for TBSHS (Boys High). They group primaries together in quite a random way and then it’s about distance from the school within your group - unless you have an EHCP, sibling at the school or have scored highly on aptitude tests. Basically, you need to live as near to the school as possible to maximise your chances, I’d be looking at the St James estate or the southern end of Thorley/St Michael’s Mead.

Stortford is a great place to live. The traffic is not good and I’d say the town has expanded without the infrastructure to support it but the GP provision is OK-ish. Hospitals - you’re looking at Harlow or Addenbrookes for most things, maybe Broomfield or Lister. Either way, a minimum 20 minute drive. The commute is expensive but sounds like that’s not a major consideration. Schools range from good to very good, but secondary admissions are complex - there are six schools and all have different offerings.

We have had more mixed experiences getting to know people as lots of people are local to the town and already have their friendship circles. There’s a bit of luck involved and you do have to work at it and keep trying new things, in my experience - it can take time.

Thank you so much this is so helpful. Avanti schools definitely put them. My daughter has a dairy, eggs and nuts allergy as well as some other random things

Thanks so much everyone. I think we have our eyes set on Stortford for now and planning the process of moving. We are targeting TBSHS (and Hockerill if there’s any chance). Appreciate all the advice regarding area and schooling tips

Excellent! Join the Bishop’s Stortford Mummies Village Facebook group if you haven’t already as you can get lots of local info there