Bourne end - thoughts?

[ElizabethTurner2]

We are about to move to Bourne end on the Thames. We are worried we are making a mistake by not moving to Amersham for social circles and for community.
does anyone know how Bourne end is?
We have a 3 year old and a 1 year old.

also- do people know what schools are good for Bourne end senior school?

I’ve never heard of Amersham being spoken of as anything particularly special. What makes you think it would be nicer there?
Bourne End is really nice, the river is beautiful, the train goes directly to Paddington and there are a lot of things going on in nearby towns. I’d be surprised if long term you think it was a mistake, but it depends where you are moving from and what you are hoping to get out of the move.

Dissapointed this is about a place and not a new Jason Bourne film.

its just they seem to have better catchment areas and schools - in Bourne end I think you don’t get into a lot of schools?

Have you checked the Bucks Council schools admission data, it tells you whether you’d have got in to each school in each of the last 5 or so years from any given address.

Broadly, I think you can get places in some, but not all Wycombe grammars and depending on address within BE, possibly at SWB in Marlow if your child gets a qualifying score in the STT (11+). Bear in mind just being in catchment does not guarantee entry even if they pass the exam - check each schools admissions criteria, some eg SWB you usually end up needing to be less than 3 miles from school.

If your DC doesn’t score 121 on 11+ you risk ending up at BE Academy, which doesn’t have a good reputation.

I lived there. It’s fine, but it is small. It’s near some nice places though, and doesn’t get as busy with visitors as Marlow.

The trains don’t go straight to Paddington, you have to change, and get the Elizabeth line from Maidenhead. This is not quick.

It depends what you’re looking for.