Looking for catchment area

[Momydear]

Hi there I am new in here and planning to move in maidenhead or taplow. My little on is in primary now but I am considering secondary grammer schools (that's the main purpose to move) which area will cover most of the grammer school so I will get the options in future? Thank you for reading and helping me.

OK, momy- first be aware it's 'gramm a r' school (Should I be in pedants Corner?! !) Don't flame me, anyone, seriously- it's just been my long MN experience that those who misspell 'grammar' (or 'independent'!) yet (sometimes airily) assume their DC are that way bound tend to get flamed themselves. I don't care if you spell it Grummor, myself!

But you actually might need to look at each individual school's catchment criteria; some GSs don't have a catchment at all, some have a catchment for x % then a 'free for all' predicated on 11+ score etc. I assume some are 'catchment only'.

Obvs we don't know how clever in relation to her peers your DD is. You may need to ask yourself what the alternative to the GS is- be wary of 'comprehensives' in 'ordinary GS' areas (i.e. not 'super-selective' areas which might be less of a problem) as that 'comp' will actually be a Secondary Modern. Naught wrong with an SM in itself- but that might not be what you signed up for- and things may be made more complex by the fact the local 11+ failures go private, leaving the rest of the DC to go to the SM.

I guess you won't know what's available before you select an area but you'll find those who've done their homework will be able to tell you in forensic detail what the schools' entrance criteria are, where the catchments run, what a DC's chances of entry are!

If you are looking several years ahead then the criteria etc could well change in the interim .

Maidenhead itself does not have grammar schools, although I think a small part of it is in one of the Buckinghamshire grammar school catchments. Your best source of info is the Bucks County Council website, which shows the grammar catchments. Slough also has grammar schools, as does Reading.