Best Place to Relocate for Grammar School.

[npnp05]

Hello all,

My elder daughter is getting into her Year-3 this September. We live in Bristol and are willing to relocate to an area which gives her the best chance to get into a Grammar School. She's bright, motivated and with a bit of luck, I am sure she will do well in her exams.

We are planning to buy a property a year after moving to the new area since we would like to give our children and us a chance to get used to the new place of living. We are planning to relocate at the end of this year or earlier if everything goes well.

There are no state-funded grammar schools in Bristol (pardon me if I am wrong) hence the decision to relocate.

Both my husband and I work from home so relocating anywhere in and around the South England wouldn't hurt our career too. Nevertheless, if given a chance, we would prefer a not-so-hyper-busy place to live.

Kindly guide me through this humongous process of finding good places to give our girls a chance to access grammar school education.

Thanks in advance!
Natie.

There are a few locations that give the best of both worlds. Waddesdon in Bucks is sec mod but the village has access to the grammars in Aylesbury. People in Bucks are also happy with The Misbourne in Great Missenden and The John Colet at Wendover as grammar alternatives. There is less pressure in the north of the county as fewer children pass! The schools fill up from Milton Keynes. Never expect to pass!

What cantkeepaway says....

Warwickshire also has grammar schools. There are catchment areas for all I think. Some people live in parts of Solihull that are in catchment for the Warwickshire Grammars. That means if your DC fails the 11+ they can still get a place in one of the top performing Solihull comprehensives. You are also not too far for the superselective grammars in parts of Birmingham which have no catchment.

Travel to London from the area takes around 1 hr 30 mins depending on where you live and which train you take. House prices lower then SE and there are still some quieter, rural areas (just).

I'd stay where you are.

Relocate to somewhere with excellent comprehensives. Are the schools in your area that bad?

Check out the state boarding grammar schools - I went to one and it was basically a minor public school on the cheap.

Then move as close as possible to a really good comprehensive in a less expensive area than a grammar-catchment as a back up.

Poole Grammar is a boys school.
Parkstone Grammar is the girls school. It's very good.
Bournemouth School for Girls is the Grammar in Bournemouth and also very good. I think I read the girls grammars out perform the boys in Bournemouth/Poole.

They are all v good, but the corresponding comprehensives aren't so good.

You don't mean 'comprehensives - by definition, the 'other' school in a grammar area isn't comprehensive as it does not take in a comprehensive range of abilities. Despite the range of other names used for them - high schools, upper schools, academies, or even if they have the name 'comprehensive' - they are essentially secondary moderns.

In a few areas with very small numbers of grammars that cream off a tiny percentage of children, the other schools are 'nearly comprehensives'. However, where grammars take off a significant proportion of children, none of the other schools are true comprehensives.

The Grantham grammars aren't super selective, but they take the top 15-20%, roughly. The girls' grammar has just made it into the top 100 schools in England, I think?

The Grantham grammars are certainly harder to get into than say, Carrs at Sleaford. Bourne grammar has an excellent reputation, but is mixed sex.

Grantham itself isn't that great, but the surrounding villages are really lovely and housing is very affordable compared to the south east. Stamford is gorgeous and Horncastle is pretty, too. And, you're only 55 minutes away from Kings Cross, by train.

We moved here specifically so our DDs could go to the grammar, and have nothing but praise for the school

We are relocating to Exeter. My daughter is in year 8 at present. Need some advice regarding the best secondary schools in Exeter. We are not interested independent schools. Suggestions/advices are welcome on grammar schools as well. Once the selection for school is made we will search for rented properties near the school.
Thanks

You can apply for Grammar school in Grantham. Sit the exam, wait for results and if you pass move in the 8 weeks or so needed within catchment deadline dates. Gloucestershire might be similar. Check admissions!

The Gloucestershire grammar schools admit on score, not catchment area. If you don't mind your child having, say a three hour round journey every day for school, no need to move at all. If you do decide to move, you can do so as soon as you like if they rank within PAN for your target school, pending a year 6 place being available.

Bit more of a problem if they end up on a waiting list - you probably don't want to move on spec, but if a place comes up in the summer holidays or after term starts, you have to move house very quickly, inflict the journey on the child, or turn the grammar place down.

Grantham or South Nottinghamshire would work well for you. The girls grammar (Kesteven and Grantham Girl's School) takes girls based on distance, the boy's grammar (Kings) takes on score. The girl's grammar is getting amazing results and is very oversubscribed and the catchment isn't going out as far as it once did but you could easily live in one of the pretty Lincs villages (most with free school transport) and get in as long as your child passes the eleven plus. Another option would be Walton Girls which is OFSTED rated good. If grammars became not an option there is an outstanding comprehensive school just over the border in Notts (Toot Hill).
The train to Kings Cross from Grantham is just over an hour - I know lots of people who commute.
The girls grammar is a great school. I have dd still there and I one daughte rwho left last year with four top grade A levels.

Bucks has Grammar schools, Doctor Challoners is excellent for girls.

I would focus on an area with good comprehensive/s and apply for grammars without a catchment.

You have to think about what will happen if your DC does not 'pass'.

This happened to us and then we had to move at the 11th hour, so good you're considering this first.

As it turns out he was offered a gs off waiting list after all that moving. I have two at gs in Birmingham/Walsall where there are no catchments but where competition is fierce.

My point? Don't put all your eggs in one basket, move where you are 'guaranteed' a superb school - mostly guranteed by price, sadly - that will still give you the option of applying to a non catchment gs.

If I had originally been in the catchment for the school I work at (super £££) I'm not sure we would have gone down the stress of the 11plus. So if you can afford it, focus on the comps more, as it sounds like gs is the only consideration, which is risky.

To cover al bases, go to Charlton Kings in Cheltenham. You have the Grammars, such as Pates in Cheltenham, plus to Glos. grammars too, plus the very important advantage, that if you don't pass and get in, the excellent non-selective Balcarrass will be your lock school.

With Grammars, it is VITAL to have a good back-up, and in most Grammar areas, the state alternatives aren't great.

Look very very carefully at all the schools local to where you might live, and not just the GRammars. Avoid a fully selective area where there are grammars or secondary moderns, but go for an area with very few grammars, which also means the other schools have more high ability children within them. Or live on the border of two counties where there are Grammars in one and Comps in the other.

Also recognise you'll be putting your family through 1-2 years of preparation and stress as part of it....consider if you want that or if you have the luxury of moving to the catchment if a great Comp if at won't be just as good and avoid all that stress.

Really important to know wheat you're getting into with Grammar areas - the issues of preparation and stress through Yr5, the risks of not passing and what the alternatives are etc etc. Several friends moved to Bucks for the Grammars - great area to live and lovely place, but they wish they'd gone to Herts now for the good Comps just over the border and avoided the preparation of 11+ and risks of the secondary modern. Remember that a great Comp can be very very good.

This thread looks like a steep learning curve for OP. But better to learn before you move than realise the reality afterwards....which is what lots of people seem to do.

So the reality of fully selective areas to be aware of;

• people will spend time preparing their kids - that will either be tutoring,meaning from a few months to several years, or it will be home preparation involving buying resources and putting lots of time in,mover several months to several years. There really won't be many who just have a go,mwithout ever seeing. Paper before and who get in. Realise the primary schools will not prepare the children.
• be aware that Yr5 is stressful for parents and children as 11+ takes over many peoples thinking and the reality that 70-75% will be going to the alternatives.
• be aware that in fully selctice areas there are zero Comorehensives but Grammars or Secondary Moderns. The Secondary Moderns are lacking the top 25-30% of ability and so are absolutely not Comprehensives. They vary but typically have difficulties due to having larger proportions of children from less supportive families than a Comp or Grammar. Remember, most children will have to go to these.
• a 2 tier system is in evidence throughout the child's life - from a young age they are aware that some pass and some fail, however carefully the info is provided, and that they too will be tested and risk passing or failing. Once in Secondary there is also this divide amongst children - the few who passed and majority who didn't.

So when you choose where to move to, be really very aware of what the local situation is and the secondary options and entry requirements. Try to speak to some local parents who have gone through it with of,for children, so you can hear what it's actually like going through it...because when you hear it from a personal viewpoint, it's quite different from just reading an admissions policy.

@npnp05. We are in same situation as you are and wonder if you have decided a place or shortlisted where to relocate ?

Best regards,

Why on earth would you deliberately put your child through the stress of the 11 plus if you can afford to move to an area with great Comp schools?

Insane.

Move to Winchester and be done with it.
No stress
no tutors
no testing
no risk

Thota think very very carefully, especially if you have more than one child or might on the future. I live close to one of the Grammar areas mentioned above though not in its and it’s a PITA, bitterly regret it. Our local school has fucked up science A levels yet again this year and academic subjects keep getting dropped, it is definitely affected by losing some to the Grammar even though numbers going have fallen a lot over the years. I wouldn’t touch the boys Grammar with a barge pole for various reasons, it’s been mentioned on this thread earlier. Boys Grammars weren’t even on my radar when we moved here as I had a girl only at that point.

We’ve got to decide what to do with DS for 6th form in the not too distant future and I am thinking we’re going to have to look over the border to next county along but then it’s flipping miles. Ta1kinpeace hope you don’t mind, I’m going to PM you as could do with picking your brains, thanks.