how to find a place in oversubscribed school mid year

[Spanielmad]

Hello, we might be moving house in the coming year - to south Buckinghamshire. My kids are about to start Y6 and Y8. If we move in the middle of the school year how are we supposed to find school places? Pretty much ALL 'good/outstanding' secondary schools and grammar schools are oversubscribed. So even if we find a house near a good school how do I get my kids in??
thanks !!

It's a vicious circle isn't it as you can't get a school place without proof you live in the area and you don't want to move without a school place!
I do know of a couple of YR7s and YR8s and a YR9 who have changed schools in the last year for various reasons so places do come up mid year.

Do you know Marlow? You really need to visit the area to know if you like it - I love Marlow but it's not necessarily everybody's cup of tea.

Your yr 6 child is going to have disruption whatever you do - moving in year 6 is tough. My advice would be to move asap so that he can make primary friends/ go on the year 6 residential etc. Unfortunately you will have to move to get a place.

Am happy to discuss details about Marlow / Schools etc - pm me if there's anything you'd like to know.

Have you thought about Stokenchurch and surrounding villages? Primary school us outstanding and I believe has spaces in upper years. It's in grammar catchment but the actual catchment secondary is Icknield Community college in Watlington, and 11-16 comprehensice which has a good Ofsted. Stokenchurch is right on the m40 so potentially ok for commenting.

Commuting not commenting!!

deffo a vicious circle!! Yes, I need to find out how much I can pin my hope on people moving and places becoming available. So calling schools as soon as september starts...

I don’t know Marlow, Ollycat, in fact I’ve never even been to Buckinghamshire! At the moment - the next step is visiting - I am going by internet only. Once I have a clearer idea of where I want to visit (the search area is huge) I will go and have a look around, visit some schools, walk down a high street, have a chat in a pub, and ‘sniff’ the atmosphere. But narrowing down the search area has been hampered by this school issue. If I find out that getting my kids into schools of my choice, I will go. If I find out the chances are slim, I will move my search area to Oxfordshire, hertfordshire or perhaps just staying where we are now. Finding out about the chance of school places seems hard though, it will remain a gamble, it seems. A scary gamble.

Yes, ideally we’d move asap to let my youngest make friends and stand a chance of getting into the local and chosen secondary. But I fear selling and buying is not going to happen that quickly. Anyone got an epic house for sale? ;)

ooh, where is Stokenchurch? Will go check out the secondaries there.

Stokenchurch is Junction 5 of M40 - just up the road from Lane End - it is (I think) Tge very edge of GMS catchment, catchment for JHGS not catchment for SWBGS and close to Icknield. Please note Princess Risborough just gone into special measures.

TBH wherever you move you are going to find the same challenges with schools so my advice would be to put your house on the market, chose an area and start house hunting.

I don’t dare. If we just go for it and move - I would hate if it turns out my kids will be dumped into an ‘inadequate’ school, many miles away when local good schools are full up. I must make sure the risk of that happening is minimal.

Looking at nice towns with a bit of life to it, (but on the edge - bit of a rural feel and a big garden) so thinking of Marlow, Henley. Good schools also in Chalfont, Amersham, Maybe as far as Sandhurst, Thame? dunno... nice places are easy to find, school places not so.

How much is your budget?

Chalfonts will be the same as Marlow for school places - the two Dr Challoners are always over subscribed. Gillotts is full for the year groups you want but if you moved soon you would prob get yr 7 place for Sept - same with GMS. Your other option would be move to Marlow / Maidenhead and go to Claire's Court with a view to yr 9 entry to SWBGS. I hate to say it but I don't think any area will offer you great schools with places available- sorry.

Judging by threads on here Herts is no easier. You will find the same issue wherever you go. If you move now at least you give your younger child an equal chance of a catchment school through the normal application process. He'd spend less than a year in wherever for primary. Some of the selectives are single sex, which may or may not be to your taste.

I don’t like single sex and will avoid it if I can.

Even if I move soon, get my DS2 into a primary Y6 and then get a Y7 place for next year - my DS1 still needs a place in Y8 somewhere.... I am not putting him through 3 secondary schools (current one, Claires Court and SWBGS).

We can’t afford private anyway.

If there is no area anywhere that will offer us great schools with places available, I am left to either accept less-than-great schools or not move at all.

(I wish the schools were open now so I could call...)

The trouble is that without personally knowing anyone with children in the schools, it's hard to say what is good just by going by Ofsted.
My friend has DC in a 'good' school in Beaconsfield and she says the school hits their targets academically but the staff aren't very caring, they're just results driven.

Well Henley is considered lovely by many people - small, a bit twee (IMHO) but easy to get to other places and set in nice countryside.

Gillots is the local comp and is supposed to be very good and desirable. Henley would still put you in catchment for the Reading grammars (and plenty of Henley kids do take the train into Reading for these 2 schools, so it's considered a doable journey for many).

Downside - it's pricey, but you may have a massive budget!

I’d never chose a school by ofsted only, but its a start.

I noticed Gillots doesn’t have a sixth form but there is a college in the town. Wondering if that’s considered good or just normal. I’d hate to have to put my kids on the train to just go to school! They’re too young. I can live without grammars (no grammars where I currently live) but want a school that caters well for clever kids.

If Gillots is full the next one would be Piggot and Waingels (over 5 miles away). Not great.

Is Henley smaller than Marlow?

Don't base your decision solely on Ofsted. A good or outstanding school can go to the other end of the scale from one inspection to the next, and vice versa. Get a feel for the school yourself and base your decision on that, not some report based on the briefest of observations.

Henley is larger then Marlow and slightly cheaper to buy in. South Oxon comps don't have 6th forms. Probably the majority of Gillotts children go to Henley College but also to an increasingly wide variety of other places.

The other place to consider of course is UTC in Reading which admits from year 10.

As a very rough guide house prices go roughly Marlow, Henley, Maidenhead, Stokenchurch

I would never base my decision on Ofsted alone. It is just a start. I will visit areas and schools once I figured where we are going...

Oh, Ollycat, thanks - I didn’t know that all schools in Oxforshire have no 6th form! good know.

yeah, I was getting the feeling that Marlow was on the ahem, pricey side. But its not all millionaires houses there, it seems. But I would like a nice town with a few shops, cafes, galleries, low crime rate etc. DH wants a huge garden and we need good schools - yeah, the moon on a stick!!

Sil dc both went to Henley College for 6th form from HW. It is fairly normal to travel a distance to secondary school especially in a grammar area.

If you don't want single sex, that probably rules out grammars anyway, as most of them aren't mixed (that would at least simplify things for you).

Also bear in mind that for ds1 , wherever he is by beginning of y9 you are likely to stay with for gcse rather than move again after his options have been chosen.

Your looking at £700k min really for Marlow but that won't get you a big garden unfortunately.

what’s Lower Shiplake like? near Henley...

The grammars on my list are Borlase, Burnham (not sure about living in that area though) and Chesham.
No idea if we’d get in though as we’re not prepped and tutored. My DS2 is super bright so I’d say he’s perfect for it, DS2 top 35% I’d say, so perhaps.

Happy with a good non selective that offers the same opportunities.

We’re not used to travel for school, my DS1’s secondary is a 20 mins walk.

I totally do not want to move them too much so wherever my DS1 ends up, is where he will stay. So it has to be a school I am happy with.

I suppose all I can do is call a school like Borlase, GMS or Gillots, ask if they have spaces in Y8 and if not, how soon they envisage a place becoming available (assuming we live in the catchment). If it is soonish, then we go house hunting and visiting schools, try to move before March, and get my DS2 into the application process for Y7. fff...would that work?

rather not discuss my budget Ollycat, schools are my problem...not the houses (although you wouldn’t believe what you can get for your money where i am currently living, LOL, we might well be downsizing)

Burnham is not a bad area to live in, however if you don't make the Grammar, Burnham Park is dire- in special measures I believe.

Have sent you pm with some info. Only asked re house budget as it has some baring on catchment areas not being nosey about your £££'s.

TBH I don't think anywhere will give you the guarantee of places you need - is your reason for moving work? I would maybe look at some compromise where you are