Hi, yes MarlowRocks - we do have a house to sell.
Going to keep renting in mind....
Cantkeepawayforever - love it how you are thinking along with me. Thank you! :) Why can’t I aim for both - the more options, the more chances, surely?
I do like your scenarios; it makes things a bit clearer.
If we would do ’no vacancies' scenario: rent right next to preferred school and camp there until a place comes up. Its a way to do things but success for an appeal would be far from certain (what is the success rate of appeals?) and we must make sure the ‘in the mean time’ school is acceptable, somehow? It would mean two school moves for my child and 3 schools in a short period of time (I would imagine that would a reason for an appeal as that is not in the best interest of the child surely)
In the ‘current vacancy’ scenario I would move 3x, like you did. Grab the one available and move into a hotel/smallhouse (as current house won’t have been sold yet so can’t afford double), en then after the house sells, move to a bigger house (rent or buy). I would hope a ‘current vacancy’ school might a bit a bit more forgiving and give us a month or two but you never know.
So its either move 3x (vacancy scenario) or move schools 3x (no vacancy scenario)
My Y6 child, as I understand it, won’t sit the 11+ test and will be offered a late test or something. I cannot sort a test out until after we have moved. That is what the council says. I have yet to get in touch with a grammar school. So as I have to be resident to take the test I would imagine ‘scenario 1’ comes up again and we have to rent or buy right next door to the school.
Hence I thought of Marlow as we can ‘camp next door’ to two schools: a grammar and an upper. If we shoot at both, we might hit one at some stage.
Most admissions policies that I have read are the same: children ‘in need’ come first, then siblings, then it goes by distance. Not all mid-year admissions are run by the council though. Borlase and CCC do it themselves. Apparently in October (deadline secondary transfer) I can sign up my youngest to a Bucks school but since we still live far away he won’t get a place, but at least he’s on the list then and we can appeal once we’ve moved... (or so I am told).
Poisonedbypen - we can’t sit the 11+ in Bucks, so I am told, as we are too late. So both boys (even the Y6 one) would sit some sort of late/immediate admission test. Without prep I cannot rely on it, but as they are clever kids I would be mad to not try it and see what happens? You never know... thanks for helping out :)
Need to know how successful appeals are and I need a ‘mean time’ school. I also need to find a couple of schools with vacancies (not known until September) as a ‘mean time’ school or as a option to go for (in less preferred area perhaps).
Still wondering if all this is worth it... my word, how insane. perhaps just stay put and let DH do a weekly commute (we’d hate that though).
Renting, althugh it would mean moving twice, is a real option. With brexit we don’t know what house prices are doing either so perhaps not such a bad idea to sell up and sit it out until we know what’s happening.
Yet, even when renting, we’d need a good school, and stability. NOT 3 schools for my kids to get used to, settle into, make friends, catch up on school work and figure out... :(
Bring on september so I can talk to these darn schools! LOL
Still think Marlow Catchment is a good bet as there are two schools to aim for. Alternatively Chalfonts St Peter as the CCC probably has spaces. Or else Thame as I am imagining (might be pure imagination!) that a huge school like Lord Williams will have spaces coming up quicker than elsewhere.