Best place to live in Kent for Grammar school

[vik2017]

Hi,
This is my first question on this board....
and I wanted to know which is the best place to live in Kent and falls into Grammar catchment area and also if my son dont get to the Grammar at least will go to a very good comprehensive school.
Any suggestion will be appreciated even suggest to move to another place considering we both work in London.

Many thanks in advance...
Viki

An afternoon in TW is lovely- any longer and I get an uncontrollable urge to smash windowszzzzzzz

that sums it up perfectly!!

Op - do PM me for more info.

Strategically, Ashford and its environs. Opens you up to Norton Knatchbull in Ashford itself, 20 mins to the Canterburys on the train, the Maidstones are accessible within half an hour, Folkestones and schools on the coast 20 mins. The Faversham is do-able. Of the non-grammars, there is only one Ashford secondary that I'd absolutely avoid. Even The Towers is on the up. And some secondaries in surrounding towns are doing well.
St Pancras 36 mins on the high speed, so even some schools in London are workable if you like early nights (the London schoolers tend to get the 6.40 train!). And the commuting is fine, if you can swallow the £6k season ticket.
There's only one pocket of Ashford where I absolutely wouldn't live. Property still reasonable but on the rise. Apart from the new builds which are ridiculously priced for miniature houses.

Actually, it's odd that nobody ever talks about Sittingbourne on threads like this. 2 grammars, OK non grammars and either cheapish houses in town or expensive ones in the villages.

I suppose TW just wouldn’t suit me , can’t really explain why , but it’s the same as Ashford where I equally couldn’t live again . The thing about Sittingbourne I suppose is that the Grammars are not particularly the best although I agree that for the secondary schools it’s an excellent choice . Westlands, on league tables , comes out as one of the best non Grammars in a wide area including Medway / Maidstone and Fulston Manor has always been very popular . Until the recent regeneration the town itself though was a bit lacking but now , and more so in the near future , it will be very good .

I imagine, as with Sevenoaks, the villages around TW are nicer than TW itself.

@vik2017 as far as I can gather from your posts, you want to do the best for your son. With that aim, you consider grammar schools to be "the best", but as @ChocolateWombat correctly posts (from yesterday 18.21), there are a lot of misconceptions about grammar schools.

Your grammar school list doesn't make any sense to me because you have a school like Reading along with other grammar schools that also have catchment areas - your son will not get a place in many of these grammar schools if you are out of catchment, regardless of how brilliantly he passes the 11+.

Please consider your positon carefully before you commit to 11+ tourism - the stress for your son to sit multiple exams, the cost to each school for a candidate that has no realistic chance of gaining a place. Narrow down your list of grammar schools if you insist on them.

If I were in your shoes I would not move across the country to be in a fully opt-in grammar area. If you are in Basingstoke, you might be in Reading catchment, I don't know your postcode.

I'm sure some other PP will have advised you to check out the elevenplus forum for more advice on schools and areas.

vik - why don't you go on a little driving tour around Kent and visit Bexley and see what you think? I'm sure you'll understand people's reactions to Tunbridge Wells when you see it! It all comes down to cups of tea again... or marmite... but anyway, you will certainly understand if you do that, that whilst you are talking about the same county (and even Bexley used to be considered Kent, until the 1960s when it became part of London), the schools you are considering are in areas with very different personalities!! Imvho, I wouldn't want to live in any of the areas on your list, with or without grammar schools, but there's enough variety in there that you might find a place catches your fancy. Btw, you would have to be seriously snobby to reject Tonbridge as inferior to Tunbridge Wells and if you are that way inclined, just don't bother with places like Dartford or Rainham! They don't have the right ring to them!

EugenieG - I'm sure some other PP will have advised you to check out the elevenplus forum

I was going to until OP posted their DCs age.

Given the list of Grammar schools that OP is considering, they will need to do a fair bit of skipping around all the various regional threads too.

I think, I should drive around Bexley, Tonbridge, TW, Rochester and Canterbury....

Whilst you are going from Rochester to Canterbury have a look at the Bearsted side of Maidstone and the villages around Sittingbourne / Faversham it’s worth a look .

it’s worth a look

OP how soon are you looking to move?

@MumTryingHerBest, @Floralnomad: I am already ready to move ..

I am already ready to move

Have you already identified the primary school you want your DC to go to?

@MumTryingHerBest: I meant, I am ready to move just wating for decision to be made on schools....not like I have finalised

I can't remember the age of your child exactly - are they Year 4, or 4?

If they are 4, then you need to move quickly so that they meet the deadline for normal entry into a primary school if you want a state school. IME many of the good state primaries take very few children as 'in year' admissions as they tend to fill up completely in Reception and you're then waiting for an occasional place to come up. Highly selective private primaries also have admissions tests quite early.

If he is in Y4, then you need to find somewhere with a Y4 place ASAP - it may well not be in the best school - because private schools which prep for the 11+ will have already done years of work, and even in state primary, the beginning of Y5 is absolutely the latest point people start with coaching.

vik2017 as you have short listed some possible areas, perhaps the next step should be to investigate the primary schools and find out about properties within their catchment areas.

Once you have identified the primaries you like the look of you may want to consider investigating the logistics of getting to the various Grammar schools from those specific areas.

OP , grammar schools really aren’t the be all and end all.
Yes they attract good teachers and are filled with fairly and very bright children from largely supportive and motivated backgrounds . This works really well for diligent , well motivated children. A lot of those young people would do well at school anyway particularly with parents who take an interest.
The downsides are obvious ; only 5-30% will get in depending on particular school and its reliance on catchment.
Most of the catchment dependent schools have high house prices accordingly. Money that can be spent on many other educational opportunities.
With grammar schools in Kent come ‘secondary moderns’ not comprehensives. Some of these are good schools but they are missing many of the most able pupils.
Highly selective schools have very good results because the academic level of each child being admitted is high. Be careful when you make your choice that you are looking for added value.
Some of the grammars suit very particular and sometimes rather robust children. Each school has its type and all bright children do not thrive.
Think about where you would like to live with your family .
As it happens I quite like Tunbridge Wells, there are a lot of amenities and options for families and if you or your DH work in the City it is convenient. It also has lots of good schools but lots of children to not fit into the rather narrow slots provided. There are good private schools but the best of these are also highly selective. Think hard before taking a properly comprehensive opportunity away from your DS that it is the right thing to do.

@cantkeepawayforever: is 4 and yes I am looking for the options...

@MumTryingHerBest: I am planning to have a drive around in coming weekend or next weekend and meantime also looking for good preps..

@MumTryingHerBest "I was going to [recommend elevenplus forum] until OP posted their DCs age."

Whoa, I completely missed that OP's son is 4, I misread and thought they meant their son was in year 4. Okaaaaaay then... OP wins prize for preparedness

OP wins prize for preparedness

I'm not so sure about that. Schools can and often do review their admissions policies each year. There could be a fair few changes in place before OPs DC is due to apply (which is why most families wait until nearer yr4 before doing what OP is doing now).

I know someone who started prepping for entrance exams, when their child was 18 months old !

The poor child actually failed the 11+ and is now in a non academic private school .

The parents of that child threatened to take the 'Prep' school to court seeking payment for the fees they now had to pay. They convinced themselves there was a conspiracy against the family by the Local Authority, the 11+ administers the grammar school et al.

They started a website called 'Justice for jack' ..

Nutty parents will try everything to get in to a grammar .

N.B Jack is not the real name !

The poor child is 4?

This is a huge pressure to be putting on a 4 year old, mapping out your life based on him passing a single exam when he is 10 years old.

Suppose your child is one of those who is a genius at creative writing but struggles with maths? A whizz at maths but no aptitude for literature?

This happens.

Is your child going to be pressurised, tutored and moulded into a Grammar School Child from his first day of Reception?

This is a huge pressure to be putting on a 4 year old

OP has stated that their DC has a 70% chance of passing. I'm assuming this prediction is off the back of the DC doing timed tests in VR & Maths (CEM & GL), NVR & creative writing Bond, FPTP, CGP etc. 11 plus practice papers.

TBF the op was asking about catchment areas for good schools with a grammar school as her first choice (an obvious choice - grammar schools top the league tables in this country for attainment), not tutoring. Other posters are telling her that she needs to tutor her ds for years to get him into a grammar school - she was perfectly happy with a state primary school at the start of the thread but she's been told that she has to put her ds in a prep school to prepare him. Other posters are being ridiculous.

OP has stated that their DC has a 70% chance of passing
That was in answer to a direct question though. We don't know the op's education/profession but they can afford private education if necessary - if one of the child's parents is a doctor for example, then it's probably a reasonable expectation if nearly 30% of dc in Kent pass for grammar school.