State Secondary Schools in Bournemouth UK

[Catherinecope1]

Hi, I would so appreciate if someone can help us. We are relocating from South Africa in July/Aug this year and are seriously considering the Bournemouth or Ringwood area.
Would you be able to tell us which are the better areas with the better state secondary schools (outstanding/good) We would also like to know which are good state secondary's that office A levels?
Thank you ever so much

Your OP is lacking in detail so my reply is pretty generic.

Bournemouth has a grammar school system so if your child could pass the 11+ then the two most desired schools are -

Bournemouth School (boys)
www.bournemouth-school.org/

Bournemouth School for Girls
bsg.bournemouth.sch.uk/

Another popular school is St Peters School (Catholic)
st-peters.bournemouth.sch.uk/

There are many other schools in Bournemouth and I think that most people choose depending on which part of town they live in.

The two main girls schools are -

Avonbourne School
www.avonbourne.org/

Glenmoor Academy
www.glenmoor.org.uk/

The two main boys schools are -

Harewood College
www.avonbournetrust.org/Harewood-College

Winton Academy
www.wintoncollege.org.uk/

This information is super basic but if you have any specific questions I should be able to help you or at least point you in the right direction.

(I live in Christchurch and will be training to teach in Poole from September)

Thank you ever so much for your info, it was most helpful. Just some more questions?

1. Where would you say are the better areas to live/rent/buy in Bournemouth (taking into consideration the catchment areas of good schools)
2. In South Africa our kids don't do 11+ exams - would they not be able to attend a Grammar school then?
3. The schools that you listed, are they in good residential areas with excellent ofstead ratings, or are they just schools you would suggest from your own experience?
4. I have a daughter of 16 beginning her A levels in September, a son age 12 beginning Secondary School and a son of 8 needing a primary school

We are trying to find a rental property in a good school catchment area, as we would like to buy after 6months to a year. We obviously do not want to move our children again after their first year, as it would be unsettling and they would have only just made new friends coming from South Africa. We are not aware of the better middle class family residential areas in Bournemouth and surrounds and would greatly appreciate your advice. Thank you ever so much cathy

There's an outstanding school in Ringwood www.ringwood.hants.sch.uk/

I would contact the grammar schools directly as there must be some provision for international transfers, especially for 6th form. The Bournemouth grammar schools are not "super selective"- from my understanding, if you can pass the 11+, you're in. One issue is that you cant apply for schools until you're resident in the UK. However, they can probably give you a steer on whether you'd be likely to get in.

Nicest residential areas in Bournemouth are (IMO) Canford Cliffs, Branksome Park and Talbot Woods. However, those are expensive areas and don't necessarily tally with the best schools because a large percentage of those people would send their kids private (or to the grammars which have a broad geographic catchment). Charminster is quite nice/ leafy as is Ferndown. You probably want to avoid the student areas as high percentage of HMOs/ noise etc.

Another option is Broadstone which is north of Poole. It's a bit suburban but has very good primaries. In terms of secondary I think that falls in the catchment for Poole grammar schools (again, there's a boys and a girls).

Sorry I cant link up the schools and areas better- I know Bournemouth reasonably well but we live overseas now so I've never done the schools thing.

Where would you say are the better areas to live/rent/buy in Bournemouth (taking into consideration the catchment areas of good schools)
I might be biased but I consider Christchurch to be a better place to live than Bournemouth.

Less crowded and quieter and the schools are really good as well.

In Christchurch there are three secondary schools and although I have listed them in order of popularity, most children end up going to the one that they live closest to -

Twynham School
www.twynhamschool.com/

Highcliffe School
station1.highcliffe.dorset.sch.uk/intra/home.asp

The Grange School
www.thegrangeschool.com/

In regards to areas and housing, I don't know your personal circumstances so what I class as a good area might not be the same as your idea.

If you look on Rightmove (www.rightmove.co.uk/) you could enter each school's postcode and then see what the housing is like within a mile or two???

www.rightmove.co.uk

Nicest residential areas in Bournemouth are (IMO) Canford Cliffs, Branksome Park and Talbot Woods
They are the best areas but a lot of the residents are millionaire class rather than (what I consider to be) middle class.

It is really hard to answer the OP when I don't know anything about them!!

They might be champagne socialists

Seriously though OP, Persian's suggestion to use RightMove is a good one as it gives all the ofsted ratings and also an indicator of whether the house is in catchment.

For your 8 and 12 year olds, you will have missed the normal entrance dates for schools - depending on when their birthdays are, your 8 year old will be in year 3 (if not 9 before Aug 31), or year 4 now, so years 4 or 5 in Sept; the 12 year old will be in Year 7 now (if not 13 before Aug 31) or year 8, so year 8/9 in Sept.

That will make them in-year applications, so you will have to take spaces at schools that happen to have vacancies - you are unlikely to get much choice I'm afraid. You can go on waiting lists for other schools. For the 11+, your son would need to take a test at the school, and then go on the waiting list for his year.

For your 16 year old, you may also find that in-demand 6th forms are already full, so you would need to go on waiting lists there too.

The local authority should be able to help you with vacancies, but would need proof of your arrival with addresses and dates before they will allocate any spaces.

They might be champagne socialists
I didn't really know how to word what I meant about those areas especially as I don't know the OP.

Those areas are beautiful but I doubt that I will ever be able to afford to live there as the houses are very expensive.

For all I know the OP may well be thinking of houses in the same price range as those areas but I don't know.

Charminster is quite nice/ leafy as is Ferndown
Sorry to contradict you Johnnycomelately1 but Charminster itself is pretty ropey now as it is filled with HMOs and student houses.

The Queen's Park Avenue area is very nice but again very expensive.

OP, if I were you I would try contacting the councils to see what they can do for you.

Bournemouth
www.bournemouth.gov.uk/childreneducation/Schools/ApplyingForASchoolPlace.aspx

Poole
archive.poole.gov.uk/education-and-learning/school-and-colleges/school-admissions/

Christchurch (Dorset County Council)
www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/school-admissions/apply-for-a-school-place

Here is a list and a map of the secondary schools in Bournemouth -
live-bournemouth.cloud.contensis.com/childreneducation/Schools/SchoolsDocuments/list-and-map-of-bournemouth-secondary-schools-2017-18.pdf

Poole schools list -
archive.poole.gov.uk/education-and-learning/school-and-colleges/schools-in-poole/

I hope that I haven't overwhelmed you with links!!

Let me know if you need anything else.

Thank you so so so much to all of you who took the time to give some really useful advice and info!!! I cannot tell you how much we appreciate it. I will be sure to get back to you all once Ive had a look at some of those 'many' links ! But again thank you as I am sure they will be extremely useful . Please feel free to add anymore info you think of over the next while. This process is all very scary and daunting for us and any suggestions, guidance and advice will be treasured. To move one's family to another country is exciting yet terrifying at the same time, with so much to process, learn and organized. Hope to get some more useful tips in the near future....God Bless

Ringwood isn't an outstanding secondary school.
It's also very over subscribed because it has such a huge catchment.

What sort of price for property are you looking at

Ringwood isn't an outstanding secondary school
Well spotted, Ringwood School was rated GOOD in March 2017.

Hi Catherine

I would consider Ferndown, it has good schools and is a bit more spacious and leafy than Bournemouth itself. Ferndown Upper School are rated Good and get good exam results - they will almost certainly have space in sixth form.

Bournemouth and Poole each have their own local authority, they have primary schools from age 4-11 then secondary from age 11-18.

East Dorset (including Ferndown, Wimborne) have a three school system: First School (4-9), Middle (9-13) and Upper (13-18). So you would be looking at potentially three different schools.

Happy for you to PM me if you would like to ask anything, I bet it is a daunting prospect. The good news is that most schools and areas around here are decent and there are some lovely things about living in the area :)

Hi helpers, I know its been a while, but I have a couple more questions.
Which areas would you suggest are not 'child friendly' and more for pensioners etc?