Moving area between primary and secondary

[ToastMama]

We're considering a move from Kent to Buckinghamshire when our eldest finishes primary school. Does anyone know how this would all potentially work/has done something similar? We've got the 11+ system here, which he would sit at the beginning of Y6 and I think they get the results in November. Should I be looking at taking him to sit the Bucks version somewhere privately? And would schools there consider out of area applications? Don't understand how we can get him a place (even ignoring the grammar options!) without moving in advance, which would disrupt Y6 quite considerably (we've got a younger DS currently in Y1), and it's not exactly commutable in the interim...

Totally stuck on this one, please help!

Your key problem will indeed be your address. You must apply using the child's permanent address, which will be your Kent address.

He can sit the Bucks test out of area, thats not a problem, but realistically he stands pretty much zero chance of getting a place using your Kent address - admissions policies generally go on catchment then distance for all child who get the qualifying score, its not done on score alone.

You can apply for other schools using your Kent address, but again you will be unlikely to get a place at any sort after school as everyone living nearer will be higher on the allocations list. Bucks will have to find you a school, but only after you have a Bucks address.

Realistically you will need to move, and then apply for a school asap. He can sit for grammars late, though you would need to talk to some of the individual schools at that point as in-year admissions are run differently.

Thanks so much, that’s sort of what I expected, but helpful nevertheless. Sounds like I’d better speak to the schools!

We moved from Surrey to Bucks in the summer between y5 and y6. Ds did y6 at the new school then moved up to y7 with many kids in his class.

That’s something I’ve definitely wondered about - how did your DS manage the move?

He was fine especially as lots of his y6 friends moved up to his new school. There were 4 new people in his y6 class and it was the best way to guarantee a y7 spot at a great school.

Are there super selectives in Buckinghamshire? We were 10 miles away from the Grammar school and moved closer a week before the September start. The school admissions were based on score, our address didn't matter.

I don’t know about super selectives (not sure they’d be a right for DS anyway) but I definitely need to do some more research on catchments. We’d be 60 miles away so that’ll rule us out for a number of reasons!