Good Mixed Secondary schools in Buckinghamshire or Hertfordshire

[EUTOLONDON]

Hi all,
We will be moving to England in about 2 months. Our areas of interest will depend mainly on the shool place and safety. My daughter will go to year 9 in September 2020. We still have to finalize a rental place. Please suggest out of Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire, which place has better secondary schools with a good chance of getting a place ? Your suggestions will be helpful for us to decide.
Thanks!

have Pmed you

Most good Bucks secondary schools are full. There are also grammar schools in Bucks. In y9 the schools themselves would test but you would be lucky if there was a space! Other than the Grammars, it’s secondary moderns and some of them are very good schools. It’s the less good ones that might have a space though!

If she is joining in year 9 you might want to look al little further out for London at Bedfordshire where there are upper schools. All students start their last phase of secondary in Year 9. She might feel a little less left out.

This is a really useful link for you for Hertfordshire schools. As a general rule those with no spaces are the better schools. I only know the west side of Hertfordshire though. Schools to look at are:

Ashlyns
Hockerill Anglo-European
St Clement Danes
St George’s
Hemel Hempstead School
Dame Alice Owens
Croxley Danes
Beaumont
St Albans Girls (don’t get confused with the independent school)
Sandringham
Tring
Watford Grammar
Parmiters

You would need to live practically on the doorstep of one of these schools to be top of the waiting list. House prices and rentals are extremely high in those locations though because of the schools.

The link might help......

www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/schools-and-education/school-admissions/in-year-admissions-change-schools-during-the-year/school-vacancies/school-vacancies-year-7-to-year-11.aspx

Thanks a ton everyone for your messages. I really appreciate. Hope to be able to find some success here 😊.

In Bucks, surprisingly Wycombe High for girls has space in y9. Two out of the three secondary modern schools in Aylesbury do and the Cottesloe School at Wing.

You could also try Chesham Grammar, I know they had some movement so could be lucky with places.

Is there any faith connection as that open up other schools. Is private an option for 3 years, circa £15k p.a?

Wycombe High is grammar though too. There’s the 12+ and 13+ but by Yr9 not sure you have hope of getting in.
Are you looking for comprehensive?
There’s Beaconsfield Secondary, Chalfont Community College, Bourne End Academy.
Avoid Khalsa School if you can.

Not "if you can". Avoid Khalsa school.

If we manage to get a place in a school which is maybe an average rated one and if we don't like it after joining, what options do we have then? Is mid year transfer a possibility? Will the council then give us a place in a different school if we appeal or for we have to just live with it?
Also, where exactly can I see the available spots ( accurate stats) for year 9?
In Bucks, any good private schools?

What's a comprehensive? Different from regular state school?

Fantastic! Thanks a million!

Comprehensive is mixed ability across the school. However Bucks has selective schools, a two tier system. Those not in the grammars are in secondary modern schools with relatively fewer higher ability students. At year 9 you really need to stay put until year 11/gcse is finished. Swapping may mean lack of continuity in choice of subjects and even different exam boards and topics within the same subject.

Comprehensive is a state school that takes all abilities. Grammar schools the children have to take an exam. Bucks is an all grammar/Upper school system so if your child doesn't pass they go to an Upper School which is missing the "top" 30%, or at least the 30% who passed the exam. Great system if they pass, terrible system if they don't.

Private schools are good, there’s Dair House, St Mary’s, Maltmans, Highmarch, Claire’s Court, few others too.
Think Dair House is the only mixed sex one though out of those. The privates tend to be single sex.

Many of those are primary age. Claire's Court is Maidenhead, not Bucks. Bucks private don't have a great academic reputation because those who can use grammar schools. Piper's Corner (not mixed though) has a growing reputation. St Mary's gets mixed reviews.

Not all Bucks is Grammar. Milton Keynes has the comprehensive system.

Year 9 isn’t catered for in the prep schools named above. None of these schools are around Herts/Bucks either. Berkhamsted School is the obvious co-Ed private one in this area.

Buckinghamshire County Council lists which schools have vacancies. Google Bucks CC School vacancies. The list was current this week. Obviously it changes. However you won’t get a place in any school unless there is a vacancy, even if you take exams at 12 and 13 plus and pass for a grammar school place. You also need to be resident because schools cannot hold vacancies open. You could take exams for Chesham High and ask them what their position is regarding vacancies. Others will
probably be doing the same. However is DC up to speed with the curriculum here? Sometimes where this is not the case, DC go a year down in private (fee paying) schools. So you could approach Berkhamsted and see what they say. If you didn’t want Co-Ed you would have more choice. You could also look at Stowe in
Bucks near Buckingham.

Stowe have reduced their day fees I believe. If you can pay, the fee paying schools are very different from the Milton Keynes comprehensives and Secondary moderns in Bucks.

Milton Keynes is not Bucks as far as schools go. There are no comprehensives in Bucks.

Maybe not @timeforachange but if she's coming from abroad and looking in the county - it is in Buckinghamshire, has fantastic rail links North South (35 minutes to Euston), the M1, will shortly have the East West rail link, and has comprehensive secondary schools, tons of green space, and lots going for it as a place to live. It's also a lot cheaper than many of the other towns mentioned that are closer to London.

True, but if you looked on the Bucks County Council website you wouldn't find any info about schools/vacancies, I presume? I've no idea as I've never looked.

No you won’t. MK is s separate education authority. The schools are all comprehensive but like anywhere, some are better than others. It will depend on vacancies.

The MK admission information is all on the MK Council web site.