Grammar Schools

[MumLearningQuick]

DS1starts Y4 in September. We live in East London- in Canary Wharf. I don’t see many options for good secondary schools around and clueless on the Prep needed for Grammar schools and I think we would need to move but not sure which areas we should consider ?

www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk

That’s where you can get an overview of schools in different areas (every borough is a local authority).

There are grammar schools in some of the outer London boroughs and Kent is a fully grammar county. Grammar schools are very competitive so it’s important to find somewhere with a good backup.

I down in Sutton and it’s a top school destination as there are 5 grammars in the borough (3 of them for boys) and excellent non selective schools so you can’t go wrong. Great location for the independent sector if you’d like that to be your ‘backup’.

The area is very suburban with big houses and gardens and often within walking distance to the coutryside. It’s full of families and there are tons of things to do for children.
Sutton itself has an urban and slightly chavvy town centre but lots of useful shops, a cinema, sports village etc. Some of the surrounding areas are more ‘villagey’.
The desirable places to live are South Sutton, Cheam Village, Carshalton Village and Carshalton Beeches. Areas that are more affordable but still brill for schools with some lovely roads are North Cheam, Sutton Common and West Sutton.

The trains go into London Victoria, London Bridge + there’s th Thameslink. It’s a short bus ride to Morden tube if ever needed.

JoJoSM2 - thank you for the the detailed response. Much appreciated ! That is very useful. Planning to drive down to Sutton later today :)

Agree with the PP that if you're looking at grammars, it's almost more important to consider your plan b. You want to be properly confident that you live somewhere where your child has a pretty certain guarantee of a place at a good non-grammar. Even the brightest children can have an off day. Kent, for example, does have some very good non-grammars, but they're often church schools with strict entry criteria or have very small catchments.

@MumLearningQuick just a note of caution. Grammar schools don't suit everyone, particularly the SW/SE London super-selectives. I have a DS who came out with solid rather than stellar grades from one and dented self-confidence to boot.

Probably a bit far out but all three of us went to Dr Challoner's in Little Chalfont & Amersham. We don't live in Bucks so not an option for my kids but I think they are still well regarded.

You have to Iive near them to get in as their catchment isn't large due to high demand. But you'd be on the Met Line plus the faster option of the Chiltern Line to Marylebone (30 minutes on the quick service from Amersham).

Thank you ! Appreciate the advice.

@MumLearningQuick We relocated from the Canary Wharf area (well, much earlier) for similar reasons. Happy to help share our research if you want to PM, but we looked at primary rather than secondary.

The grammar school areas near you will be Bexley, Dartford, Wilmington in Kent, Colchester, Chelmsford etc in Essex and then quite a few further away in Kent. Some of these grammar schools will accept out of catchment applicants, so you can apply to them while you live in CW. I would highly recommend getting in first before you make the move as places are super competitive.

You can also move to an area with several good secondary schools (Bromley, Dulwich, Ealing, Sutton etc) and apply to grammar schools from there as well. Good luck!

@TypsTrycks you've overlooked Sutton and Kingston in your overview of areas with grammars. Sutton is consistently top three in the country for GCSE results because of its excellent schools, super-selective and otherwise.

@MumLearningQuick, are you looking to move to another location in London? If you can go further afield then the Colchester and Chelmsford grammars might be worth a shot and the state schools around there also seem to be good.