Advise - Good Boys Secondary Schools, Kent/Essex or anywhere outside London

[blueyes99]

Hope everyone is doing well. Is there any area preferably outside London, doesn't matter east, west, north or south, which anyone could recommend with good secondary school for our son and eventually for his two little sisters? I know its last minute, our son is in year 6 and daughters in year 4 and year 1. Only thing to consider is my husbands commute to London for work. Catholic schools are also preferable as it will give us some advantage.

We live in east London and our son wrote the 11+ exams in couple of places. Two of the results came which he didn't make. The only remaining is Essex and Kent which I am not too hopeful at this point. I always wanted to move out of London and was hoping to move where my son would get selected and doesn't seem to go that way.
Thanking you all in advance and looking forward to some helpful advise to reach a decision.

Assume you have your local priest able to verify regular Mass attendance for the Supplementary forms as well as Baptism and First Communion certificates.

The Campion School, all boys Catholic Secondary in Hornchurch, girls could eventually go to Sacred Heart in Upminster. I have personal experience of both and they are outstanding.

You will be cutting it fine for your Y6 as closing date is end of October for admissions to Y7 next September?

Bexley has very good non-selective schools as well, with a few of them now offering a “grammar stream” for children who only missed the pass mark of the 11+ by a few points. However most of those schools do require a banding test for entry and the deadline for those is very soon.

my son has scored 365 in his Kent exam, considering his score

Skinners Academy - Turnbridge Wells
Tunbridge Wells Boys Grammar - Turnbridge Wells
Gravesend Grammar for Boys
Wilmington Grammar for Boys

out of which I am leaning towards Skinners any feedback is highly appreciated. I think we need to move close to the area before 1st of Dec

@blueyes99

my son has scored 365 in his Kent exam, considering his score

Skinners Academy - Turnbridge Wells
Tunbridge Wells Boys Grammar - Turnbridge Wells
Gravesend Grammar for Boys
Wilmington Grammar for Boys

out of which I am leaning towards Skinners any feedback is highly appreciated. I think we need to move close to the area before 1st of Dec

Skinners Academy or Skinners School? Very different schools...

If DS is very sporty esp rugby, then Skinners, if not then the others are fine, just not that academically challenging

@balloonsintrees is completely right, the Skinners Academy is a Secondary Modern and the Skinners School is the grammar. The grammar is very selective on location of pupils and on score. So yes if you are keen on Skinners a move soon would be advisable!

The two boys from DDs class at Skinners (grammar, Year 9) aren’t particularly sporty. Both sets of parents chose it over Judd as they thought it seemed less ‘robotic’. I also know 2 sets of parents with boys at Tunbridge Wells Boys Grammar, both of whom applied from E Sussex. Both these parents had a preference for Skinners and didn’t get it because of area but seem to be pretty happy with TWGB. One of these boys is especially sporty. The reality is that you may apply for TWGB and be given the new Sevenoaks site rather than TW, this is what has happened with Weald girls who haven’t always got the preferred site.

Geographically you are looking at very separate locations and big differences in terms of house prices. Gravesend really isn’t that nice! Why don’t you look at the boys grammars in Maidstone too? Oakwood and Maidstone Grammar School. Neither is super selective and Maidstone Grammar in particular produces great results. While I wouldn’t necessarily want to live in Maidstone itself, there are some pretty villages surrounding it. West Malling is lovely and less than ten minutes by train into central Maidstone.

Skinners School (not Academy) would be top of that list for me.
Wilmington bottom.
Don't know TW.
Know teachers and students from Gravesend and it's a good school but harder to find a nice area to live in than the other three.

Coopers in Upminster is a highly regarded school which isn't Catholic specifically but evidence needs to be provided of association with a major faith. As well as the immediate vicinity of the school, there are also a number of places reserved for children from specific other areas; and with aptitude in music and sports too. If you google it you can see the full admission criteria. Campion, which someone else mentioned above is also nearby as is Sacred Heart of Mary for girls, they are both Catholic.

I have 3 boys at Skinners (the grammar) two of whom are totally not sporty, but the school have so many options that it doesn't really matter. I think it's a brilliant school, but you will need to live close. The inner catchment only went to 2.3 miles in the first allocation last year. I have many friends who are very happy with their boys at TWGSB but as a PP has said, with the new annexe opening I would want to be sure which site they would be at....can't comment on the others.