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Secondary education

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South Bucks and SW Herts For Selective Schools.

12 replies

Delectable · 04/04/2022 15:02

Where should one look for a 4 bed detached house in South Bucks or South West Hertfordshire, fastish train to London and with eligibility for an outstanding selective school. Max value £950,000. Happy to do some work.

OP posts:
abc4321 · 13/04/2022 07:41

I live on the Bucks/Herts border but house prices (having just double checked on Rightmove) are £1.3m upwards for 4 beds.

Did you post on the other thread about Watford girls? You might be able to find something in Watford for that, although the distance catchment area is small for both Watford grammars.

I went to Challoner's girls, it's a well regarded school and sometimes takes out of Bucks catchment. If they do, Chorleywood is probably the nearest non-Bucks place but you'll struggle to find a house here in your budget. Living in CW does give you access to Clement Danes which is also in quite high demand.

Property in Chesham is cheaper than Little Chalfont and Amersham (plus there's a tube link to both) so I'd probably have a look there, and in the surrounding villages.

Delectable · 13/04/2022 11:43

Thanks. The train from Chesham takes an hour to get into London. So that's a big put off. Yes Chesham Grammar is good. My friend with a son at SCD thinks it's not as great as reputed. Her daughter is at Dr Challoner's and they speak highly of it and now working on the youngest to attend it too.

OP posts:
Delectable · 13/04/2022 11:43

Would've like Burnham Grammar as it's near Crossrail.

OP posts:
abc4321 · 13/04/2022 14:47

You have the option of the Chiltern line train from Amersham and Little Chalfont. It takes 25 minutes from CW to Marylebone, and I think there's a non stop service from Amersham to Marylebone at some times.

abc4321 · 13/04/2022 14:50

My kids go to a private school so I have no direct experience (other than Challoner's) but their friends' parents from prep school have all been very pleased with SCD.

Chenies has the benefit of being in Bucks so you have the grammar school option but also in catchment for SCD. I know several kids that go to SCD from Chenies. Chenies is lovely but small and expensive.

TizerorFizz · 15/04/2022 08:28

SCD really isn’t Dr Challoners grammar. Selection makes a huge difference.

I would look at Wendover on the ChilternnLine or Tring on the Euston line. You might need to look further north than you want to. Chesham is slow into London. High Wycombe area gives you lots more options. You are looking at the most expensive areas at the moment.

TizerorFizz · 15/04/2022 08:32

I’ve just had a quick look on Rightmove. You can get 4 bed in Little Chalfont, Bovingdon, Amersham etc but there’s not much available.

Wigeon · 15/04/2022 09:04

For the SW Herts Consortium (here) do you mean you want a house where you would get in on distance alone, or where you’d expect your DC to sit the music/sports/academic test and get a place that way?

If you want to get in on distance, then you need to check the individual schools’ websites to see the maximum distance where people got a place - it’s usually just a few hundred meters and for some of the schools, there either aren’t many houses nearby (Parmiter’s) or the houses are in a less desirable/noisy town centre type area (Watford girls grammar in West Watford) or expensive area where you’d struggle to get 4 bed detached for under a million (Watford boys grammar).

If you are planning on getting the DC to sit the sports/music/academic test, then you should also check the consortium schools’ websites as some of them (maybe all of them?) have an “inner postcode area” and “outer postcode area” and admit more children from the inner areas, so you’ve got more chance if you live there.

You also need to be aware that the academic and music cut off scores are very different for the different schools in the consortium (I’m less familiar with the sports scores for those schools which do that test).

In general though, you could get a 4 bed detached for that price in some parts of Watford (including Leavesden), Croxley Green or Bushey. Also Kings Langley and Abbots Langley. Trains from all of those stations are pretty quick to London, apart from
Croxley which is on the Met tube line.

If you are expecting your DC to do the sports/music/academic test, unless they are a musical genius, you’d need a back up plan for a non selective school as you can’t guarantee a place of course.

TizerorFizz · 15/04/2022 09:44

If you are prepared to look at villages around High Wycombe, Holmer Green, Prestwood, and Wendover you can certainly get 4 beds for your price. You might have a short drive to a station but the rail services are good and reliable.

Doublechocolatetiffin · 15/04/2022 09:52

@Delectable

Would've like Burnham Grammar as it's near Crossrail.
You should be able to yet what you want in Burnham, why not look there?
abc4321 · 15/04/2022 15:39

SCD really isn’t Dr Challoners grammar. Selection makes a huge difference

I understand that, not least because I (plus my siblings) went to Challoner's. SCD is partly selective though.

The point I was trying to make is that some of the prep school parents I knew weren't ones to accept second best (I'm trying to put it nicely) and, without exception, they've been glowing about SCD. It has its downsides, sport being one of them (although Challoner's isn't as good as Watford Boys for sport), but I wanted to mention that it's highly regarded in the local area.

I've no skin in the game as my kids don't go to a state secondary. But I'd still have been happy with them going to Challoner's or Watford Boys or, as second choice, SCD.

PressPauseontheMenopause · 15/04/2022 16:59

There are quite a few 4 bed houses in Amersham for under a million, and all in catchment for DCGS, DCHS, or Chesham Grammar, which is also v good.

For example:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/122052905

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/121729523

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