Best area to live for grammar catchment of becky high, SWBS, Chesham grmmar, dr challoner and higheycombe girls

[settleforgood]

Dear all lovely people,

We currently stay in Maidenhead and our little daughter is in Year 2 . We plan to buy house near to beaconsfield area as we like the nearby towns but bit confused which could be the best town considering catchment for at-least 3 out of 4 good grammar schools like becky high, chesham grammar, dr challoner, wycombe high, SWBS

We have visited beaconsfield, woburn green, seer green, gerards cross and bourne end. We liked all of them specially beaconsfield town but houses seem bit expensive and our budget is £600-700 and we also want to make sure we are in catchment and able to apply for atleast 3 grammar schools mentioned above..

I am sure you would have come across this situation at some point in your life.

Requesting to share your experience and your valuable inputs so we can plan our move for a long term and buy at the right location.

You are extremely unlikely to find somewhere that lies within catchment of more than two schools.
Download the catchment maps for each school and draw circles on showing the distance from the school that they tend to admit to (eg for SWBGS it is only about 3 miles).
What is your plan if your DD doesn’t pass the 11+? You need to be in catchment for a back-up upper school you’d be happy with, unless you intend to go private instead.

Thanks Tea. Its a good point, will certainly do that exercise however I thought if anybody has experience living in any if the towns above they would have researched for a town having maximum catchment and also a good secondary backup.

Since I am fairly new to bucks. I am looking for advise based on experience.

I’ve only done the research for boys, so I’m not much use!

Oh I see . Any suggestions for good towns having a good secondary backup if its mixed ? Unless you only researched for boys

If you moved to Marlow you would be in catchment for Wycombe High and SWBS.
I don’t think there is a way to be in the catchment for 3.

Any suggestions on seer green, Woburn green, Gerard cross , etc towns. Will they not have catchment to beaconsfield high, chesham, highwycombe girls ? Possibly not SWBs

Which town has good secondary backups if we dont get grammar admissions?

As mentioned above you need to look at the catchment maps which are on the school websites &/or the Buckinghamshire council website. In addition you need to look at past allocations (also on the Bucks website), as not everyone in catchment gets a place (this is particularly so for SWBGS).
The Upper Schools vary a lot. As a rough rule of thumb, those who allocate places to all applicants are probably the least desirable ones.
Bear in mind that things can change drastically in a few years. Burnham Grammar used to have empty classrooms and allocated places to anyone who qualified. Now it barely goes out of catchment.
Your best bet would probably be to live in Marlow, close enough to get in to SWBGS & the Upper school in Marlow. You may also be in with a shot for Wycombe High, but that wouldn't matter if you were close enough to SWBGS.
You could also try the the eleven plus forum.

Past school allocations are here: https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/schools-and-learning/schools-index/school-admissions/school-admissions-guides-policies-and-statistics/school-place-allocation-statistics/
I think the maps are on the school websites rather than the council website, but I'm not sure.

Hi,
Does anybody have any feedback about Chalfont St Peter and Gerards Cross. Both these areas seem to be in catchment of atleast 3 grammar schools - Beaconsfield high, Chesham Grammar and Dr Challoner's High

Both are nice, but quite different, you'd have to visit. Gerrards Cross is eye wateringly expensive & has a train station which Chalfont St Peter doesn't. I'm not sure which upper schools they are in catchment for, or what the primary schools are like.

They may be in catchment, but have you checked that girls usually get in from Gerrards Cross to Dr Challoner's or Chesham? They may well do, I don't know. You would almost certainly get into Beaconsfield High School from Gerrards Cross, I don't know about from Chalfont St Peter. You can check all these things on the Bucks website.

Any idea about Amersham ?

Nice. Still expensive. I don't know about the school catchments other than Dr Challoner's. The upper school would be Amersham which is ok I think. No idea about primary schools.
Have you visited any of these places?
Have you thought about an area with good comprehensives (eg just across the border in Herts) rather than getting tangled up in the grammar school system?

I am very familiar with Amersham, what specifically would you like to know?

As regards catchments, your DD would have a choice between Dr Challoner's and Chesham Grammar (probably). The former is all-girls, the latter is mixed.

In terms of secondary moderns it would almost certainly be Amersham School, which has improved massively over the past 10 years on account of a very strong SLT and is now over-subscribed.

A lot of parents in the area pay for primary education to maximise chances of getting into grammar school, but there are some decent state options too.

We had a specific family reason for moving to the area, but all else being equal we would have done what @Nonameoclue recommends and opted for some of the really good comprehensives in Herts.

I think it would be madness to be moving specifically for grammars with a DC who is only in year 2. If I had to do so, I would probably look at Amersham as you would currently have two grammar options and a very solid non-grammar back up with the Amersham school. However, you won't get much house for your budget there. Another option would be moving in catchment for a good comprehensive like St Clement Danes in Chorleywood, just over the Herts border. Do be aware that catchment intakes and even selection processes do change all the time.

Thankyou. Thats really helpful. We have narrowed down Amersham and now looking for houses near Amersham school and Dr Challoner's high school.
I still need to research which are good primary schools and I hope they accept in year admissions as we will be moving when my daughter is in middle of year 3 .
Any recommendations, please share ?

Also I wanted to known if any area needs to be avoided in Amersham. I am mostly looking near amersham hill area as its close to both metro and chiltern lines.
Saw couple of viewings yesterday at hillside gardens and pope close avenues.

Not sure about little chalfont as it seems bit away from main lines ..

OP just be aware that the girls' grammar school is in Little Chalfont (Dr Challoner's High) whilst the boys' school is in Amersham (Dr Challoner's Grammar School). Easy to mix them up. You would currently be in catchment for the girls' school if you lived in Amersham and easy to travel from Amersham to Little Chalfont on train.

Primary schools will accept in year admissions if they have places, and I don't think you can apply until you actually move. You probably won't have any real choice as popular schools (ie those perceived as good) will be full.
Are you happy with your child attending an upper school if she doesn't qualify for a grammar? It's a lot of pressure to put on a child to uproot them from their friends & move them in the hope of attending a grammar school. Of course if you want to move to Amersham anyway that's a completely different matter.

Not sure about little chalfont as it seems bit away from main lines ..

The station at Little Chalfont is called Chalfont & Latimer, it's on exactly the same Chiltern and Metropolitan lines as Amersham. It's an easy walk from Dr Challoner's High School.

@Nonameoclue Amersham Upper School is perfectly good, and is frequently over-subscribed these days. 10-15 years ago, you would have been right to be a little cautious of it, but DD2 (left 6 years ago) took 11 x academic GCSEs and 3 x academic A levels.

@thing47 , I completely agree, but those moving to be near a grammar school may not.

Holmer Green? Would put you in catchment for Beaconsfield and Wycombe High. Holmer Green is a decent upper school option and walkable, and you'd have a decent shot at getting into the Misbourne.

Apologies, that's very true!!

Definitely wise advice to make sure you're happy with the alternatives.

Thankyou all. We have almost finalised a house in Little Chalfont which is right next to Dr challoners high school ? Seems lovely parks , station etc all walking.

Hoping chesham grammar will also be in catchment.

Any thoughts on little chalfont area from all of you lovely people ?

Your budget is most likely to go furthest in Chesham if you’re looking for more than two bedrooms. Currently, Chesham is in catchment for Challoners boys and girls, Chesham Grammar, Chiltern Hills and The Misbourne. Year 2 is far too young to decide which school will best suit your child. Even if they do pass, a grammar school might not suit them and they could come out the other end with lower GCSE grade than if they’d gone the a more nurturing secondary modern. From experience, I’ve seen many children come through the grammar schools with grades that have not been high enough to remain for 6th form while children from the secondary modern have moved to the grammar to do A levels. Be careful what you wish for.

Hillside Gardens is in the catchment for Woodside School. I’m not aware of Popes Close.