Amazing state secondary schools... Anywhere in the UK!

[RaRaRamen]

Hi all,

Our kids are still in very early primary school but we're thinking ahead to our next house move in a couple years time and would like to move somewhere close to good secondaries. Our local options are pretty dire. We'd be looking for jobs around good school areas so we're pretty flexible and can go anywhere in the country. Which is exciting but so open! Our budget for housing is around the 400k-mark so nowhere super expensive 😬 We can't afford private school.

I haven't seen a recent post like this so hopefully this will be useful for other people with a similar conundrum.

So please tell me, does anyone really rate their kids secondary school? Or know of counties with a high proportion of good schools? Most important thing to us is a nurturing environment rather than academics. I know schools can go downhill but a good starting point would be ideal!

Also please, no posts about how terrible all state schools are. I'm not interested and there are plenty of other threads to choose from for those. Thank you!

York has lots of excellent schools, all comprehensive, so no need to worry about the 11+ or stress if you have a less academic child. There is an outstanding sixth form college as well as the school sixth forms, so again,plenty to suit for most children. Your budget will get you a slightly shabby-looking three bedroom house with a garden, in need of cosmetic updating but structurally fine and probably with the possibility of extending or a loft conversion in the future, in the catchment area of an outstanding school.

Lancaster
Ribble Valley
Sheffield
York
Bucks

Lots of good schools, though most need 11+
Reasonable prices in the north for houses too!

St Francis Xavier and Richmond School and Sixth Form in Richmond, North Yorkshire are both excellent schools with large rural catchment areas (free school bus in years 7-11 to Richmond School) and not much pressure on places due to low population density. Polam Hall in nearby Darlington was a private school until recently but has now moved into the state sector. Housing is within your budget.

Agree with Lancaster, also great place to live

The only problem is school ratings may change as you’ve got so much time before you need to apply for secondary. Good luck, I remember those stressful times!

Torbay is brilliant if you’re confident your child can pass 11+. Awful if not though 😬

Bear in mind many of the "outstanding" schools haven't been inspected for 10 years or more.
My dd's school is so called outstanding, but in reality are anything but. They've had three or four different heads in that time and converted to an academy.

North bucks. Aylesbury has grammar schools (3 in total) and is in your price range. Be careful with secondaries though. Buckingham and Winslow have family houses at your price point and the Royal Latin Grammar in Buckingham. It’s “good” but it’s also a fab school. Two secondaries if you need them. Top choice: Waddesdon in Bucks. CofE secondary. Outstanding and very sought after. You must live in small catchment or find God. You have the Aylesbury grammars too if living in that area. For grammars, it’s good value housing.

St Barts in Newbury is an outstanding school. It has consistently been an excellent school since the 90s at least. Last Ofsted was outstanding in every category (in last year or two), relatively new head who is not likely to go anywhere any time soon.

£400k would only buy you a small 3 bed though.

Just by looking at local to me schools, this list is completely out of date

The majority on the list are selective and lots are grammars. As you would expect!

I say that in those threads but my DC's school is definitely not sufficiently amazing (and was below average for GCSE results last year, which I suspect would wipe it off OP's list) to move house to be near it.

I'm sure it applies to some of the posters, but this statement is often private school parents feeling the need to justify their choice. (Otherwise it's very odd that no pro private school parents live near good state schools, and all pro state school parents do).

Yes but the percentages are far from accurate. Some of the schools are not any longer that good and schools that are better are not even listed. A lot can change in even a year time.

DAOS in Potters Bar is no.1 on that top 100 list. My DSs loved it ... yes, it's known for the academics but it was the extra-curricular music/sport and languages which impressed me. Not for the faint-hearted ... one of mine who got AAA was considered on the dim side.

All state schools prepare to GCSE and follow National Curriculum. Unless a child has a Special Educational Needs it should not make a big diffrence. Every school offer PE and I have not seen a school that have no sport clubs after school- sporty kids will find themselves in every school. There is Math, Sciences in every school for those interested. There is English and languages.
In UK is not like in some other countries on the continent where the state school have specialism or specialist class e.g. additional language lessons, or maths lessons etc. Here is the same Curriculum for every school. They pick up they preferences in Y9.

When the decision is taken, at the age of 10 hardly any child knows ina serious way what they will specialise in in a future. I wanted to be a nun at that age, and a year later I decided to be a gardener. At the age of 12 I decided to be an astronaut woman. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Well that blog is wrong because it’s not the best state schools in the UK, it’s the top performing in England and wales which is not the same thing at all.

would recommend East Renfrewshire or East Dunbartonshire for excellent state provision around Glasgow.

Sheffield is lovely. Half of it is in the Peak District. The area around the Porter Valley is just fantastic for kids and parents alike.

l agree with S10 and S11. Also S17. Quite expensive areas but very good schools. Sheffield has the highest number of graduates outside London. These expensive areas elected a Labour MP and she’s fantastic.

Sheffield is a great place to live - very green and very friendly.

Thanks so much for everyone's input so far! We hadn't properly considered York or Sheffield so we will investigate. We had family that lived up near York and we loved visiting but hadn't considered moving up there. Their kids secondary school wasn't brilliant but there are others to choose from. Lots to think about!

schools change over time, it's risky to move based on current situation at schools.

For me, the feeling of the school is more important than the curriculum, as I know state schools all follow the same one. Like how they deal with bullying, whether the kids and staff are happy, is there a high staff turnover (which I understand to be an issue in most schools these days), what's their phone policy in the younger years etc. I've found that asking for personal recommendations is the most useful for this info! The things I'd be most interested in is the behaviour of the kids I guess.

Oh definitely. But as I say, I'd rather start at a good baseline and move somewhere that has a range of decent schools and parents who are invested in their kids education. Our area isn't known for that, and those kinds of things are often entrenched and difficult to change, even over a few years.

As important as school is, don’t put too much stress on it, I’m sure there’s other things you may want to factor in such as good job prospects and amenties. Do you want city or rural? Do you drive and commute or WFH?
I’ve lived both city (York) and semi-rural (North East) and there’s benefits to both. There’s ample good secondary schools around us. York is very dense, busy, lots of traffic but does have very good schools, amenities and transport links. It’s pretty expensive for housing though, you would need to look at new build to get a 3 bed for £400k. It wouldn’t be central either. The villages around York are stunning though. We relocated an hour north-east, what you get for your money compared to cities is ridiculous and it suits us better as we love the outdoors and wildlife. This is what you can expect for £400k

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/131290310

The ones round me have never changed in Sheffield. They continue to be good/outstanding.

And the weirdest thing about living here is massive mansions with ‘Vote Labour’ signs