Becky High, Dr Challoners High, Aylesbury High, Wycombe High or Chesham Grammar

[sadierussell2]

I'm narrowing down the schools search but I'm more interested in the diversity of these schools because challoners high is a bit more diverse than becky high, and i want my DD to go to a diverse school (shes mixed) and also i want your opinon on how you would rank these schools (forget about distances to my house for now). Thanks

2018 was 15 miles. Since then it’s been between 9 and 14. Varies as you might expect but no year has been 20 miles plus on Bucks allocation web site. 6th form might recruit from further away. So I’m still surprised where such a mix is coming from. Aylesbury has, historically, had a lower pass rate than many other village schools. Not that I’ve trawled through all that data recently!

Aylesbury Vale pass rate is 19% so much lower than Chiltern and South Bucks which are both 41%. Wycombe is 25%. 25 years ago, AV pass rate was 16% so although lots of new housing, not much change in pass rate. Fewer prep schools might also account for this.

Varies as you might expect but no year has been 20 miles plus on Bucks allocation web site.

The distances quoted are from the school, though, which is quite centrally located on the northish - southish line to the east of its catchment area, looking at the map linked to on the AHS website. The distance between e.g. Little Brickhill in the north and Walter's Ash in the south is c.25 miles as the crow flies, though each within the bounds of reported allocation distances, depending on year of entry. (These are just names on a map to me, I have to admit, not being any more than vaguely familiar with Bucks - I have no idea what the likelihood is of a secondary school aged girl of 'grammar suitability' and wanting to go to Aylesbury High School living there, but they are both within the catchment area).

Also, people do move after joining a school (although if moving back to somewhere from where they wouldn't have got in in the first place, only after a reasonably long interval, if they've got any sense...).

Bucks CC admission data is y7 and it’s administered based on the legal admissions policy so it’s accurate.
Having said that, Bucks lists where DC live (LAs) and they do list MK. So quite difficult to make sense of it. Best to live in catchment though if distance goes down to 9 miles again.

6th form is different but few grammars take in dc apart from normal admission time. In year is fairly rare. Little Brickhill is Bucks and around 15 miles away and Walters Ash is 13 miles. They are on the extremities of catchment but WA is a hell of a lot closer to Wycombe High and is in their catchment too. As I said, there can be overlaps. Bucks always says that living in catchment is no guarantee because obviously pass numbers vary and girls in population can vary. Also Naphill and Walters Ash school is a forces school/area. In addition schools change catchments and hopefully give the girls a place at a grammar. Little Brickhill people would almost certainly try and avoid MK school in that area.

Little Brickhill is Milton Keynes not Bucks.

Again, not what I said. I'm literally just giving you my personal experience but you seem to want to disbelieve my experience. As a pp has described. We live 11 miles from AHS in one direction, bestie live 11 miles almost directly out the other side of Aylesbury. No one is saying the allocation distance has ever gone as far as 20 miles.

@SheRaRa AHS catchment map is blue line.

@xyzandabc Of course dc live some distance apart. Not unusual. It would be the same for RLS. It’s rural Bucks!

Yup @TizerorFizz and it's still in Milton Keynes and not Bucks. I'm not arguing the catchment just where the village is in terms of local authorities.

It’s a rare thing! In another LA but can get places in an Aylesbury Grammar. Although Maidenhead dc go to SWB Grammar.

Indeed it is, most kids in that village go to the neighbouring bucks primary and so auto opt in to the 11 plus but very few head down to Aylesbury these past few years. I've worked in one of the grammars for a long time and have seen lots of changes to where our pupils come from. Suspect I'll see even more given the amount of new houses being built around here.

Bits of Maidenhead are in catchment for John Hampden & bit of Slough are in catchment for Burnham. The schools seem to be scattered around the edges of the county.

They don’t want empty places! I can remember AHS not filling up back in the day. Dents in budgets not welcome.

then can my DD apply from outside the county?

Thank you all! My husband and I was considering moving anyways so we are looking for properties around the Bucks County (slough is a bit far and the crime rate is high (121 per 1000 unlike bucks, 75 per 1000) and diversity isn't the main thing but it is significantly more important as we've had issues in the past with diversity. My hopes are on DCHS and Becky High. I'm sure WHS and AHS wouldn't be bad for DD either. Thanks everyone! Anyone know anything about bad behaviour in BHS and WHS?

These are top notch schools. They are grammars. All schools can have a few issues but you seem to be looking for them. Lots of people move to Bucks for the grammars and lots don’t get in. Your best bet is to always look at the secondary schools. Always live in catchment for the best ones. Therefore do your homework. Beacy Sec as it was called might not float your boat. I would make sure I was in Amersham personally. Or Great Missenden.

I don't think Becky High is terribly diverse, good school though it is. I haven't heard any awful stories, but the Secondary Moderns tend to have greater diversity – for example, the large Polish community in and around Amersham and the smaller Filipino one don't generally send their DCs to the Grammar Schools.

If you want specific thoughts, not everyone thinks DCHS is that fantastic for STEM A levels, but you can always go there for 5 years and move for sixth form should your DD be keen on science subjects. DCGS now takes girls in the sixth form and it is very strong in STEM, especially maths.

As @TizerorFizz says the Secondary Moderns do vary a bit, but the good ones are good. I can definitely recommend Amersham School from personal experience.

My DD recently got four A stars in STEM A-levels at DCHS. I can't fault the teaching at all. My DD had a sixth form place at DCGS and opted to stay. No regrets. Lovely, nurturing school.

The best secondary option is probably Waddesdon but has a tiny catchment and selects by CofE. John Colet in Wendover, is good and well supported by parents.Also fairly small catchment. Both of these villages are in catchment for Aylesbury High. Plus Sir Henry Floyd which is popular too. Then you have the Misbourne at Gt Missenden and the Amersham School at Amersham. All good schools. All in catchment for girls’ grammars. I don’t know enough about High Wycombe to comment on their secondary schools but improvements have been sustained snd they are diverse.

That's good to hear @BewitchedorBewildered and many congratulations to your DD. What is she doing now?

I hasten to add that DD2 didn't go to DCHS (though she had an option to go for sixth form), so I am only reporting what I have been told by some friends who did have DDs there. Very happy to hear a different story.

You have to apply for state secondary schools in the same way that you apply for state primary schools, that is, by submitting a common application form (CAF) to your home local authority. From any LA, you can name any state secondary school in the country as a preference. So you could e.g. be living in Surrey at the deadline for CAF submission, so have to submit your form to Surrey County Council, but know that you are moving to Ipswich at Christmas, so name only schools in Ipswich on the form. (In that scenario, once you actually move, Suffolk County Council would take over the administration of your CAF from Surrey).

You can also name schools in a different LA without intending to move, so long as you would be able to get your DC there and back each day, should they get a place - and for quite a lot of people anyway, their physically nearest school may be in a different LA, if they live close to a border.

For UK state schools, you can get a breakdown on ethnicity here:

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-pupils-and-their-characteristics

You can also name schools in a different LA without intending to move, so long as you would be able to get your DC there and back each day, should they get a place

Yes and likewise you can, by law, take the 11+ exam for any grammar school in the country, it's just that it would be pointless taking it for a grammar school which also has catchment areas as a criterion, as some do. For the so-called super-selectives, you could in theory take a test from the other end/side of the country but as @MarchingFrogs says the onus is entirely on you to get your DC to that school every day. Grammar schools tend not to have a WFH option.

Yes and likewise you can, by law, take the 11+ exam for any grammar school in the country, it's just that it would be pointless taking it for a grammar school which also has catchment areas as a criterion, as some do

Which is where quite a few people come unstuck, making their DC sit Bucks / Kent / Medway - or all three. And more...Ooh, look at all those luscious grammar schools, just ripe for the picking by my super-clever DC. Without actually bothering to consider that these schools might have oversubscription criteria other than just I'm super clever and I beat all the others in the 11+🙄

A small part of Maidenhead is (and always has been) catchment for SWBGS. For the past 8 years SWBGS hasn’t offered to over 3 miles in catchment.

I work at one of the schools listed. Essentially all of them will provide a fantastic education for students - as to which is best / most popular schools go in and out of fashion and if your children are still very young then things will change. Essentially though you can see their results and all are excellent.

Regarding diversity Bucks publishes details as to how far the schools offer to. Beaconsfield and the Chalfonts are less diverse areas then the others.

I would encourage you to visit during an open morning. We run many. You will see the school in action and also get a feel for the make up of the pupil cohort.

Also consider the non grammar school for various catchment areas as these can be more variable although there are a number of upper schools - GMS and Cressex to name just two which are fantastic and provide education comparable to the grammars.