Confusion with Essex schools

[Sora20]

Hi all,

We plan on moving to Essex (Brentwood or Chelmsford) soon and as my partner does not wish to move again, I am looking ahead at secondary/highschools for our children.

I can't find an answer to my question. If I lived in Chelmsford, would I still be able to apply for and potentially get in to schools in Brentwood (like Becket key's) and vice versa for being based in Brentwood and applying for Chelmsford schools?

I know Essex has a centralised process for applications but does distance and geography matter much in allocation?

I live in Essex, and we chose a secondary school 10 miles away. The same allocation criteria apply as anywhere else, it's just that if they have space when their local children have been accommodated then it's open to anyone based on their admissions criteria.

DD gets the train to school, along with several other children.

You need to look at the admissions criteria for the schools you are looking at, and the last distance admitted in recent years, bearing in mind a lot can change in a short space of time so things may not be the same by the time you apply. You can certainly apply for whatever schools you want, and some children do travel a distance to school, if there is space left after nearer applicants have been admitted. However Becket Keys is popular and relatively small (and also C of E so priority given to churchgoing families) so local children will take most if not all spaces. It would be much better to move nearer to the school you want.

Bear in mind that if you apply for six unrealistic preferences from a Chelmsford address, the 'nearest undersubscribed' school you will almost certainly be allocated is poor benighted Hylands. Some people get very upset when this happens.

If you really want Becket Keys, or any other Brentwood school, then the most sensible thing to do is move to Brentwood, not Chelmsford.

Essex CC chool admissions website has a look up facility, where you can check which Priority Admissions area an address is in, but this does not guarantee a place at that specific school. As has already been mentioned, you do have to consider where your DC woukd be ranked under the individual school's oversubscription criteria.

I don’t know how long it is before your kids would be applying, but there is an active thread at the moment about a school in Kent that has increased its proportion of local applicants from prior years. So the situation as it stands now may not be what it is in future.

Thank you for the information

This is so helpful, thank you.

Many thanks. I think you've helped me decide where we will be living.

Thank you all again. I know what I will tell my partner where we will move. I am saddened because we do get more for our money in Chelmsford. But I can be happy with this choice.

Well, yeah - you get more for your money in Chelmsford because it isn’t in catchment/priority area for the best schools. That’s always the way, grammar schools or not.

@Sora20 There are literally no bad schools in Brentwood. The same cannot be said for all areas of Chelmsford. Some are more popular than others. Becket keys has an entry criteria giving preference to CofE church-going children. Ursuline Convent gives the same to practising catholic girls. Brentwood residency gives access to the catchment area of both the Southend and Chelmsford grammar schools. Catholic boys also have access to campion school (Hornchurch) from Brentwood. If Beckey keys is your aim, move to Brentwood but start attending church straight away, enrol your children at one of the many cofe primaries and volunteer at church groups. Brentwood is more expensive because of fast trains to London via Shenfield hence you will get less than you would for your money in Chelmsford where the commute times are longer. Brentwood/Shenfield and the surrounding areas are nice places to live so I would recommend. Happy house hunting!

Brentwood residency gives access to the catchment area of both the Southend and Chelmsford grammar schools

The priority admissions area for the Southend grammar schools consists of postcodes within SS0 - SS9 inclusive. No RM postcodes at all. Doesn't mean you won't get in from outside catchment, but a higher score will be required, purely due to relative pressure of numbers.

That being said, having Shenfield as ones local station (or a quick change there) makes getting to SHSB easy, as the school is a 10/15 minute walk from Prittlewell station. A less convenient journey to SHSG or the Westcliff grammar schools. It's quicker to get to KEGS / CCHS though.

If you want to be within the PAAs for both the Chelmsford and the Southend grammars, there may be part of Rayleigh which is, I think. All of SS6 is IC for the Southend ones, and the look-up for the Chelmsford Grammar schools catchment next to the one for ECC catchment areas generally on the Essex website will tell you if a particular address in SS6 is IC for Chelmsford.

Although if it's Brentwood one hankers after, Rayleigh probably won't cut it. It does have a nightclub, though

No RM postcodes at all.

Oops, sorry, Brentwood is a CM. But none of those in the Southend grammar schools priority admissions area, either.

Each school has it's own admission criteria but in the main distance is key. Some schools in Chelmsford reserve 10% of places for sports or music scholarships which are more about aptitude and open to applicants outside the catchment. The Chelmsford grammars have a priority admission zone of 12.5 miles which would include Brentwood, but they are highly competitive. I think you need to pick an area and expect to go with a school in that area. Both areas have great schools so either would be a good choice