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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Moving house for secondary school - would you / have you?

33 replies

Hathor · 18/03/2009 15:19

Quick poll - if you liked where you live, but the catchment secondary schools were either in special measures, other with poor reputation, but there was another school with better reputation a mile across town, would you move house purely to get a place for your dc in the "good" secondary?

OP posts:

AMumInScotland · 18/03/2009 15:21

Yes, if I could afford it and was 100% sure of a school place!

PrimulaVeris · 18/03/2009 15:30

Hmm. Local comp not v academic, next nearest in special measures, v. good schools other side of town. Most people round here move specifically for schools or stay put and go private.

As we can't really afford to move - and dont WANT to move - the whole issue bugs me. I just see my friends and neighbours either 'leap frog' by buying their way in to a house near a good state school or buying their way into private ed. My own dc's will get into good secondary eventually because I'll just stay on continuing interest lists, moving them from allocated school if absolutely necessary.

I can't say I blame them but - it pisses me off. Bah humbug.

lilolilmanchester · 18/03/2009 16:17

We didn't but are beginning to wish we had....

Milliways · 18/03/2009 16:59

We did, but we also wanted a house with a bigger garden.

Our reasoning was that increased Mortgage was a lot cheaper then private fees, and whole family benefited from bigger space/nicer house.

The school we were avoiding has since shut down!

Original poster

Hathor · 18/03/2009 17:47

Anyone else?

OP posts:

choochoochaboogie · 18/03/2009 17:52

We planned ahead - I'm that sort of person - so yes we did take it into consideration. Fortunately we got schools of choice, but it doesn't always work as the rules seem to change every bleeding year - grrr!

piscesmoon · 18/03/2009 17:57

I moved here long before they were that age, especially for the schools.
I haven't had to move as they got near that age, but if the schools were no good I would move.

BeehiveBaby · 18/03/2009 18:20

I will in 6months and DDs are only 1 and 3! Primary schools fine here but secondaries unbelievably bad so we are planning ahead

janeite · 18/03/2009 19:07

We moved. We needed a bigger house anyway (especially as the girls were sharing a room as only two bedrooms) but the direction we moved in (only two miles or so from previous house) was totally dictated by getting into the catchment area for a particular school. We would have moved anyway but getting the 'right' school dictated the when and how and stopped us dithering.

Northernlurker · 18/03/2009 19:18

We had to move as our three children didn't fit in to our two bed terrace! When looking at houses the first thing I checked was the catchment area as there were three possible schools in the area we were lookinng at (dictated by my work and the primary school we already attended). 1 was very good, 1 was perfectly fine and 1 is utterly dreadful. Our dream house was in catchment for the perfectly fine school but actually closer to the very good one and after a nervous week on the waiting list that is where we've got a place. There is no way we could have afforded just to move because of schools - but as we had to move anyway it was a huge issue. It would have been rather dim imo to have not considered it as a factor.

GreatGooglyMoogly · 18/03/2009 19:27

We will be moving in the next few years as we would like a bigger house. My question is, how do you find out what the catchment area is for a secondary school? I want to take this into consideration.

stringbean · 18/03/2009 21:42

Would you consider renting in catchment? We are in a bit of a dilemma in that we're one road outside the catchment for the secondary school we want. Dh has suggested we rent long term in the catchment - for 2-3 years or more if necessary - instead of selling (we have a 3 bed semi which we've extended, but would have to size down to afford something in the catchment for our preferred school). He thinks renting is fine, as we would do it long term and it would be our permanent address (our current house would be rented out), but I feel it's a bit underhand. Would be interested to know what others think, or whether anyone has done the same? (Apologies for thread highjack).

Original poster

Hathor · 18/03/2009 21:53

GreatGoogly - look on the local authority website for catchment areas/admission rules.

OP posts:

Starbear · 18/03/2009 22:02

We live one road away from a top state boys school. DH moved here before I was even a tinkle in his eye. Very few local boys go there. The natives are cross as we pay for it in our rates! We could sell our house for a mint. Sorry can't because local kids don't get in unless very very brainy!

Quattrocento · 18/03/2009 22:05

I know two families who have done this. Both moved into the catchment areas of local selective state grammar schools to improve their children's chance of getting in.

Both families incurred substantial moving costs and had to move into a smaller house as the catchment area for the local state grammars were more expensive.

Both sets of children failed the 11+

Starbear · 18/03/2009 22:14

Quattrocento If you know anymore people like that can you send them my way. We could do a house swap. 4 beds with a dining room please swap for 2 and half bedrooms & not much more ha ha

Quattrocento · 18/03/2009 22:17

I will point them in your direction. How many bathrooms would you like?

Starbear · 18/03/2009 22:21

two pls and a downstairs loo! Oh and a linen cupboard.

GreatGooglyMoogly · 19/03/2009 10:34

Thanks Hathor, I've had a look and it seems that we do not operate catchment areas. It is done the same way as primary schools - special needs, siblings and then who lives the nearest of those applying.

faraday · 01/04/2009 14:50

We're right now doing just that! And it's a right pita, tbh! I can SEE houses, across 2 fields that are 'in' but there may as well be an invisible Berlin Wall between us and them! You have to be 'in'.

Fortunately- and this is a statement I don't often make!- we rent thus we have the flexibility to move. Trouble is the size of the houses plummets dramatically whilst the cost goes up inside the catchment which somewhat arbitrarily cuts through a housing estate. I have more or less MEMORISED the roads which are in!

We actually want to buy in (want 'local' friends for the DSs) BUT there's just nothing suitable coming up- and those which might be are snapped up even now in 10 days flat! We are beginning to panic a bit, even though we actually have til Oct 23rd to get in. Also we have DS2 following along behind and only 2 DCs got in out of a 330 pupil entry this year 'who were 'out of catchment', 'not in a feeder but with a 'sibling in'. So far too great a risk not to be in.

And the honest truth is that should we fail to find a good, well priced home 'in', once DS2 has his entry assured (2.5 MORE years!), we'll buy a bigger, cheaper house just outside catchment which it seems many folk are doing judging by the number of DCs in that school's uniform you see streaming out of those surrounding streets every morning!

So at 4pm we are looking at a bog standard small box of an estate house, 3br for £995 pcm.

loveandlight · 06/04/2009 17:41

We need to move to get our son into a good secondary school in time for year 8 in September. We plan to rent. Reading some of your posts you seem to state with some confidence that you will move into the areas where you know there is a good secondary school but how do you know the catchment area has more than one good school so if you don't get your first choice you'll still be okay with your second or third choice? We are in exactly this position and have spoken to various LEA's and they all give us no confidence whatsoever. Also my son has a very high IQ and apparently this is not taken into account either so he could still end up at a bad school. I feel really quite sick and sad and lonely and stressed about it all.

sarah293 · 06/04/2009 17:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

magentadreamer · 06/04/2009 17:58

Unfortunately loveandlight even if you live in a catchment area of a good school it doesn't guarantee you a place and especially so if you are moving into the area after yr7.You could move then appeal. The only way having a high iq would help is if your Ds was hoping to gain a place at a selective school as it'd be more likely to pass the entrance tests I'd have thought.

loveandlight · 07/04/2009 22:43

yes I know moving doesn't guarantee a place which is why I said in my earlier message that speaking to the LEA gives you no confidence whatsoever. if I had a pound for every time i have been told that I would be a multi-millionaire by now. Even passing an entrance test doesn't mean they'll get a place either as so many grammar schools have waiting lists for children who have passed the entrance exams. i know what its like to be turned down for a school as it happened to us when my son was at primary school and he didn't get into the school I wanted for him then and in fact he didn't get into any school as I was told there were no places available anywhere and I appealed and at the appeal hearing there was only me and I was up against NINE members from the council and on the appeal board who were all on the side of the council. Needless to say my appeal was rejected.

I only found a primary school place as one neighbour got chatting to another who heard of a place going at a school I'd never heard of before so i had to get in quick. A year later I had to pull my son out of that school as he was being physically assaulted ( he was six and a half at the time) by the other kids and the teachers were bullying him as well and I have been home schooling him for the past four years and he is doing amazingly well. He has asked to go to school now and I have to support him in that decision hence why we are now having to move house to find a school for him. I am glad I only have one child as I never thought the education system would be so poor and so hostile as it is.

The area I am in is actually considered one of the top areas for excellent schools and what a joke I now know it is. All I want is for my son to go to a good school not a top school as his happiness is just as important and I know he will do well academically anyway as long as the LEA don't make him go to a bad school.

cherryblossoms · 07/04/2009 22:51

loveandlight - in a weird way, you may actually be in a better position in applying in yr 7.

What you are looking for is casual entry. you need to decide which schools you like best and contact them now. Send them copies of your ds' work, write great covering letters explaining your situation (you're moving) and telling them why you think their school will suit your ds.

Can you wait until a place comes up? ie keep him at the school he is at now or home educate for a bit? Admittedly, casual entry in year 7 is a bit of a wait but in most schools places do come up and they come up in yr 7, before GCSEs start to bite.

Also, with gs entry he will simply take a test (in most sitautions) and the normal waiting list criteria will apply. In most schools that will be down to performance in the test.

You can be a little bit proactive, rather than hoping the council sorts out something nice for you.

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