mpsv wrote:New to this forum .,, considering moving to buckighamshire...not keen on high wycomve ... Which part should I live to opt for atleast schools ... By the way can somebody expand SWBGS
Sir William Borlase grammar school.
Unfortunately with this area your budget constraints will be your deciding factor, marlow and the vicinity around it is one of the most expensive areas to live outside of london in the UK, so you wouldn't get much house for less than 500,000, rental prices are extreme too.
The further away from London you go, generally the cheaper the property, but the villages and prettier market towns are still extremely costly. There are some bits of chesham that are more affordable and some areas around the chalfonts but the uppers are not as good as great marlow.
Near to wycombe, in catchment of good grammars, ok uppers and more accessible housing than the pretty villages are areas like prestwood and holmer green and widmer, villages which have been developed to include large estates of housing but still have a very good sense of community, also check flackwell and Bourne end (prices rising recently) for catchment uppers, they may be great marlow??? A bit further north is princes risborough and the surrounding villages, which has a great sense of community but the upper is struggling at the moment. Then you are heading to aylesbury vale, far more affordable and has a huge huge expansion programme so lots of new houses, but be warned the best upper school near the new housing will not be including the new houses as its catchment, so unless you have strong Christian belief it's hard to get into if you need an upper place.
Really though think about uppers as well as grammars, or private secondary schools, these are non existent for boys, they have to travel to berkhampstead or maidenhead and one for girls in the southern bit, not sure about the aylesbury side.
To play the system you can opt for villages on the Oxon/bucks borders on the very peripheral of the bucks county catchment, which would mean you have access to grammars, uppers and what most people consider to be a very good comprehensive school.
Assuming money were no object I would probably opt for the marlow river area, but dh strongly disagrees with me as there are very few locals left around there and there can be a sense of conspicuous consumption which is a bit disgusting at times tbh.
Most importantly do not assume your children will secure grammar places, even f prepped at expensive schools, tutored, born to rich intelligent parents and showing signs of being bright as a button to yourselves, many children in these circumstances still do not pass the test