choosing secondary schools
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choosing secondary schools
Would really like some advice as my son is currently Year 5 and we will have to be making secondary school decisions over the next few months.
Am totally unprepared and lacking insightlful information into the whole process.
Am slightly depressed to discover our catchment school is Beechwood and I know my son will struggle to pass his eleven plus even though he's getting some extra tutoring.
Was interested in what people had to say re. Burnham Grammer, this is our local grammer even though we are Slough residents.
Don't really know where to start as my options are feeling a bit hopeless. Any top tips from anyone who's gone through the process would be greatly appreciated.
Am totally unprepared and lacking insightlful information into the whole process.
Am slightly depressed to discover our catchment school is Beechwood and I know my son will struggle to pass his eleven plus even though he's getting some extra tutoring.
Was interested in what people had to say re. Burnham Grammer, this is our local grammer even though we are Slough residents.
Don't really know where to start as my options are feeling a bit hopeless. Any top tips from anyone who's gone through the process would be greatly appreciated.
As you live in Slough, have you thought of trying for the Slough grammars as well as the test is different?
If you don't like your local secondary, you can put other schools on your list. For example, last year, the Chalfonts Community College took out-of-catchment children from quite a distance , and it has a very good reputation.
Here's a link to the Bucks allocation profile as it is now after the first round of allocation. The areas where a place are offered will INCREASE in the next few month, and the profile will be updated before next September.
http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/bcc/get/asset ... y_2007.pdf
The Bucks CC site aslo has maps of secondary schools and their catchment.
If you want to find out more about schools, you can look at the dfes league tables
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/performancetables/
and ofsted reports
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/portal/site/In ... 92a8c0RCRD
If you don't like your local secondary, you can put other schools on your list. For example, last year, the Chalfonts Community College took out-of-catchment children from quite a distance , and it has a very good reputation.
Here's a link to the Bucks allocation profile as it is now after the first round of allocation. The areas where a place are offered will INCREASE in the next few month, and the profile will be updated before next September.
http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/bcc/get/asset ... y_2007.pdf
The Bucks CC site aslo has maps of secondary schools and their catchment.
If you want to find out more about schools, you can look at the dfes league tables
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/performancetables/
and ofsted reports
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/portal/site/In ... 92a8c0RCRD
Jo, by the sound of it, you live near me. Our son's catchment was Beechwood too. Our local grammer would be Burnham grammer or Herschel. You should have a look at the grammar schools in Slough too. My son liked Herschel better than any other. We put Burnham as second so that he will have two chances. Our third was Desborough (Maidenhead). He got Herschel after working really hard.
If your child is good with vocab but not so good in Maths, he should sit Bucks test. If he is good at maths too, then you should consider slough test too. Different people have different opinion on schhols so you should go for a visit. Beechwood is supposed to be getting better, I wasn't hopefull. Have a look at Burnham Upper and westgate too.
From my knowledge, Chalfont don't take many children from our area. I know someone last year put just Chalfont down (apparently Chalfond Head said that they will get in) and got Beechwood. They appealed but with no luck. They changed the child from Beechwood to Altwood (maidenhead) after one term.
Hope this is some help.
If your child is good with vocab but not so good in Maths, he should sit Bucks test. If he is good at maths too, then you should consider slough test too. Different people have different opinion on schhols so you should go for a visit. Beechwood is supposed to be getting better, I wasn't hopefull. Have a look at Burnham Upper and westgate too.
From my knowledge, Chalfont don't take many children from our area. I know someone last year put just Chalfont down (apparently Chalfond Head said that they will get in) and got Beechwood. They appealed but with no luck. They changed the child from Beechwood to Altwood (maidenhead) after one term.
Hope this is some help.
Chalfont did not manage to accomodate all in-catchment children for the coming academic year. About 20 in-catchment children from South Bucks (and by the way it is their ONLY catchment upper) will have to make a daily 60 mile round trip to The Amersham SchoolCatherine wrote: If you don't like your local secondary, you can put other schools on your list. For example, last year, the Chalfonts Community College took out-of-catchment children from quite a distance , and it has a very good reputation.
Yes, but this is only the situation after the first round of allocations. More children will get a place in the next month or so.drummer wrote:Chalfont did not manage to accomodate all in-catchment children for the coming academic year. About 20 in-catchment children from South Bucks (and by the way it is their ONLY catchment upper) will have to make a daily 60 mile round trip to The Amersham School
That said, the school is getting more popular, so possibly more and more difficult to get into.
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Hi DrummerChalfont did not manage to accomodate all in-catchment children for the coming academic year. About 20 in-catchment children from South Bucks (and by the way it is their ONLY catchment upper) will have to make a daily 60 mile round trip to The Amersham School
I am guessing here, but presumably the 60 mile round trip must be for children in the outreaches of South Bucks - Denham, for example? Otherwise I'm struggling to work out where there is in South Bucks that is a 30 mile radius from the Amersham School that would otherwise be catchment for Chalfont? Please enlighten a very dense ...
Sally-Anne