Staying in Hayes need advise on secondary schools

[Srani]

Hi All,
I have two girls 6 year and 5 months old. We currently live in Hayes and my 6 year old is in year 1. I know it might sound too early but we are exploring options for secondary school and are ready to relocate if needed for a good secondary school.we would prefer relocate now rather than later as it would be hard for her to move in year 4/5 and also my new born would have started her reception by then. I would like her to go to grammar school and if not grammar then private secondary school.
Staying in Hayes(UB3) only option I see is Langley and slough grammar schools. But the biggest issue is that we are not eligible for Tiffin Girls school and we really want her to at least attempt it. So can you please advise if it's wise move to relocate now.
Few challenges/doubts I have is
1. Disturbing her primary as relocating will mean we are at councils mercy of being allocated in year seat or should be look for private schools for year 3.
2. Should be move to inner area for Tiffins or even moving in designated area is good enough if child is academically strong ..is there any pervious year stats available?
3. How is the Langley and slough grammar schools?
4. Is it better to have 4 grammar schools(slough and Langley) eligibility or moving for Tiffins is worth it?
5. What are other good options for secondary near Tiffins

Really appreciate your advice and feedback?
Thanks

[Aethel]

Hi Srani.
If you *really* want your child to go to Langley grammar then move to the SL37 or SL38 areas of Langley/Colnbrook, as that is the "inner cachement" area of Langley Grammar and your child can get into that school simply by passing the eleven plus. They changed the criteria this year to try to discourage so many out of area applications as virtually all the places were going to highly tutored children who lived 10-20 miles away. The knock on effect is it's (slightly) harder to get into Langley Grammar if you live out of local area.
We don't however, know how many of the local children have been granted spaces compared to last year.

If you *really* want your child to go to Tiffin girls, then move to their inner cachement (clearly you can't do both of these things!) BUT Tiffin is superselective, thousands of girls apply each year, there is no guarantee with either of these schools just because you live nearby.

Is there a reason why you are so keen on grammar above all other? Do you have family or jobs that would be compromised by moving to a grammar area purely to the sake of it?
Do think carefully before making decisions. There is a school near Slough which has a very mono-ethnic intake (95% asian) because parents specifically buy a house in cachement when their eldest child turns three. It gets great results because pretty much every parent has the money to buy in that area, the motivation to push their children to the max, and the time/money to get them tutored. It's a self fulfilling prophecy that continues to feed the school with wealthy, motivated pupils and parents. Unsurprisingly they have a very high eleven plus pass rate. But those kids are hothoused from the word go, and I am not sure whether they are happier than their less pressured counterparts in other areas.... It's all about your life choices and priorities.

Thinking about the flip side, if you go through all that and your child *doesn't* pass the exam, was it worth all the moving/changing jobs/investment? Only you can decide...

[Srani]

Thanks Aethel for your response. So it means I need to be inner catchment of the grammar schools to be able to get the seat. But with inner catchment does not it mean the grammar schools would no longer have the academically deserving students but rather more on who can afford house in those postcodes.
Also if not grammar schools what option do I have? Yes as you rightly said I will need to move house and compromise on my professional and social life but I am bit nervous about sending her to normal state school.

[scary mum]

If you do your research you will find plenty of good state schools without having g to go too far, I would have thought. I don't know about Hayes, but what about Hillingdon, Ruislip etc?

[Amber]

I will need to move house and compromise on my professional and social life but I am bit nervous about sending her to normal state school.

Please don't say this until you have looked. Grammar schools are state schools. They are just selective ones. It is easy to get frightened by reading this forum as we are a small and self-selected bunch, most of whom (but not all, which may surprise you) are very pro-grammar schools. They really are just schools with the same rules and curriculum and exams as others. The decision to uproot your family and compromise everything is a personal one but don't be frightened into thinking your child is doomed at a 'normal' state school - there are many excellent ones, the ones which aren't are in many cases improving fast. There are also pretty awful private schools and grammar schools too. Don't panic yet.

[Tinkers]

Also please remember that even moving into a catchment (and Tiffin Girls catchment is pretty big), will not guarantee a place. Wherever you live or move to you will need to have back plans that you are happy with.

The other thing to bear in mind is that schools can change quite a lot in the few years. Local to me schools have gone from outstanding to needs improvement and vice versa in a few short years.

[tiffinboys]

How about moving next to some good school where proximity to school may be an option? Eg DAO or Parmiters or Watford Grammars. Some schools also have sibling rules, so would benefit the younger one as well. And remember, admissions arrangements may change by the time your DD is 11. Good Luck.

[ToadMum]

Thanks Aethel for your response. So it means I need to be inner catchment of the grammar schools to be able to get the seat. But with inner catchment does not it mean the grammar schools would no longer have the academically deserving students but rather more on who can afford house in those postcodes.
Also if not grammar schools what option do I have? Yes as you rightly said I will need to move house and compromise on my professional and social life but I am bit nervous about sending her to normal state school.

Possibly you need to decide whether you are desperate for your child to go to a grammar school, in which case, why not maximise their chances (assuming that they are reasonably academically able) and move to a fully selective area, e.g. Buckinghamshire where the 11+ is designed to identify a reasonable proportion of the cohort as being suitable for a grammar school? The 'regulars' in the Bucks section of the forum will be able to advise on grammar schools where the local upper schools are okay, should the child not pass the 11+.

On the other hand, if you also feel that a selective school is only worth having if it is a superselective, then you have to be very realistic about any given child's chance of getting a place being relatively less, however bright / extensively coached they are.

If Hayes is such a 'place to be', professionally speaking, that for you to move would compromise your career, then I'm sure the local schools can't all be that bad, even if the local authority did decide not to retain selective schools forty or so years ago when it had to decide whether or not to follow government preference for all areas to convert to the comprehensive system.

Cross-posted with several others

[Aethel]

You don't *have* to be inner cachement to get in anywhere, it can just for *some schools* change your odds. The child still has to pass whatever exam requirements/suitability testing there may be: cachement rules are different for every school, but generally nowadays they are easily available online. Bear in mind though, that the admission criteria/exams can and do change each year: so it's quite a gamble to eg move to Kingston for Tiffin Girls if in 5 years the school might abolish inner cachement, change location or even close.... All pretty unlikely but you can't be sure.

I used to live over near Kingston and a lot of parents who considered Tiffin used to buy close to another sought after secondary school eg Esher High, and then try the Tiffin test knowing their child was not inner cachement, but still had a chance and then their local school was a good one. PS you will need a hefty bank balance to buy anywhere near Esher, but some folks put schools above everything, my work colleague lived next door to a family who chose to stay in a smaller house in order to be in the right cachement area as they would have needed to leave that area to upgrade.