Thank you all for the wealth of knowledge available to parents - by parents on this forum. I was wondering if anyone could help me work out which is the best grammar school in Slough. I can't work out why Langley is so over subscribed. Do they offer something - the others don't?

The best Slough grammar is the one that suits your child (no idea about Langley btw!)

I’d check the admissions criteria as well. Langley in particular has catchment criteria. St Bernard’s is a catholic school so unless you are RC or other Christian faith (and submit a SIF in time) it’s unlikely you get a place.

I'm assuming that whatever it is that Langley has didn't exactly leap out and hit you when you and your DC visited them all? Sometimes - unfortunately - it can just be that 'School X is best', so more people apply to School X because they don't want to miss out on 'the Best', even if, like you, they don't necessarily see it. Think Emperor's New Clothes .

NB I have no personal experience of the grammar schools in your area, I am just pointing out that sometimes there is no real reason. And would echo scary mum - the best school for your DC is the one which feels right for them.

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Multiple reason play role here
* LGS has higher League Table Ranking (If you believe them) but mostly they are based on GCSE and A Level performance
* My Friend DC going there and he/she loves school etc.
* LGS better because their cut off score is higher
* We stay near to them etc. etc.

I am sure other member will say almost schools are more or less good , I remember forum member Rhiane was very happy that her DS will get admission in Upton and Her DD is already in that school and they are very happy.

You may also like to check Burnham School from Bucks - it is actually in Slough area.

Only relevant if the OP's DC also took and obtained a Pass score in the Bucks transfer test, of course.

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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx

Thank you all for your responses. Appreciate it very much. Such a lovely, helpful forum.

Langley used to be the school that was the hardest to get into due to it's high cutoff score resulting in it being seen as more academic. This changed recently and is more catchment related so in many peoples eyes it is now less desirable.
I always found that mentality quite sad! as someone else has quite rightly pointed out it's the school that suits your child and where they feel comfortable that is the school to go for.

3 years ago DD passed her Slough 11+ with a score that would have got her into LG but after seeing it neither of us liked it she would never have settled there, but she felt good about Upton so that's where she ended up, at the time Langley was considered to be the school to get in to. (we both liked Saint Bernards and hated Herschel)
This was 100% the right choice as she absolutely loves it there and is flying high both academically and socially. It's so nice to have a child that loves going to school!

It's worth checking the league tables which were updated with the 2017 details 2 days ago and Langley is no longer the best of the 4 Slough Grammars as far as performance is concerned, they are all quite close (Herschel a bit further behind) but Upton and Saint Bernards have taken the top spot (by a small margin)

https://www.compare-school-performance. ... ool/136420 Upton
https://www.compare-school-performance. ... ool/110084 Saint Bernards
https://www.compare-school-performance. ... ool/136521 Langley
https://www.compare-school-performance. ... ool/137726 Herschel
(Hope the links work!)

I can't get the comparison tool to work but you can look at each school individually

I am clear about the order on my CAF and Upton is definitely at the top, DS loved it on the open day and it also helps that DD is already there and we only have a 15-20 min journey!

Best of luck, at the end of the day, academically they are all excellent schools but there is a lot more to think about than League Tables.

Burnham is definitely very close to Slough but it's part of Bucks so you will have had to qualify for the Bucks schools as well

Hi

My son is attending Upton court he absolutely loves there. He was not comfortable at Langley as the student showed us the school was very unhappy there and told us his parent has chosen it for him. Herschel open day was not good no organisation at all. Parents and kids were wondering around. Food tec students were selling biscuits for £2.

Upton open day was very welcoming and students were addressing sir/mam. Their food tec students were baking biscuits which were absolutely yummy. school was clean and my son felt very happy there.

you should visit school with your child so he/she can feel the atmosphere.