Moving from Scotland to Bucks

[fast trak]

The more im digging deeper the worse its seeming. am totally stressed out.

We are here to hold your hand.

have still not looked at wycombe area in detail. is it really good? what are good pockets within beaconsfield/wycombe?

Mostly the expensive ones, I'm afraid!

any other good areas to live in???? with schools access.

There are cheaper parts of Amersham, and even though Challoners is ruled out for you, you would be well within range of Chesham grammar school, and the upper school there (Amersham school) is a pretty good one. There are some good primary schools there as well, although the really outstanding ones are really only accessible from the pricier areas of town.

The commute into London is pretty straightforward as well, with both the underground and main line railway coming through the station - around 40 minutes on a fast train.

Thanks for being so thoughtful and supportive.....abt help in VR and also in school/house hunting Am wondering if u said Challoners is ruled out coz of catchment issue. but thats only for the boy's school isnt it. im keen on the girl's school. do we need to have a house within the catchment to be able to sit the exam ?
On the lighter side I feel u could also do very well as an estate consultant

[Sally-Anne]

Thanks for being so thoughtful and supportive.....abt help in VR and also in school/house hunting

No problem.

Am wondering if u said Challoners is ruled out coz of catchment issue. but thats only for the boy's school isnt it. im keen on the girl's school. do we need to have a house within the catchment to be able to sit the exam ?

Yes, it is only the boys school that is ruled out for you for 2013 admission. You can take the Bucks 11+ from anywhere in the world, but realistically, for Challoners Girls you need to be in catchment in time for the address evidence deadline, which is usually early to mid-November.

On the lighter side I feel u could also do very well as an estate consultant

You aren't the first to say that!

[fast trak]

Thanks for being so thoughtful and supportive.....abt help in VR and also in school/house hunting

No problem.

Am wondering if u said Challoners is ruled out coz of catchment issue. but thats only for the boy's school isnt it. im keen on the girl's school. do we need to have a house within the catchment to be able to sit the exam ?

Yes, it is only the boys school that is ruled out for you for 2013 admission. You can take the Bucks 11+ from anywhere in the world, but realistically, for Challoners Girls you need to be in catchment in time for the address evidence deadline, which is usually early to mid-November.

On the lighter side I feel u could also do very well as an estate consultant

You aren't the first to say that!

am not the least bit surprised abt it and u will defly do very well in that area

DH says his work has said they will be able to provide residential proof if needed. hope that should suffice Coz buying a house by nov seems nearly impossible atm also need to keep options for other GS just incase....also other comprehensive schools etc etc
exam is end oct and 1st week nov isnt it? when are the results out? so do they need proof of address at the time of results? do they allocate the schools or do we get to choose?


Whats the score they stop at DC? is it 100%

[Sally-Anne]

Just to add, I have now noticed that you have a daughter, not a son, taking the test!

I split this thread from the one about Dunstable this morning because it was all getting very confusing, but in the process I also got confused, because the other poster has a son and was thinking about Dr Challoners Boys.

<adjusts mind-set and starts afresh>

DH says his work has said they will be able to provide residential proof if needed. hope that should suffice Coz buying a house by nov seems nearly impossible atm

This could be problematic. You need to provide evidence that you are actually resident in the area, so evidence such as a Council Tax bill or a Child Benefit letter. It is not enough just to be able to prove that you will be relocating. You can of course rent a house in the area as a temporary measure until you manage to buy.

When does your DH start the new job? And will you all move down south at that point?

also need to keep options for other GS just incase....also other comprehensive schools etc etc

This will be the most difficult part of the juggling act. The other grammars available to you are those in Berkshire, and for the most part they allocate by score rather than distance, although the rules can be pretty complex for some of them, with postcode priorities, etc.

I would be inclined to stick with the Bucks test. The moment you stray into north London or south-west London you are in "super-selective" territory, and the pressure is appalling in some areas, with thousands of children competing for 100+ places. Berkshire is not so pressurised, but the tests cover more ground than Bucks.

exam is end oct and 1st week nov isnt it?

For children from out of county there are two tests, and there must be one full day in between them. They take place during our autumn half term week which is w/c 29th October.

when are the results out?

Friday 30th November

so do they need proof of address at the time of results?

No, you need to provide proof of address a couple of weeks before the results. This was introduced a few years ago to stop people waiting for the results and then hurriedly renting houses close to their preferred schools.

do they allocate the schools or do we get to choose?

You complete a Common Application Form (known as the CAF) on which you express your preferences. Note that they are preferences and not choices - you cannot choose a school and expect to get allocated it, but you merely express a preference. Quite how that would work if you are still in Scotland when you apply, I have no idea whatsoever! I will need to think about it - I am sure it has come up before, but I can't remember when.

Whats the score they stop at DC? is it 100%

Score is completely irrelevant - there is a fixed pass mark for all Bucks grammar schools of 121 (an age-standardised score), which is roughly 72/80 depending on date of birth.

I strongly recommend that you immerse yourself in the huge website that is actually the home to this little forum. People tend to turn up on the forum through a Google search, and don't notice that there is rather more to the site than just this little bit! If you go to the top of the page you will see various headings - "Home, 11+ advice, etc". Click on each one and get reading - I think it will help you to understand the selective bit of the English system better, and we are here to demystify it all for you whenever you need us.

[fast trak]

Whats the score they stop at DC? is it 100%

Score is completely irrelevant - there is a fixed pass mark for all Bucks grammar schools of 121 (an age-standardised score), which is roughly 72/80 depending on date of birth.

I strongly recommend that you immerse yourself in the huge website that is actually the home to this little forum. People tend to turn up on the forum through a Google search, and don't notice that there is rather more to the site than just this little bit! If you go to the top of the page you will see various headings - "Home, 11+ advice, etc". Click on each one and get reading - I think it will help you to understand the selective bit of the English system better, and we are here to demystify it all for you whenever you need us.

Whats this abt DOB? My girl is Sept born. u mean to say that i cud get DC even with 121 or with 135 ?

yes im reading the website to get familiar and its got an ocean of info

[Guest55]

The score you need /80 to equate to the magic '121' is standardised by date of birth. Roughly the older your child the more marks /80 they need to equate to 121.

Their is a sticky near the top of the Bucks section which has raw scores from 2010 - of course these will vary each year with the cohort and the number taking the test.

Once you hit 121 the amount above that is irrelevant - it's down to distance from the school and catchment.

[fast trak]

Thanks G55.
Will look at that link u mentioned.

[Tree]

Probably Wycombe or South Bucks then? Avoid the very southern extremities of the county, especially Gerrards Cross, Denham, etc. Your GS choices from there are very limited.

The other thing to consider is what the alternative schools are if she doesn't qualify for grammar. Some are very good, some less so, and others are not that great.

You don't need to only consider south bucks, at the risk of sounding like an estate agent the mid west part of bucks just over the border from thame, ie the villages of long crendon, brill etc have a special feature of being in bucks so you can take the 11 plus but the catchment school if you don't achieve the 11+ is in Thame which is in oxfordshire and is a good comprehensive school and academically better that the upper schools in bucks as it does not have so many of the top 25% of kids creamed off to the grammer schools, and its top sets get similar results to the Bucks grammars, also the trian links to london from Haddenham are now 47 mins for a fast train since the recent track improvements, and whatever the south bucks residents might say (sally anne that means you) it is a really nice leafy area infact I like it better.

PM me if you want more info

Good luck

[Sally-Anne]

whatever the south bucks residents might say (sally anne that means you) it is a really nice leafy area infact I like it better.

Lots of trees, then?

I actually do like that area very much, but it was a little too far out for our purposes when we moved here.

[Tree]

indeed twas the inspiration for my nom de plume