11 Plus Exams Forum

Quite confused about what is allowed and not with moving into county/closer to catchment area. I own a home (that I'm living in) in Hillingdon. If I move to Bucks before Oct 31st:
- Can it be any time prior to Oct 31st or would too close to the date be considered suspicious?
-Can I let out my current property or do I have to sell? Seen both arguments where it says you have to sell but others say you could still keep it as long as there's evidence of a lease
- Can we still continue with current primary school in Hillingdon for Year 6 if travel from new address in Bucks is not too crazy.

Just want to make sure if we at all go down this route I'm doing the right and legit thing. TIA for any advise

Have you looked on the Buckinghamshire Council website? There is a lot of detail there about what is accepted. A couple of schools require you to move long before that date.
ETA, from the website:

In deciding which is your Normal Home Address we would not usually accept an address if:

You or your family has a second home elsewhere as a main residence. We expect that you have sold, or leased, through an agency, your previous property or that a lease agreement on a property you previously rented has expired and that you have no other residence.

You would have to provide proof of your new address (rental agreement, council tax bill, electricity bill with recent usage etc) and proof that you had disposed of your previous property.

To answer your other questions:

Can it be any time prior to Oct 31st or would too close to the date be considered suspicious?

Yes, any time up to 31 October.

-Can I let out my current property or do I have to sell? Seen both arguments where it says you have to sell but others say you could still keep it as long as there's evidence of a lease

See above

Can we still continue with current primary school in Hillingdon for Year 6 if travel from new address in Bucks is not too crazy.

Yes. Many parts of South Bucks are very close to parts of Hillingdon.

Thank you for your extremely helpful response! I looked here where it states Oct 31st generally as the move by date:
https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/services/edu ... new-house/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You've said a few schools require you to move long before Oct 31st. Where is that information please? I've gone to individual school websites and looked at their admissions policy but couldn't find information specific to moves.

Thanks much x

For DCHS and DCGS, you need to be living in catchment by 1st April of year 5.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17CDIX6 ... sp=sharing
https://www.challonershigh.com/admissions/faqs

ToadMum wrote:For DCHS and DCGS, you need to be living in catchment by 1st April of year 5.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17CDIX6 ... sp=sharing
https://www.challonershigh.com/admissions/faqs

Thank you so much! Wow there's so much to take in. Does the 'four years of residence before the proposed date of admission' rule apply to all Bucks schools by default? I'm looking at Becky High and Wycombe High and can only see the Oct 31st moving into the catchment deadline. Many thanks x

I don't believe so, although you need to check any admissions policies carefully as things change year on year.

scary mum wrote:I don't believe so, although you need to check any admissions policies carefully as things change year on year.

Thank you.

Were you thinking of moving home after the results? It's a very short time, not really enough to find somewhere else & dispose of your current property. If you are moving before the results, make sure you are happy with the local Upper Schools as well, as every year there are disappointed people who expceted their children to pass.

scary mum wrote:Were you thinking of moving home after the results? It's a very short time, not really enough to find somewhere else & dispose of your current property. If you are moving before the results, make sure you are happy with the local Upper Schools as well, as every year there are disappointed people who expceted their children to pass.

The more I think of it, it feels weird to uproot lock, stock and barrel with only a few months before the deadline just to be closer to a catchment area of literally one school that we've drilled down to, when there are absolutely no guarantees a) she will pass the exams b) she will be offered a seat.

Wish things weren't this complicated especially for kids so young (and their families:)