Still waiting for a primary school for my DD's....

[Looking for help]

Scotland, vote for independence :

Please, just No.

God luck finding school places. Sorry I've no ideas about London or Essex, but be careful with the alternatives around the selective schools, often these are not great. As Herman says , bursaries etc may be very small for independents, so if money is going to be an issue re affording fees, that might make it difficult in the future.

Surrey has some very good comprehensives, if that is a consideration.

[Amber]

This country in comparison is bursting to the seams with opportunities, I consider it to be the heart of the world, it truly is an amazing place to live. Living in Australia was like watching paint dry for 12 years. Plus my children won't get an Australian accent!

Isn't an Essex one almost the same?
Fair enough, you like it here and that's great. Then my advice would be to head north. Far better quality of life and they will get a lovely rich Yorkshire/Lancashire/Northumberland accent to boot. Houses cost less and if you need a fix of London for whatever reason, you can hop on a mainline train and be in KX in 3 hours. And back in time for tea.

[Hera]

Just a thought, but if you have connections with Ealing have you considered looking around Teddington, Twickenham. Some good state secondary schools and the option of Tiffins for grammar plus excellent private schools as well. Waldegrave girls is great although the catchment is small. If you go onto the council website it gives you a map showing which roads got places in the previous year. There is a new free school opening in September, Turing House, set up in conjunction with the Russel group who have set up successful free schools in other areas and they have a strong head on board. There is also a new Catholic school opening up in Twickenham as well. I think that there is a lot of pressure on places for primary places around that area, although it is the same in most areas around London.

[Slogger]

Southend and has 4 good grammar schools, 2 for boys and 2 for girls. Look at somewhere like Rayleigh = you're in catchment for the Southend schools and alsopotentially the very highly rated Chelmsford grammar schools and there are some good comprehensive schools in the town. 35 minutes by train to Liverpool St for work in the City. As others have said not the nicest part of England and not the cheapest but the schools are good and there are plenty of finance jobs less than hour away in the city of London

[pushymother]

Plus my children won't get an Australian accent!

I am a dual citizen from an English speaking country, married to an Essex boy and living in Essex for thirteen years now. I cannot stand the accent, it is not easy on the ear. It has gotten much worse over the years, as my Essex DH is in his early 50's and has a nice lilt.

The most troubling aspect is the constant use of poor grammar such as "We was going to the store..." "I already done my homework..." This comes from most parents and children and some teachers in the Ofsted Outstanding state school we attend.

Here comes the BUT......I am going to try with all my might to get my children into one of the Essex grammar schools. I have seen many Essex accents disappear after a few years at University....I am counting on it!

The other positive that keeps us in Essex, is that property prices are more reasonable than the other home counties and the commute into London is decent.

[ToadMum]

King John (Thundersley) catchment area - still in catchment for SHSG / WHSG and commuting into London from Benfleet is £400 pa cheaper than from Rayleigh

[betruetoyourself]

I think Essex is the way to go because of the school choices and I have some family in the area. I do think after an education at university the accent is the same as any other reasonably well spoken one. I'm proof of that. When I was in Australia the accent really bothered me, it's so masculine. I remember once David Beckham came to visit Melbourne and he sounded posh compared to the host! And we all know how he speaks. I really appreciate some of the suggestions on this site, I am so grateful. It's amazing what a few kind words, suggestions, mixed with humour can do to bolster someone's confidence. And that's what's happened to me. xxxxx

[mystery]

Don't rush for a primary school place either. If you are good at homeschooling they are more likely to pass a selective entrance exam for a grammar school if you teach them at home!

You can get any old primary place quickly as the local authority is obliged to take you. To get both children into one of your choice you may have to consider appealing as well as waiting lists.

Getting their education right soon, once you have settled down, is as important as considering where they will go at 11. Can your mum play games, practice handwriting, do some simple workbooks and read with your children or is she too unwell for this? With two of you on the job it would be much easier to launch the home education while you are also busy researching the next step.

[silverysea]

The primary school has done nothing for my DD2 in terms of facing 11+ this week. I have had to rush to teach her myself many areas of maths which have not been covered. She has taught herself English by her voracious reading, also self taught. The paid help I have gathered in the past few months has been an extension and enrichment that is lacking in (ofsted outstanding) state school. I have been very fortunate to find good tutors this time-I failed my dd1 (didn't find this site!).

You are responsible for their education at the end of the day - I tried home education for a few months but soon school places came up in our oversubscribed area we moved to for a better life-our dds were 5 and 8. The social side of school was needed but whenever I thought school was taking care of the academic side, a problem would soon come up-lack of challenge, disruptive other pupils, poor testing being used to put DDs in sets that were below their ability, etc. I have had to provide outside teaching throughout- no one talks about it but loads of people do it quietly, all the time. Those little geniuses have help, lots of it, don't think otherwise!

Home education is a wonderful opportunity-enjoy and don't rush into a primary school place. There are lots of local groups.

[Slogger]

Plus my children won't get an Australian accent!

I am a dual citizen from an English speaking country, married to an Essex boy and living in Essex for thirteen years now. I cannot stand the accent, it is not easy on the ear. It has gotten much worse over the years, as my Essex DH is in his early 50's and has a nice lilt.

The most troubling aspect is the constant use of poor grammar such as "We was going to the store..." "I already done my homework..." This comes from most parents and children and some teachers in the Ofsted Outstanding state school we attend.

Here comes the BUT......I am going to try with all my might to get my children into one of the Essex grammar schools. I have seen many Essex accents disappear after a few years at University....I am counting on it!

The other positive that keeps us in Essex, is that property prices are more reasonable than the other home counties and the commute into London is decent.

Well it depends what you mean by an Essex accent. The authentic Essex accent is very much like the Suffolk one and can still be heard in rural parts of the county. People like me, born in Castle Hedingham and educated at Earls Colne Grammar School, have very different accents to the estuary accent heard in the Southend area. It strikes me that is really a derivative of the East London accent and not an Essex accent at all.