Shifting from London, looking for catchment grammar school

[looking_slough]

Dear All,
We are shifting from London, and planning to buying house/ flat in Slough area. As there are four grammar school in that area.
Slough consortium has four grammar schools -
1) Langley grammar
2) Bernard grammar
3) Herscheel grammar
4) Upton (previously Slough) grammar

But I'm not able to understand in which area we should buy a house. As I know under SL3 there are total 3 grammar school and under SL1 only one grammar school comes. But when I'm searching new flat in zoopla its showing me SL2 or SL4 so anyone can guide me or how to find that under SL2 how many catchment grammar school comes? Basically I want to know the best place/ area in slough where we can find near by temple/ train station, and important thing is grammar schools so when my daughter will give 11+ exam so chances should be high for e.g if i will stay in SL3 then chances are high for getting catchment grammar school admission. Hope you will understand my doubts. Thanks in advance. Mehak

[mitasol]

I can’t help with postcodes but this document indicates the distance allocated which should give you a good idea.

https://www.sloughconsortium.org.uk/doc ... ummary.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[scary mum]

SL2 is Buckinghamshire rather than Berkshire, I suspect (not sure, so check), and SL4 is Windsor (again, I think).
Please also look into what schools your child would go to if they didn't pass the 11 plus, also dates for moving etc from the Slough council website & the school websites.
Also, if you are moving, check the rules about disposal of a previous residence.
ETA: St Bernard's is a Catholic school

[PettswoodFiona]

Burnham Grammar seems close to Slough catchment map here http://www.burnhamgrammar.org.uk/228/admissions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - not familiar with the school or area I might add.

[ToadMum]

1st March allocations for Burnham Grammar September 2019:

https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum ... 12&t=57331

https://www.buckscc.gov.uk/media/451308 ... -final.pdf

All applicants offered under rule 2 (catchment Free School Meals), rule 3 (catchment Pupil Premium), rule 4 (catchment), rule 5 (siblings) and some allocated under rule 9 (distance) to 3.043 miles.

[Burnhammum]

The best thing to do is to go to the websites for each of the 4 Slough grammar schools to see exactly what their admissions criteria are. For example, for Langley GS, priority is given to certain SL3 postcodes first, then to a selection of other postcodes, and then still others in a third tier of priority. Herschel has a priority catchment area for any addresses which fall within a 4 mile radius of the school (this encompasses all of Slough and I believe Langley as well, though I'm not absolutely certain of that, as well as a huge area of South Buckinghamshire, plus Eton, Datchet and a lot of Windsor). Upton currently still places distance from the school last in its criteria and for St Bernards priority is given to Catholics and then other Christians as I understand. It would be prudent to check the catchment comprehensives for any area you are thinking of living in case your child is not successful in gaining a grammar place.

You may also want to consult the catchment area checker on the Buckinghamshire County Council website. A lot of addresses in SL1, SL2 and SL4 are actually in Buckinghamshire and have South Bucks as their local authority. So depending on the precise postcode, you might well be in catchment for one or more of the Buckinghamshire grammars (e.g. Burnham Grammar, Beaconsfield High School, John Hampden). There is a small area of Slough near the border which is even in catchment for Burnham Grammar despite not actually falling under the South Bucks local authority. NB the Buckinghamshire exam is a different one to the Slough grammars but a huge number of children near the border sit both. A lot of Slough children have in the past got places at Burnham grammar (and some girls at Beaconsfield High) but you should be cautious as the admissions distances are shrinking all the time. Someone has already kindly posted the link on this thread for this year's allocation distances I think. Another word of caution, should you move to an address in South Bucks, is that Buckinghamshire is a wholly selective county so there are no comprehensives. The non-selective schools vary hugely in quality (and in fact the non-selective in Burnham closed down this summer) so that is a consideration for the event that your child does not pass the 11+.

Another consideration is that schools can and do change their admissions policies. You don't say which year your daughter would be taking the exam, but you could find you move somewhere only for the policy to change before she reaches the right age. Most schools also have priority for anyone who qualifies for pupil premium which is also something to be aware of.

If I were you, I would check the admissions section on the websites of all the schools you are interested in and then see where the precise postcode (i.e. not just the general area) of any properties you are considering buying would fall in terms of those schools' admission arrangements. I hope that helps.

[ToadMum]

The best thing to do is to go to the websites for each of the 4 Slough grammar schools to see exactly what their admissions criteria are. For example, for Langley GS, priority is given to certain SL3 postcodes first, then to a selection of other postcodes, and then still others in a third tier of priority. Herschel has a priority catchment area for any addresses which fall within a 4 mile radius of the school (this encompasses all of Slough and I believe Langley as well, though I'm not absolutely certain of that, as well as a huge area of South Buckinghamshire, plus Eton, Datchet and a lot of Windsor). Upton currently still places distance from the school last in its criteria and for St Bernards priority is given to Catholics and then other Christians as I understand. It would be prudent to check the catchment comprehensives for any area you are thinking of living in case your child is not successful in gaining a grammar place.

You may also want to consult the catchment area checker on the Buckinghamshire County Council website. A lot of addresses in SL1, SL2 and SL4 are actually in Buckinghamshire and have South Bucks as their local authority. So depending on the precise postcode, you might well be in catchment for one or more of the Buckinghamshire grammars (e.g. Burnham Grammar, Beaconsfield High School, John Hampden). There is a small area of Slough near the border which is even in catchment for Burnham Grammar despite not actually falling under the South Bucks local authority. NB the Buckinghamshire exam is a different one to the Slough grammars but a huge number of children near the border sit both. A lot of Slough children have in the past got places at Burnham grammar (and some girls at Beaconsfield High) but you should be cautious as the admissions distances are shrinking all the time. Someone has already kindly posted the link on this thread for this year's allocation distances I think. Another word of caution, should you move to an address in South Bucks, is that Buckinghamshire is a wholly selective county so there are no comprehensives. The non-selective schools vary hugely in quality (and in fact the non-selective in Burnham closed down this summer) so that is a consideration for the event that your child does not pass the 11+.

Another consideration is that schools can and do change their admissions policies. You don't say which year your daughter would be taking the exam, but you could find you move somewhere only for the policy to change before she reaches the right age. Most schools also have priority for anyone who qualifies for pupil premium which is also something to be aware of.

If I were you, I would check the admissions section on the websites of all the schools you are interested in and then see where the precise postcode (i.e. not just the general area) of any properties you are considering buying would fall in terms of those schools' admission arrangements. I hope that helps.

And further to that - never, ever rely on companies like Zoopla, Rightmove etc (I'm sure others are available)to tell you for which school(s) a given address may be in the priority area. They are there to sell you a property and if telling you that of course the property is in catchment for <name of your target school> will secure the sale, you are unlikely to find out from them that far from being 'in catchment', you would be several categories below the last one admitted within living memory. Always contact the relevant local authority / admissions officer (not the 'nice lady in reception', unless they are definitely one and the same person). As has already been said, find the relevant school's admissions policy, for the correct year of entry, online and check where your DC, living at that address only from the date you will actually be resident there, fits into the criteria.

One last thing, we are about to move into the period during which schools (or the LA, for community schools) must consult publicly on proposed changes for 2021 entry. Which of course can include changes to the scope or order of admissions criteria - so make sure that you find out whether this applies to any of the schools which interest you.

[nareshsoni02]

Hi Mehak,

Did you finally move to Langley? My DS is in Year 3, I am also planning to move to catchment area of Berkshire grammar school as each school has its own catchment policy. Just wanted to know your experience? Is it worth moving before or after attending 11 plus exam?

Thanks in Advance
Naresh

[ToadMum]

The OP's profile shows that they have posted nothing since starting this thread and last visited the site 21 minutes later, you may be waiting a while for an answer. Or they may be monitoring their thread constantly but not logging in and they'll be back by lunchtime .

The answer re moving, however, is easy for anyone to give - check the schools' actual admissions policies. And if that is not clear, check whether the LA has a blanket policy on residence / cutoff dates.

Langley's policy for 2021 entry includes the statement:

d) An applicant’s permanent home address is their normal place of residence, excluding any business
address or a relative or childminder’s address, and must be the permanent place of residence of the
parent/carer with whom the applicant spends the majority of his/her time. Where there is a formal
residence order or child arrangements order which states that care of the child is equally shared
between parents/carers, then it is up to them to agree which address to use for the purpose of making
a school place application. If care of the applicant is not equally shared, the address of the parent with
whom the applicant spends the majority of his/her time must be used. If there is no formal agreement
in place the address at which any Child Benefit is claimed must be used.
Applicants must be resident at that address on the closing date for the Common Application Form on
31st October 2020 and have been continuously resident at the same address since 1st May 2020,
ie six months prior to the closing date for the Common Application Form. The school may check the
authenticity of the address stated; proof of residence or further information may be requested and must
be provided.

https://www.lgs.slough.sch.uk/_site/dat ... 1CAE50.pdf

So anyone applying for 2021 entry, who didn't move into one of the priority banded areas at least by a date over three months ago, will have their previous address used for admissions purposes (assuming that the DC passes).

[Tinkers]

In addition, as mentioned before, you should also look at other schools in the area should your DC not get into a GS.

There’s a couple of stickies here in the Berkshire section where you can get further info on admissions links and historic allocations.