House just been valued

Maisie11

Hello Pickled Pink!

When we fixed a while ago we decided to knock off some years from our mortage so we will finish sooner.

With regard to Gerrards Cross. Yes, agree the High Street is disappointing. Lots of coffee shops and of course that horrible Tesco. Whoever granted planning permission to build a supermarket over a railway......

One point no one has really mentioned is that the reason the prices around here are so high is the grammer schools. If you had three children and they all passed the 11+ you would 'save' yourself hundreds of thousands of pounds (last 5 years of education at boarding school £26k x 5 years x 3 kids = £390k). That doesnt take into account primary education. There are fab primary schools around here. Lots of people are moving to the area, using the state primaries and then onto the grammer schools.

LillyJ

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Ditto - I used to catch a school coach in Blackheath to go to school in Dulwich. Coach picked us up at 7.10am, and we got back about 4.40pm.

Me too, I lived in the home counties (where it seems the OP lives), and had a 30 min bus journey to school. Was quite normal, and my friends had the same distance bus journeys in the other direction. Was a pain for my Mum though if she had to pick me up from a friend's house after school!
Some friends had nearly an hour's journey if they commuted from North London on the train.

LillyJ

Maisie11 wrote: »

Hello Pickled Pink!

When we fixed a while ago we decided to knock off some years from our mortage so we will finish sooner.

With regard to Gerrards Cross. Yes, agree the High Street is disappointing. Lots of coffee shops and of course that horrible Tesco. Whoever granted planning permission to build a supermarket over a railway......

One point no one has really mentioned is that the reason the prices around here are so high is the grammer schools. If you had three children and they all passed the 11+ you would 'save' yourself hundreds of thousands of pounds (last 5 years of education at boarding school £26k x 5 years x 3 kids = £390k). That doesnt take into account primary education. There are fab primary schools around here. Lots of people are moving to the area, using the state primaries and then onto the grammer schools.

Ah I went to one of said Grammar schools. I then moved to a comprehensive over the border in Herts for 6th form (cos I didn't like the grammar). They aren't all they are cracked up to be!

Loads of my friends lived in Gerrards Cross.

LillyJ

meester wrote: »

Gerrards Cross is a bit dull really (along with the Chalfonts) and of course overpriced. The area around Sunningdale is nicer IMO, if you want superpricey housing. It was quite funny when John Prescott decided to annoy everybody there by building the Tesco, even better when the train line caved in as a result.

GX is overpriced especially compared with a lot of areas nearby, but the whole area is expensive, and you don't get THAT much more for your money unless you move out to Oxford or up towards Milton Keynes/Leighton Buzzard.

With regards to GX being dull, it is. If I wanted an expensive house in that area I would go out to St Albans. I love it there and although not Grammer school catchment, you can still go to Grammer schools from over the Herts Border as I did when I was a kid.

Maisie11

Depends on your outlook. If you save £390k on senior schools for your 3 children plus you live in a desirable area you might feel that is worthwhile.

LillyJ

Maisie11 wrote: »

Depends on your outlook. If you save £390k on senior schools for your 3 children plus you live in a desirable area you might feel that is worthwhile.

That's what I am saying though, Gerrards Cross isn't the ONLY place that you can go to Grammer school from!

If you read I actually went to grammer school in Bucks, and didn't live in Gerrards X (although to be fair where we lived wasn't much cheaper), and it was much much nicer IMO.

Maisie11

True, there are still some grammer schools in other parts of the country but I guess Gerrards Cross is great for London and of course Heathrow. It sounds like I am a great fan of GG but I dont live there myself. I use the M&S foodstore all the time though.

Difficult but not impossible to get into a grammer school out of catchment area but around here there are tons of parents wanting to get their children into them so unlikely to have spare spaces.

LillyJ

Maisie11 wrote: »

True, there are still some grammer schools in other parts of the country but I guess Gerrards Cross is great for London and of course Heathrow. It sounds like I am a great fan of GG but I dont live there myself. I use the M&S foodstore all the time though.

Difficult but not impossible to get into a grammer school out of catchment area but around here there are tons of parents wanting to get their children into them so unlikely to have spare spaces.

I actually meant tons of places nearby that you can get into Grammer school from (ie just over Herts border, or somewhere like Amersham).

They do have spare spaces for out of catchment area - I did it, my sister did it, and most people in my Parent's street do it. There are 4 "kids" in the street currently at Challoners. (They live in Herts but only just.)

pickledpink

Maisie11 wrote: »

Hello Pickled Pink!

When we fixed a while ago we decided to knock off some years from our mortage so we will finish sooner.

With regard to Gerrards Cross. Yes, agree the High Street is disappointing. Lots of coffee shops and of course that horrible Tesco. Whoever granted planning permission to build a supermarket over a railway......

One point no one has really mentioned is that the reason the prices around here are so high is the grammer schools. If you had three children and they all passed the 11+ you would 'save' yourself hundreds of thousands of pounds (last 5 years of education at boarding school £26k x 5 years x 3 kids = £390k). That doesnt take into account primary education. There are fab primary schools around here. Lots of people are moving to the area, using the state primaries and then onto the grammer schools.

Hi Maisie,

Well if the schools in your area are so fantastic why don't you send your own children there and keep your house? You won't have to downgrade then;)

LillyJ

pickledpink wrote: »

Hi Maisie,

Well if the schools in your area are so fantastic why don't you send your own children there and keep your house? You won't have to downgrade then;)

I imagine they didn't get in to Grammer school, you have to pass the 11 plus. That means that the secondary moderns are rubbish becuase everyone who doesn't pass and who's parents can beg borrow and steal the money send them private.