Bushey's schools are strong, from the infant classroom up. The local primaries post high maths results, the secondary results hold up, and almost nine in ten graded schools across Hertfordshire are good or better. Getting a place is harder than getting a good one, and buying a house nearby helps less than parents hope.
Around here, the two mainstream state primaries with published results averaged about 108 in maths at the end of primary school, the Key Stage 2 tests, which is a strong showing. The local names include Bushey Heath Primary School, Bushey Manor Junior School and Bushey and Oxhey Infant School, the last one covering Oxhey as well. Some of the town still splits primary into separate infant and junior schools, so some families fill in the admissions form twice before their child reaches Year 3.
At secondary level, the area has one mainstream state secondary with published results, and its pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of about 59 across their best eight GCSEs. Bushey Meads School carries the town's name, and Queens' School is among the other secondaries nearby. With only one school in the figure, that single school's results are standing in for the whole town's.
Across Hertfordshire as a whole, Ofsted has graded 203 of 227 inspected schools good or better, close to nine in ten. Forty of them are outstanding, 21 require improvement and three are inadequate. Parents in this county are usually choosing between good schools, and only now and then trying to avoid a weak one.
Hertfordshire County Council allocates places under its published admissions rules, so living near a school with Bushey in its name does not secure a place in it. The council also publishes how far away the last child admitted to each school lived in past years, and that distance can be checked against the walk from a house's front door. The mortgage pays for the house, and a place at the school is decided separately.
Schools are among the best reasons to live in Bushey, provided the admissions rules fall your way.