Feeding advice for bantams (one broody, one moulting)

[buffie]

I'll move you into NB and you can get lots of advice.

 

BBx

[Guest]

It is definitely a decision that only you can make but with your parents guidance! Listen to them, later on in life you will realise that a lot of what they said makes sense and they only want the best for you!

 

Also a good tip is to listen to the sunscreen song a few times and take it all in. Most of that comes true eventually and it makes a lot of sense!.

 

I went to a mixed comprehensive school and loved every minute... I personally think that being in a mixed school offers many other social benefits/learning opportunities rather than just academic. However I do have mates that also went to all girls/guys schools and they turned out alright (just like me).

 

I do have to say though that my mates that attended single sex schools did actually achieve better grades. Whether this was down to personal ability, sheer luck/coincidence or good schooling, I can't really comment as there are way too many variables.

 

So I didn't recieve the best grades, but that is because I spent too much time having fun and not enough time concentrating/learning. The staff loved me though and probably thought I brought my own kind of special energy to the class!

 

When I do produce my own offspring, I think my decision would be based on the quality/reputation of the school and their statistical ability to produce achievers, the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff (good caring staff will produce excellent achievers).

 

The thing to remember though is you really can achieve whatever you want out of life if you make the right decisions at the right time. Nothing really is out of reach!

 

I now own my own house in the country with my chooks, have a really good career in IT with a company car, mobile, laptop, amazing wages for the local area and flexible hours which suit me. I am so lucky that I even get to chat on here during work time. A lot of my friends that went to university and single sex schools now work in supermarkets for minimum wage because they don't have the drive and will power to succeed (and also they don't want to pay their student loans off).

 

I also really wanted to be a zoo keeper when I was younger. Because I love animals so much! However for me, I was in the right place at the wrong time, so it wasn't to be. Basically I would say the best route for my area would have been to talk to the zoo, go to college and study an NVQ while doing a Modern Apprenticeship with them on the job. The pay wouldn't have been very good to begin with, but you would be gaining real life experience from day 1 of the course which puts you at an immediate advantage to others, as they already know who you are and how flexible and good you are. And once you are in, you can keep an eye out for positions.

 

Now that I have bored everyone to death I better stop!

 

I hope that everything is going well for you in your new grammar school?

[Louise]

I went to an awful school Came out with no qualifications and the idea I was stupid

 

I have two degrees now so I know I am not

 

I would have given my life to have gone to both a grammar and all girls school just to get away from the idiots who thought being distruptive was fun

 

I am one of those people that needs a little help to understand sometimes and when the teacher is always dealing with disruption the quiet ones who do need help get forgotten about

 

Anyway - advice

 

Zoo keeping is incredibly difficult to get into and ceratinly at the beginning is more of a vocation than a job as it pays so badly but if you put in the work you could get as much as £30K as a manager but that is in 20 years from entry

 

To get this you need to demonstrate you have a real interest so I would suggest you start trying to do voluntary work somewhere even in a stables or something to show you want to work with these beasties and you are prepared to do it for nothing because that on your CV for this type of competetive work will look far more appealing than anything else

 

If you do get your toe in the door do every animal care course they are prepared to send you on working and studying is hard work but it is the quickest way to succed in the animal care industry

 

Good luck

[Tiggy]

my daughter has always gone to an all girls school, she is at uni now & has never had any problems meeting boys or relating to male personages of any kind. The boys at school are a distraction and a source of micky taking that knocks may girls confidence, but I agree they can be fun. All girls schools often have links with the local boys school so you still have lots of opportunity to mix. You need to do what you think is best for you, good luck

[Guest]

The boys at school are a distraction and a source of micky taking that knocks may girls confidence

 

How can you say that? For a start all boys are not the same and they aren't all micky taking distractions that seek fun with girls. When I was at school I barely even knew what a girl was!

 

You have proved exactly my point though. Single sex schools miss out on regular communication and interaction with the opposite sex. In my opinion these are crucial life skills that need to be learnt at a young age.

 

What do you think happens when children are released into the real world lacking in these skills? The impact of having your confidence knocked at this age could have far more disastrous effects on your life if you are not prepared to deal with them.

 

Some people may disagree but breaks/lunchtimes should be a time for a bit of stress relieving good hearted horse play with friends - Not bullying that is completely unacceptable in all cases. This relaxes and prepares the mind for more learning. Lessons should be for learning though, so there should be no distractions in any school and it is the teacher’s role to enforce this...

[chickencam]

My older two both go to single sex grammar schools. The teaching is tailored to each sex which probably has more impact for boys than it does for girls but the lack of distraction from boys does help the girls to concentrate.

 

Both schools have a mixed sixth form therefore there are boys around to admire, and they share a bus to school and a few social events.

 

Like someone said earlier friends who are real will stay friends, I have a friend from school and we have lived 150 miles apart for the the last 20 years but we are still close.

 

Also the listen to your parents bit is important because boring though it is they will be talking sense and have your best interests at heart.

 

Good luck

[Aunty e]

When I was eleven I had the choice to go to a really good independent school on a scholarship, boarding in Yorkshire, two hundred miles away from my family, or go to the local school, which had alright results, but nothing special. I decided to go away to board. It was hard, I did miss my friends and my family, but frankly I couldn't have made a better choice. My life would be NOTHING like it is now if I hadn't gone away to school. I was actually made to get up off my rear and stop coasting through school work, and work to my potential. At the other school, there were so many different levels of ability, and such huge class sizes that I would have been ignored, because I was doing alright and I was a 'good' girl.

 

Personally, I would have loved to have been without boys. Oh, the energy I wasted on the miserable blighters, which could have been channelled into my school work. There's plenty of time for that sort of thing at uni/college. When I look at my contemporaries from junior school, I know I made the right choice. Funnily enough, this sort of thing has come up at home recently as my baby bro had to make the same decision, and chose to go away as well. I dropped him off for his interview at Imperial College, London this morning (fingers crossed). He was telling me about his friend, Kane from back home. I used to walk them both to school, and mind Kane for his mum afterwards in the school holiday. Nice kid, sweet, little odd sometimes, but bright as a button. He left school last year with one GCSE, the rest were all Us and he's just been fired from his job as an apprentice carpet fitter. He was just as bright as my little bro, but had to go to the local hell hole where he got bullied and overlooked by all the teachers. It makes me SO angry. The schools in some parts of this country are a DISGRACE. Anyway, off topic, but I really would go to the grammar.

[Snowy]

It is a difficult at your age. But I do agree with the above posts. I know that this is a generalisation, and not all comps are the same, but if you do not know what you want to do, are relatively bright and able to coast, then you will be allowed to. I coasted through school, got all my O levels without revising or trying particularly hard and was never challenged. Didn't go to college and drifted for a few years. Once I knew what I wanted to do I got a very good degree in my field with very little effort. Looking back, I really wish someone had given me a bit of a push as I wasted my education completely. (I was offered the chance to apply for a grammer school place but wanted to stay with my friends). My son had the same problem - coasting through school with no motivation and not being challenged or encouraged.

 

Anyway, after that ramble, I'd just say it's your decision - but do think carefully about it and don't waste opportunities that you may never get again!

[CatsCube]

Oh wow only just realised its the girls high school your talking about. Im origionaly from chelmsford. Its an excellent school and so worth going to, I would have loved to. (plus when I was at school their were a lot of fit guys in KEGS.) I went to baddow comp, but TBH it didnt matter which school you went to as you hung out with people from all different schools anyway. I had mates from most of the local schools.

 

At the end of the day you spend more of your life out of school than you do in school so its better to make that bit the best, and going to the girls high school will certainly set you up for life in a way that a comprehensive never would.

 

Hope it goes well for you. What school do you go to at the moment?

[Guest]

When I was eleven I had the choice to go to a really good independent school on a scholarship, boarding in Yorkshire, two hundred miles away from my family, or go to the local school, which had alright results, but nothing special. I decided to go away to board.

 

I don't blame you! I would think being 200 miles away in Yorkshire was heaven compared to living in London!!!

 

I could never live in a city, I am an ickle country bumpkin at heart!!

 

I would never want to live in a built up area again. I currently live in Cornwall and it is getting that way down here now. Especially with all the housing the government has planned to take away our countryside...

[Olly]

ha ... when I was 11 I had the option of sitting the 11-plus, but the nearest grammar school was Chelmsford. It would have meant a train journey every day, and my parents decided not to put me in for it.

 

I went to the local comprehensive, and while I stayed on to the 6th-form I really didn't achieve my potential - I wasn't pushed, or even encouraged. I left school with no idea of what I wanted to do, and very few skills. When I did decide that I wanted to go to university, I had to study hard (in the evenings, as I was working during the day) for another 'A' level, and the grade I got wasn't good enough for any of the places I applied to - I got a place at a polytechnic through clearing in the end.

 

I went on to get a degree and a professional qualification and I have got a good job now, but I would have found it easier, gone to a better university and enjoyed my time at school more if I'd gone to the grammar school. You've got to spend the next five years of your life there, is it going to be a stimulating environment where you feel your potential is being stretched? Or somewhere where you just turn up every day because you have to, and hang out with your mates? I'm not prejudging this, your local comprehensive school may be a very good one, I don't know - but the chances are the grammar school will offer you more challenges.

 

It is a difficult choice, but I'd echo all of the above - friends will stay friends, you'll make new ones as well, and boys will still be there!

[Tiggy]

I'm sorry I did not wish to upset anyone, of course not all boys cause distruption or micky take, my own son would never do that (biased view of course - he is lovely),

[Guest]

I know this is probably a bit late BUT check the curriculum. If you are in Year 9 you will be choosing your options and Grammar schools often have a NARROWERcurriculum. For example subjects like media studies, music technology etc are not widely taugh in grammars. That obviously only matters if there are some things you really want to do but if you aren't taking a raft of "standard" options it's worth thinking about.

 

School I teach a now also offers things like hair, beauty and hospitality and catering on the vocational side too. Whilst the first 2 are taken by kids who are struggling with academic subjects the last one isn't. Also they are offered advanced options rivalling the local colleges at sixth form level.

 

Chelmsford is an excellent school though and would give you a fantastic education opportunity.

[Chicken Licken]

Also look at what they offer post 16 (I know it is miles away but in no time at all you will be there - is it A Levels, IB, BTec) and how does that compare with what would be available to you if you stay at your current school. If you are going to shift now is the time to do it before GCSE choices are made for next year!

What about the extra - curricular side of life - are there any clubs/ activities you would like to do that are available. Do you have hobbies you want to maintain if you do change school.

Good luck with the decision making and have a good chat with your parents.