The Dogmother Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 That's good to hear Lesley The secondary school that Rosie would like to go to has a fair number of pupils who are offered places, but don't take them up as they end up going to public schools. Thus, they end up with a few places going begging. I don't know whether this will be compromised by the recession though. It is 5 miles away, but I will drop here in for the first couple of weeks until she's made enough friends to be able to get the village bus. A big step for her, but she's sensible enough and will have a phone on her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missuscluck Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Good Luck with Rosie Clare. I hope she gets a place. The whole thing can be a bit nightmarish. My daughter has a place at our local school. We didnt apply for an out of catchment school as our son already goes there and is very happy. The trauma we have had is her best friends are going to other schools. They are the eldest in the familly so have had the pick of where they fancied going. The other thing where the 'specialist school' system falls down flat is if you already have a child in a school suited to his/her special ability. My son goes to a school that has maths and science specialist status. Perfect for him. However my daughter may have been suited to a different specialist school. What are you to do then?? Travel to two different schools? Whatever happened to being able to get a good all round education at your nearest school where you just went to regardless?? I dont remember having to make any difficult decisions at age 11 of what my specialist subject would be and which school I would like to go to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 One of the secondary schools in town had the most appalling educational record and was constantly on report, but had excellent sports facilities; it's now a sports academy! I feel sorry for the teachers, the catchment area leaves a lot to be desired Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 We moved house 2 yrs ago to get our eldest into school of choice. I feel for anyone who is going through this. My family were aghast at this as in the Midlands where i grew up you just went to feeder school. They are 11 for Gods sake, the stress on them is phenominal, no wonder so many end up throughly miserable. Ours ended happily and after a rough start due to his stammer and bullying he is happy, settled and enjoying school. made lots of new friends too. good luck everyone hang on in there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Good luck with Rosie's appeal, Claret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Thanks Guys, her teacher is writing a letter of recommendation and finding the forms for me to fill in. We have 3 secondary schools in Banbury (state ones that is, there's another public one); one is a 'sports academy' with a rotten academic record and the worst catchment area in town; one is catholic and will only admit church goers who have been baptised, so that's us out before we even start; the last is the one that she has been allocated to and my friends in the police have so many calls to that school to deal with violence, children with knives etc. If she ends up going there then it won't be the end of the world as she's sensible enough to keep away from that element, but I'd prefer her to be somewhere that she feels comfortable and will be encourgaed rather then the teachers spending most of their time disciplining an unruly minority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Doesn't sound like a very good choice Claret. Which school are you appealing to? (and why? I'm wondering ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Our first two choices were schools out of the town (both about 5 miles away) and both recommended to us by her current school as excellent centres of learning and both specialise in her best subjects. We visited both of them last year and thought they were excellent. We are appealing to the first one on our list, there's more of a chance of getting into that one as some of the children accepted to them go on to public schools and never take up their places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Ah! Now I understand! Good luck with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Thanks Ginette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 We have been through this awful process twice so far and YD will do her 11+ in November so it will all start again. We have been lucky that both of ours have got the school they wanted, this was very important in DS's case because I think he would have sunk without trace at the our local comp. He is a clever lad but needs a kick up the backside from time to time and finds it hard to motivate himself. The all boys grammar that he is at is oneof the best in the country and they really understand how to motivate boys. After a difficult start last year he is now flying and happy The stress of waiting to find out if he had his place was terrible. I feel for you all and hope that everything works out well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Am I the only one on the planet who did not receive their letter? Everybody else seems to know except me if their child has a place at their chosen school. I did try to ring but of course it was engaged Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 I got a letter and am email as well, which I thought was highly efficient this time around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClaireG Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Good Luck Clare and Rosie. We have all this to go through next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 I received the email on Monday and the letter yesterday, can't fault them for efficiency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJuff Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 We found out today that DD has got a place at her chosen school after the 11+ and formal interview. DS found out he had a place at the same school last week in the junior school. We are very pleased as the school has an excellent reputation. Unfortunately we have to pay and travelling costs bite too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shirl Posted March 7, 2009 Share Posted March 7, 2009 Congratulations to everyon who got the places they wanted. Fingers crosses Rosie wins her appeal. We have a while yet before we have to worry about 11+ but we are changing E's school in September as we aren't happy with how she has settled in. You think once they're in a school the worry is over. If only Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
