11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi

Can anyone help, please?

Out of KEG CHB, FW and Aston, which are the quickest to get to from New Street?

We live out of Bgham, and are considering options of staying where we are and using rail/bus transport,, or move within Bgham/Solihull.

I would reckon Camp Hill is probably simplest (no. 50 bus) but Bishop Vesey is probably far quicker than any of the KEs from there.

Mike

from new street i think you can also take a train to aston.
ke aston is walking distance from aston station.
there is a designated safe route patrolled by police for the boys to walk from the station to the school.

Aston would theoretically be about 10 mins quicker than CH but not quite as straightforward; depends how streetwise your child is, I think. It's about a 20-min walk from Aston station to KE Aston. Assuming they haul the same weight back and forth from KEA each day as ours does, that will certainly toughen him up . I think really you'd need to get a bus from the centre of Birmingham.

There's always the Green Bus option as well of course.

Mike

Many thanks Mike 1880 and um.

As we live outside Coventry; it is 30 min rail journey, and unfortuantely, there are no green buses to be had at New Street. I am therefore trying to establish the (time) nearest school, so DS1 would spend the minimum time travelling.

I am surprised at CHB being considered as close, it must be 4-5 miles from New Street.

Aston looks like a good bet, but I wonder if it is the weakest of the KEG Boys schools.

while aston may not have the land/facilities of camp hill or 5 ways it is not necessarily the weakest. some years average point scores are higher than camp hill at gcse.
it is still an extremely good school that kids are lucky to get into!

if you live in coventry have you considered queen marys walsall as this is a straight journey from coventry station to walsall, then a walk/hop on bus depending if its raining! it just means no changing trains, you're straight there.

new street station is not the easiest to navigate to be honest - it is very big and busy, but my own son will have to via there if he goes to qm or bv. i would just have to go with him for the first week - not fun with a double pushchair

KEA is probably the easiest to get into but that's more a reflection of ease of travel than anything, I don't think it's at all weak.

The QM option sounds good as well.

Time for me to recommend (as usual) the single most useful website you will ever find for school selection:

http://www.transportdirect.info/Web2/Jo ... oDoor=true

Mike

Optimist wrote:Hi

Can anyone help, please?

Out of KEG CHB, FW and Aston, which are the quickest to get to from New Street?

I went to the Aston open evening recently and walked from the station myself. Though I'll be putting Aston somewhere on the form next year I wouldn't ask my son to walk from Aston station till he's a few years older. It's just a bit too far and a bit too dangerous. The green bus company offer a much reduced cost service if a boy is just travelling from Aston Station. After school activities? Well... I'd probably be soft enough to pick him up – though, I admit, the boys I met seemed pretty organized in avoiding walking alone to the station.

Have you looked at King Edwards School Edgbaston?
It's a fee paying school with excellent bursaries. Depending on your finances and your boys test results it could be anything from cripplingly expensive to considerably cheaper than attending Aston. I mention it because, given that you'd already have a train pass, it's quicker, easier and safer than the other schools you mentioned.