Tudor grange vs grammar

[Greenfingers10]

We are in TG catchment and have applied for KE without any pressure on our DD, however if she does happen to pass we face a hugh dilemma! We love KECH because of the atmosphere, it's all girls, it's smaller and TG is very strict ( especially with uniform and seems to be getting stricter). Though I don't know for sure, I feel she would be pushed more at TG from what I've seen of the work and teachers. Also my perception is that because there is less Maths in the exam and CH are not put into sets she may be pushed further in Maths at TG ( may be someone may be able to give me any insight on this ...) I'm not too far from kings Heath so that is not an issue. I feel if your DC can get in,it's just what you feel is right for them.
My main problem though is making my daughter realise that we can't afford KEHS because that is where she wants to go .

[Dave1879]

A relative on my wife's side went to TG a few years ago & walked away with 11a* at GCSE - she is now doing Medicine at B'ham.
It is a fantastic school- if your child is bright enough then the teachers will really push you.
Good luck.

[hermanmunster]

My main problem though is making my daughter realise that we can't afford KEHS because that is where she wants to go .

have you looked at the level of financial support on offer at KEHS?

[Greenfingers10]

Thanks Hermanmunster, I'm definitely going to try, though I don't know how realistic our chances are. I'm going to start working towards it next week and scouring the site for info.

[HappyRobot]

I heard from another parent that at TG they set about 50 kids in two sets for maths and another subject (literacy??) and they are the children who get pushed hard. His dd is in with the 50....

[wtwh]

My main problem though is making my daughter realise that we can't afford KEHS because that is where she wants to go .

have you looked at the level of financial support on offer at KEHS?

The King Edwards 'generous bursary scheme' seems largely aimed at the boys school. We got hammered for the full fees at KEHS despite being from what would be considered a very modest combined income household

Having said that, there were also parents dropping what we later found to be bursary recipients off in shiny Mercedes Benz. Ironically although we looked like paupers, we were in effect subsidising these folks.

Nobody forced us to do it but I would say that if you get a free Camp Hill or Tudor Grange place, I would be seriously inclined to take it.

[hermanmunster]

I think the problem that KEHS (and KES) run into is they can only offer fee help to kids who score highly enough in the exam ...... twas ever thus, aeons ago there were foundation scholars, county reserve and full fee places - so plenty paying nothing, some paying part and others paying full fees.

[Paramjeet]

I was told the marks to get a bursary or assisted place from poorer backgrounds were lower than those needed for scholarships. Can anyone validate this or us it just urban myth mumbo jumbo. Also more kids have free lunch at KES than at KECHB. None of this matters except to data analysts.

[wtwh]

I think the problem that KEHS (and KES) run into is they can only offer fee help to kids who score highly enough in the exam ...... twas ever thus, aeons ago there were foundation scholars, county reserve and full fee places - so plenty paying nothing, some paying part and others paying full fees.

We were told she was halfway down the field of the intake in terms of exam score - this translated into full fees at KEHS . There is a common misconception that any pass gives automatic access to a sliding scale assisted place if you earn below £80,000 pa. Not true.

[mike1880]

I looked at the Foundation reports for this not all that long ago. If I remember correctly, the boys school has access to more scholarship money in relation to numbers of pupils (but by no means a great a difference as you'd expect) while the girls school had a slightly larger share of the bursary pot.

My impression is that the school decides who they want to offer bursaries to, after which the Foundation sorts out the financial details of how much assistance the child qualifies for. There is more bursary money available than scholarship money and this will certainly translate into lower scores needed to qualify for a bursary - but it's still far from easy to achieve (definitely very much harder than getting a GS place).

Any self-employed person has a head start in how much income they want to declare and may well find ways of gaining the use of (for example) a shiny Mercedes without ever actually owning it.

Mike