KEHS Meeting

[DIY Mum]

SeanUK, Can I direct you to this thread ? It's quite an interesting read and for me, Amber's words especially the ones in bold really hit home.

Some choose inde for the pastoral care. This was our choice for DD at eleven as we felt she would not thrive in a super high-achieving school full of bright thrusting young sparks...not because she wasn't intellectually up to it but she lacked confidence and found the social side of girl culture hard to take. The caring atmosphere of the inde allowed her to fly academically. She then chose and was fortunate enough to get into a super high-achieving school full of bright slightly older thrusting sparks for sixth form and absolutely loves it.

Not sure what this illustrates! The only thing I would say is that the stereotypes which some parents seem to latch onto are really not accurate and I think as a parent and teacher I can confidently knock all of the following on the head:

1. Children at grammar school are nice, well-mannered and keen to do nothing but study, play chess or sport and use their hankies properly. They come from Nice Homes and their parents are upstanding members of the community;

2. Children at inde ditto, just richer. (I actually read someone on here opining that children at inde always want to do their work with no fuss. Er...) They come from nice big homes and their parents are upstanding and wealthy members of the community;

3. Children with the misfortune to attend any other kind of school are loutish, tattooed, promiscuous and drunk all the time. Their parents are usually in prison or camps for failed asylum seekers. Any 'normal' child who attends one of these schools will soon be either assaulted or ostracised by all the ne'er do wells there.

In short - a school is a school. I am older and wiser than I was when we started this lark and I would say (deep breath) don't pay for it unless there are really good personal reasons why a child needs a particular approach, be it pastoral as in our case (and we do feel it was worth it) or because a special need, interest or talent really can't be met elsewhere. Sports, music, drama etc can all be done outside school, usually cheaper and you meet a wider range of people doing them.

I couldn't say it more apt than that.
All the best in making your personal choice.

ETA:

About the actual meeting: in all fairness, this wasn't an Open Evening for prospective parents. So to compare it to KES' meeting (which was) isn't helpful or accurate.
From a school's point of view, they wish to keep parents abreast about the curriculum in an informal setting, and this is what the meeting was about. Incidentally, it was nice of KEHS to actually include prospective parents as it shows that they are very engaging towards new dps. I'm sure another meeting just for newbies will be held in the near future.

In all honesty, I prefer the 'non marketing' approach of KEHS as it allowed me to focus on things that matter most- the sincerity of the teachers in educating my child and their teaching style & pedagogy. Tbh, I was very impressed with not only how much passion both depts (the English and Biology) had for their particular subject but the fact that the teachers had a genuine love of learning for other subjects too. To top it all, they clearly knew how to deliver their passion and knowledge to their students too!

[moseleymum]

Whilst not a meeting for prospective parents, the bulk (if not all attending) were prospective parents looking for clarity. Those parents spoken to that day didnt get the clarity they wanted which is why the opportunity felt wasted.

Had there been a noticeable number of current parents, then I would have applauded them including prospective parents in this event but that was simply not the case. We had random parents asking us questions about the school despite the fact there were staff members present who could have helped - it was because they needed further insight. The enthusiasm of the staff was evident on Open Day and was impressive as I previously mentioned. However, we have more knowledge of the Independent sector than the Grammar sector, and are used to this infectious enthusiasm. Is it really very different in other schools? I don't know, I only have a child in KES!

I am sure there will be a meeting after 15th March i.e post acceptance. There aren't any before then unless arranged privately.

[DIY Mum]

Whilst not a meeting for prospective parents, the bulk (if not all attending) were prospective parents looking for clarity. Those parents spoken to that day didnt get the clarity they wanted which is why the opportunity felt wasted.

I don't think so. There have always been numerous Open days - I think 3 throughout the year for parents to glean about KEHS. As I mentioned afore, this meeting was not one of those, whether prospective parents attended or not but is a method schools use to engage on going parents.

Yes, the passion of the staff but more importantly, their pedagogical approach and combined years of experience was impressive. I mean, just taking the English department alone, the staff between them have 90 years of teaching experience. But this level of experience was evident in the Biology dept (and from a previous visit), in the language, history and Mathematics dept too.

Wearing my teacher's hat, you simply cannot underestimate what an experienced (subject specialist) teacher brings to the classroom and the school. But the fact, that they are able to engage their students in a somewhat creative and innovative approach, is a major plus point in my book.

I do have 3 dc at the other KE grammar schools and while some departments are strong (their teaching style isn't as innovative). It's definitely more striking than what I've encountered at KES when we considered it for ds1 but that was several years ago.

It was quite interesting to hear also from another dp also present at that meeting, and who has just had 3 daughters at CHG over the last 17 years (now you don't often meet one of those dps, do you? ). Asking her why she is pursuing Kehs over chg for her dd4, she explained that given her long term knowledge of the school, one of the reasons was because of this (experienced teachers have left), and it's not as creative.

It's a shame that S. Evans is retiring now just as dd2 is about to start at the school.

Anyway, that is life! As one forum member used to say regarding schools, "it's horses for courses".

[moseleymum]

^^That forum member is still around, just in a different guise

[DIY Mum]

^^That forum member is still around, just in a different guise

Actually, I've lost track...certainly don't know of his latest nom de plume but it seems that his approach is adopted by other forum members too

[UmSusu]

I have been keeping an eye out for his return too - have been suspicious of a few newcomers but haven't worked it out yet - although one poster bit me not long ago and I did wonder

Back to the topic: I don't know anything about the KEHS personally but I do know of people who sent their daughters there and I have never been able to get a single negative about the school out of them (Mind you, I have only heard positive things about CHG from those who go there - there were a couple of comments about a lack of warmth there based on their open days though, but these might be due to the natural chaos of such days). My prof has a daughter who just left and she can't praise the school enough - especially the arts, music and drama which she said was faultlessly professional.

However, it depends on what you want from the school: I agree with the comments that there is no point in all of these if your daughter is not going to be interested in joining these activities.

[moseleymum]

I have been keeping an eye out for his return too - have been suspicious of a few newcomers but haven't worked it out yet - although one poster bit me not long ago and I did wonder

Back to the topic: I don't know anything about the KEHS personally but I do know of people who sent their daughters there and I have never been able to get a single negative about the school out of them (Mind you, I have only heard positive things about CHG from those who go there - there were a couple of comments about a lack of warmth there based on their open days though, but these might be due to the natural chaos of such days). My prof has a daughter who just left and she can't praise the school enough - especially the arts, music and drama which she said was faultlessly professional.

However, it depends on what you want from the school: I agree with the comments that there is no point in all of these if your daughter is not going to be interested in joining these activities.

Exactly. Of course we have committed to KES, so need to factor in additional commitment Had DS1 or other DC been at Grammar Schools and not Indies then the commitment would be easier to stomach.

As needed as the AP scheme is for many families, it doesn't take into account family size. If someone is just outside the required income and has commitments to other school/s, then one definitely needs to think about what you want from the school if you are paying a significant amount for it. My son's specific needs were met at KES....my daughter's specific needs can be met in either Indie or GS even though it's easier to accept KEHS as I'm always at KES anyway!

We will await further visits before deciding.

Oh, and yes, we have been on Open Days , but the scrum of parents, plus the need to ask specific questions of staff, rather than girls showing us around (as polite and well informed as they are), meant that we weren't able to get the answers we wanted. We made the decision for DS1 after going to visit schools after results, so plan to do the same here.

[Teacosy]

As a kEHS parent, I just had to comment on this thread! I sincerely hope no one is going to reject a place at KEHS purely because of one meeting! I am guilty of not attending curriculum meetings. School is a fair distance from home and I have other commitments at the time of the meeting, so it was just not convenient for me to be there. However, had I had any concerns about the curriculum I would have made sure I was there to ask questions. I am sure I speak on behalf of the majority of KEHS parents when I say I am highly satisfied with the curriculum and also well-informed on what my daughter is learning.

I am one of many parents who really would struggle to find anything negative to say about the school. I have two very different daughters, one who is thriving and happy at KEHS and the second who I hope will attend in the future. Girls are all valued as individuals, have really positive relationships with the staff and are encouraged to build on their strengths and interests. I know little of other secondary schools, but I recommend KEHS wholeheartedly. Academic? Of course. Stuffy? No way! I only wish I could have had so much fun when I was at school several decades ago.

I cannot comment on curriculum meetings but believe me, the school is FANTASTIC!

[mike1880]

I'm another guilty non-attender. I didn't attend the one before our daughter started and I haven't attended the ?two?three? others since. And what's more, I don't think I ever will. The current curriculum is available online and that tells me as much as I feel I need to know. (I get the impression moneypenny1 took her daughter to the meeting? That sounds decidedly unwise imho, the meetings are aimed squarely at parents as far as I understand it - and if I can't stomache the thought of attending one of them I can't imagine what a 10yo thought of it.)

Stuffy is absolutely not a word I'd associate with KEHS - quite the opposite (my major qualms about the new head are that she might take it into her head to make the place less irreverent and less fun, or introduce more team sport or something unspeakable like that).

If anyone has any doubts, ask to go round during a school day. If you still have doubts after that, consider how much money you're contemplating spending and ask yourself if you'd seriously think about spending that much on anything else you were so uncertain of.

Mike

[Poppins]

Many thanks Teacosy and Mike for giving your perspective are current KEHS parents! This is exactly what we need to make our difficult decision between a Grammar and KEHS, and unfortunately what I was expecting at the last meeting!

As a matter of interest, do you know of many KEHS girls having to be tutored to reach A or A star GCSE, or do you think this is more a "Grammar School" phenomenon? How would you explain the significantly higher percentage of A/A Stars across most subjects at KEHS vs. Grammar Schools?