Decision needs to be made

[doodles]

Couldn't agree more Toadmum, I drop my two in the centre of the village, one turns left from the car and the other right Different bus stops and different buses and they get on!!

[Stroller]

From a practical perspective for the adults at home, what happens if the two schools have their annual production on the same night? Same goes for parent teacher meetings, sports fields in opposite directions, etc. I have no experience of it, but could easily imagine tricky moments.

Induction day is neither here nor there in the great scheme of things.

[um]

I think both schools are wonderful options but would be very reluctant to bend to the decision of a 10/11 year old especially when it doesn't seem to be based on logic.

I would always go for the grammar school which is easiest to get to, travel wise. Over the next 7 years, your daughter will do a great deal of commuting, through winter and summer, exams and clubs, sickness and health. It does not make sense (if you have a choice, that is!) to prefer the grammar which is a further distance away. Having siblings together is also great - my boys can talk to each other about school/teachers etc and appreciate that shared experience. It also means there is just one school between them to get to know/communicate with and their events/concerts/plays/teacher training dates and term times are the same. Also ds2 can wear ds1s old uniform
There are so many other little small practicalities, including attending trips and so on, that since you have the opportunity I'd really recommend having them together.

My younger two boys are at different primary schools. ds4 just started his 2 weeks ago, having previously been at home, but even in this fortnight, occasionally, to my annoyance, they can have a 'My school is better than yours' moment. I'd rather have them together but it isn't possible right now.

Her decision seems to be built on the emotional pull she felt at Induction day and the concern that she missed the CH induction day. As you and I know (but a child does not necessarily know) this is not a really major thing. I assume CHG will give her all the induction info once the decision is made and a lot is done at the beginning of Yr 7 to integrate girls in. They also have a residential trip in October which my daughter really enjoyed, so that promise could be a sweetener.

[nervousmom]

I have no knowledge of either school, so can't offer advice on either.

Our DS is at FW, We did take his opinion into account, between FW, KES (Stratford) & AGS. He preferred FW, which we did too. However, ultimately we felt the final decision would be ours, not his, as we felt a then 10/11 year old boy, would not really know what was best for him.

Our DD is sitting 11+ in September. We have not even offered her a choice, FW will be first choice, because we feel it will be so much easier to have 2 children in the same place.

Also I would take into account the shorter travelling time. Not so much of an issue in the summer months, but on a dark, cold, wet winter evening, the closer to home the better.

Our DS gets the green bus and has a 45 minute journey each way. He leave home at 7.00am and gets back at 4.45pm, a long day. As soon as he gets in then he has to get his homework done.

There are so many things going on at schools, with after school clubs etc, that logistically it could be a nightmare if they were at different schools (especially for us as we have a DS at primary school and another DD due to start a private nursery shortly)

You have a difficult decision to make and you will probably worry all summer about whether you have made the right decision. However, remember this, once you have made your decision and your DD has started school and settled in, you won't give the other school a second thought!

Based on this, I would choose CHG!

[Turtlegirl]

I have a daughter in year 9 at KEVIHS. She loves it and the teaching is certainly excellent. However she does have a shortish journey which means she can go to youth group and swimming club in the week (although swimming didn't start until year 8 ). There are very few after school activities apart from sports matches. The school tries to keep all clubs during the school day because so many girls travel by green bus.

School finishes at 3.35pm and she's always home before 4.30pm and if she's organised she can be back at 4.10pm with a journey on a single frequent public bus. These times have been fine for her. Her brother had a much longer journey to KES and a later finish and is often not home until 5.15pm which makes after school activities much harder to access.

Hope this info helps a little with your decision making. It's a tough one, but I think I might prefer less travelling if choosing between two such excellent schools.

[moseleymum]

Decision day

Which school did you decide on?

[Amarstone]

Hello,

Thank you so much for all the good advice we ( my husband was reading too!) received yesterday. We read and discussed every single post (several times!) and all the points made were really helpful.

In the end, we decided to go with CHG and our decision was based upon travel times and logistics. I was concerned about the lack of students getting public buses to KEH and therefore lack of flexibility for after school activities and for half days etc. As both schools are great, it did make sense for dd to go to the nearest, a point my husband made right from the start!

Dd2 is a very positive person and I also had the thought that she would have been as positive about CHG if she had been to an induction day there too.


However, worried about dd's response we decided to phone CHG to see if it would be possible to fit in a quick visit and the school was really accommodating so we went over this afternoon. DD had a chat with the head of year 8 (the head of year 7 was teaching) and a quick tour with a couple of students.

DH told her on the way that if she didn't like it, then she only had to say and we would choose KEH.

She liked it and the head of year was reassured her that she hadn't missed anything. I think she could also see the advantages of being back a bit earlier and not having to be at a bus-stop at 7.15 for the next 5 years!

So we chose CHG. I realise that we were incredibly lucky to have the (tricky) choice and nervous mum is right, I will worry about whether it is the right one over the Summer! However, I think that once she starts, all will be fine.

Thanks again for all your help, particularly as it was a Sunday!

[moseleymum]

Glad you, DH and most importantly DD2 are happy with the choice of CHG.

I'm sure she'll be very happy there

[nervousmom]

Amarstone, I think you've made the right decision.

It will make things so much easier with both girls being in the same place.

Stop thinking about it now, if you can, and enjoy your summer

Another young lady today will be celebrating the place your daughter has vacated

[Tolstoy]

From a practical perspective for the adults at home, what happens if the two schools have their annual production on the same night? Same goes for parent teacher meetings, sports fields in opposite directions, etc. I have no experience of it, but could easily imagine tricky moments.

Induction day is neither here nor there in the great scheme of things.

I think you have made the right decision. We have had to deal with different schools (not our choice)and the above has happened to us. Just about managed to squeeze in Parental consultations by getting the first appointments at one last at another but were very lucky and sadly had to miss one DC performance this Christmas. On occasions OH and I have had to go to separate fund raising events which isn't much fun.