Travel from Milton Keynes to Sir Henry Floyd

Eleven Plus (11+) in Buckinghamshire (Bucks)

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CaitlinW
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Jul 22, 2010 12:13 pm

Re: Travel from Milton Keynes to Sir Henry Floyd

Post by CaitlinW »

Many thanks for all these responses. It's really helpful to hear about how you reached your decisions, and how you feel about them.
Louise K
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2014 1:56 pm

Re: Travel from Milton Keynes to Sir Henry Floyd

Post by Louise K »

Hi All. I know this converation is a couple of years old now. But I really need some advice. My DS (Yr 5) 's teacher thinks she is bright enough to take the 11+ and go to grammar school. But I'm unsure whether it is the best thing for her. Its great that she is showing the potential and I know that academically she is working to a higher level than children of work colleagues who are pushing for them to go to a grammar school. My DS is quite shy/quiet and really wants to opt for the local comp. She would be able to walk to/from school and all her friends would be there. I can see her being happy there. But.... it doesn't have great results/reputation. To be honest I have never been keen on the idea of selective education. We are a working-class family and I work full-time so would not be able to pick up from Aylesbury if warranted. But I am concerned that if I don't give DS a chance to reach her potential I'll regret it. What should I do??
rabbie burns
Posts: 251
Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2014 12:48 pm

Re: Travel from Milton Keynes to Sir Henry Floyd

Post by rabbie burns »

Hi, We also come from a working class background where GS is not the usual option. We went through with it in a super selective area because our dc wanted to go to our local GS. The experience was not nice, dealing with preparing for the test, other parents lying about whether they were going for it (or whether they had a tutor) and finally parents snubbing us because our dc got in and theirs did not. My advice is do not force your dc to do it if she does not want to. Bright children can do well at any school. Even now I am not sure we made the right decision. Only time will tell.
southbucks3
Posts: 3579
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:59 am

Re: Travel from Milton Keynes to Sir Henry Floyd

Post by southbucks3 »

Hi,

Where abouts do you live? I assume not Milton Keynes or your teacher would not have mentioned aylesbury grammars, or if they did, they are ill advised to do so and put this kind of pressure on you.
My niece went to floyd and I have friends with children currently there, which is your local upper or comprehensive school?
The key issue is where you child will be happiest, my very shy son went to grammar with few friends and I will be honest has struggled socially. We don't do flashy kit, latest games or big holidays so he will never be in the trendy gang, but he is very sporty and this has helped, now he has settled and has a few good friends that are like minded.
Please pm me and we can chat about your worries, I am originally from mk, have lots of friends there, but now live in south bucks, so can hopefully help out either way.
Floyd is not your only aylesbury option, the working class element should not be cause for worry as the aylesbury schools in particular have a real cross section from miles away.
Louise K
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2014 1:56 pm

Re: Travel from Milton Keynes to Sir Henry Floyd

Post by Louise K »

Hi Southbucks3.

We are in Milton Keynes (Bletchley). Milton Keynes is not a grammar area as you probably know. But children here can go to Royal Latin or Sir Henry Floyd and apparently a number of them do. I went to see my DD's current headteacher this morning who confirmed she has the potential for grammar school, not just academically but in her thought processes. She thought it would be a shame not to apply to the grammars. But alternatively I could look at secondary schools outside our catchment area. The nearest one to us does not have a good reputation or good results and the Head thought it would do my DD no favours. I do worry about what you say about the social side of things at grammar school though. DD struggles socially and won't be one of the trendy gang either. She is not sporty really but she is musical if that might help. Also I'm concerned about the travelling as that will make her day longer.
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Travel from Milton Keynes to Sir Henry Floyd

Post by Sally-Anne »

If you take a look at the Aylesbury High School website here http://www.ahsonline.co.uk/Admissions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; there are some very helpful and interesting maps that show transport links and also where the girls come from.

Huge numbers of girls travel in from MK. Unfortunately AHS is the only school to publish this information, but the profiles for AGS and SHF will be very similar, I am sure.
southbucks3
Posts: 3579
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:59 am

Re: Travel from Milton Keynes to Sir Henry Floyd

Post by southbucks3 »

Hmmm, tricky? Imo the teachers and head teachers at state primary schools in mk are bang out of order in encouraging people from Bletchley to apply to aylesbury schools. Here in catchment zone the state primary teachers barely mention the 11+ at all to parents, for fear of adding pressure to children.

What is your likelyhood of getting into denbigh? Why is the head against the school her primary feeds into, surely she is not helping the situation by encouraging her brighter children to go out of catchment, but if it is a failing school what are your other local options? Leon are a bit unsettled at the moment, with Simon Vickers death, Lord grey isn't a bad school though is it?

You have pretty much zero chance of the royal Latin school from Bletchley, so it would be aylesbury high or floyd. Floyd is the most arty and musical of the two, so probably best suited yo your daughter, my niece made friends by way of involvement in school productions.

The journey is long, but literally hundreds do make it every day on the bus, (the cost of which is something else to consider) so she would make friends on the bus itself I hope to think.
Presumably there are others in her class which are going for it, are there any friendly mums, or are they all being sniffy? This is nonsense as currently it is not a competition, if your child passes, they will probably get a place so you should all be helping one another.

Should your daughter be dead set against the idea now, maybe let her go to the local school with her friends, but keep an open mind for sixth form, as it is my understanding that this is where the problems lie in some mk comps. Are her close friends a tight knit bunch, are they conscientious at school, basically would they encourage one another to behave properly and do well at the local comp?

Lots to think about, you have found this forum, which will help you with the test content and morale boosting nearer the time.

Hopefully Mary Lou will pick up the thread, as she is an mk mum, there are a few others on here too. I am known on here for campaigning for bucks grammar school places to be given to local children, but it is obviously not a personal issue and I genuinely hope you find a way forward with this.
Marylou
Posts: 2164
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 2:21 am

Re: Travel from Milton Keynes to Sir Henry Floyd

Post by Marylou »

southbucks3 wrote: Hopefully Mary Lou will pick up the thread, as she is an mk mum, there are a few others on here too. I am known on here for campaigning for bucks grammar school places to be given to local children, but it is obviously not a personal issue and I genuinely hope you find a way forward with this.
Not an MK mum, but a South Northants mum! :)

Otherwise agree with SB3, not much chance of RLS from Bletchley but Aylesbury schools are a distinct possibility - if you and DD are happy with the travelling time and costs, not to mention the possibility of friends living just as far the other side of Aylesbury....

The option to reconsider for 6th form in a few years' time is also worth bearing in mind, it comes around faster than you think. :o
Marylou
Louise K
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2014 1:56 pm

Re: Travel from Milton Keynes to Sir Henry Floyd

Post by Louise K »

Thanks very much to all who are contributing to this discussion. I'm not sure I understand why there is no chance of getting into RLS but there is to the Aylesbury grammars. RLS would be closer to us and would be my preference. But neither school is within our catchment. I'm saddened to hear that headteachers here may be giving false hope to parents and pupils. But I do think they are right to encourage their bright pupils to pursue the best schools. Our head isn't discouraging brighter pupils from going to the local school, but merely saying that my DD may get 'lost in the crowd' as she is the sort that needs pushing and the local comp doesn't push. Otherwise she may just sit back on her laurels and not reach her potential. Surely it is her aptitude and not where we live that should determine whether grammars will consider her. I have contacted some of the other local comps now as well. Only one that sounds promising so far is Denbigh where out-of-catchment students can take an aptitude test.
Marylou
Posts: 2164
Joined: Sat Feb 25, 2006 2:21 am

Re: Travel from Milton Keynes to Sir Henry Floyd

Post by Marylou »

Louise K wrote:I'm not sure I understand why there is no chance of getting into RLS but there is to the Aylesbury grammars. RLS would be closer to us and would be my preference. But neither school is within our catchment.
The reason is that RLS places tend to be filled by out-of-catchment applicants living closer to the school. It's also the only feasible GS option for those living to the north and east for whom travelling to Aylesbury isn't an option. If you look at the alllocation profile http://www.buckscc.gov.uk/media/1749713 ... -March.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
you'll see that out-of-catchment places this year were allocated to siblings and applicants living up to 9.347 miles as the crow flies. The greater choice of grammar schools in Aylesbury means the places are less likely to be filled, for example this year AHS and SHF are "all offered" (though this isn't always the case, but even then the allocation distance can be quite wide). This situation varies year on year, but if you look at previous years the distances are broadly similar but look further because they was previously measured on road distance. However, looking at the map it seems as though the western edge of Bletchley could well be covered by a future RLS allocation distance so it's certainly worth a try, but it's worth also listing an Aylesbury school as a backup.
Marylou
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