11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi,

I'm hoping someone can advise. Now that the 11+ test is out the way, we have all the open evenings to go through. I wish I had done them last year. If my DS gets through I am contemplating sending him to a Boys Grammar School - but I've no idea about any of them and how much can you truly get from an Open Evening so would love to hear of some first-hand experience (I will be going along to the open evenings too though). We are looking at the schools in Bucks area (although we are also OOC, so unsure of the likelihood of getting a place, but I've heard of children who have got in that are not in catchment).

Anyone with children already there?

thanks.

Try putting this in the bucks forum and naming the school. Mumsnet too?

thanks, will give it a go

Which schools are you thinking of? I would advise going during a school day as well as to the open days.

pia wrote:thanks, will give it a go

Ok, you made it to Bucks, but you still didn't name the schools you are interested in!

All Bucks GS have catchments so the chances of a place, given that your DS qualifies, depends on where you live and which school you want for him.

A bit more detail will help us help you.

hi everyone, got side-tracked - we're in slough and we're looking at maybe john hampden as that's the nearer one, assuming DS has passed!

Horrible journey I would have thought, check transport links.

Here is a link to allocations in recent years:

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/school ... n-profiles" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Your nearest Bucks GS by a long way is Burnham Grammar. And you may well be in catchment for it, but assuming your child qualifies he would certainly get in. Not boys only of course, but my opinion would be that the journey to John Hampden would be awful. You also have grammar schools in Slough of course, so presumably your son would sit both.
You have missed the open evening for BGS (& maybe others?) as it was in the summer. I think there are open days this term though.

I think it depends on your home situation and experiences.

Given a halfway decent choice I personally would always opt for co-ed over single gender for sociability reasons. My own school was single gender up until the year below me, my DH went to a single gender school and my older sons spent some time in a single gender school ( it was that or a failing comp) so I have plenty of experience. My DS2 had a very good female friend whilst at primary. Now they hardly talk since he went to single gender school. He then moved to an International school and mixed comfortably with girls. That said both older boys are dismayed at the way children in the UK schools tend to split into boy girl groups. At their International school the friendship mix between genders was better, possibly they feel because it had smaller classes. Not sure what the research has found on this.

The flip side of co-gender is that DS2 gets constantly cheesed off about the favouritism towards girls that many teachers show, a complaint I have heard from many parents of boys and as a parent of boys and as a teacher I too have witnessed this on far too many occasions.