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CHELMSFORD COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 11:37 am
by Bingo
First of all congratulations to all the children who sat the 11+ this year. My daughter is in year 7 at Chelmsford so if anyone wants any info on the school or what it is like in the first year, I am happy to tell you.

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 3:13 pm
by chelmsfor mum
hello , bingo

may thanks for your message, yes i would love any info , about 1st day to 1st year . our look around the school back in sept last year is a distant memory and was a flying visit and i saw little of it, but what i saw i loved. i have recieved a welcome pack and an invite to netball/hockey and an induction day in june. did you attend these? did you get to have another look round? do the children do cats tests? as you can see i have many questions, one from my daughter is about the winter coat and school bag? did you purchase the regulation duffle coat or is a high street one more acceptable.

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 3:50 pm
by Guest
chelmsfor mum wrote:hello , bingo

may thanks for your message, yes i would love any info , about 1st day to 1st year . our look around the school back in sept last year is a distant memory and was a flying visit and i saw little of it, but what i saw i loved. i have recieved a welcome pack and an invite to netball/hockey and an induction day in june. did you attend these? did you get to have another look round? do the children do cats tests? as you can see i have many questions, one from my daughter is about the winter coat and school bag? did you purchase the regulation duffle coat or is a high street one more acceptable.

Firstly, tell your daughter that mine absolutely loves it there. She has made lots and friends (she was the only one from her school to go there so she had to start from scratch!). I would definitely recommend the hockey and netball days - the girls get to play together and also get to know each other. She also attended the induction day in June and loved it and we went along later that afternoon. The current year 7 girls are given a "new pupil" to look after (they write to them beforehand) and they take them around that day (I think it is from lunchtime). When the parent come along later in the afternoon, the year 7 pupil them takes them around and tells them different things about the school and how they have found it. You also buy some of their PE kit etc. I didn't buy the school duffle coat. Wards in Rayleigh have a perfectly good coat which is fleeced inside and waterproof - it costs about £12. I don't think any of my daughter's friends have the school coat. We just bought a should bag for school (looks like a post bag!!) and she has managed with that fine. The girls do not do CATs tests but they are continually assessed. Homework in year 7 is very light - I would say my daughter has no more than 3-4 pieces a week at most and they are not time consuming. The homeworks that require a bit more time e.g. essays the girls are given maybe 2 weeks to complete or at least a full week. I was surprised at the high standard of work. I know it is an excellent school but when I look at the English my daughter is now writing, it really impresses me. It is miles away from the primary school level. The teachers are brilliant at enthusing the girls to keep wanting to do better. The maths is also a very high standard. They sit the SATs a year early in Year 8 which is something I was worried about but I think they do get the girls to the standard required by then.

Let me know if you want me to answer anything else - there is so much to tell you!!

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 3:53 pm
by bingo
Sorry - the message above is from me - forgot to put my user name!!

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 6:27 pm
by Guest
My daughter is also in year 7 at the High school. I did not purchase the duffle coat. I bought a black coat from Next that suits every occassion. i agree with Bingo mum, the standard of work expected is extremely high. I'm amazed at the work my daughter is doing. However, she gets quite a lot of homework. Most nights she has 3 - 5 subjects. Rarely does it have to be in by the next day, and my daughter is very good, she does homework at lunchtime or early in the morning, if she gets to school early. Most girls have a messenger/flap style bag (there are loads in Argos). You need a bag that will fit A4 documents in, and one that is very comfortable, because they bring so much home.

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 6:36 pm
by gerry
Hi

Thanks for the info. Having a daughter who has been put off by primary school dinners and now has a packed lunch I would realy like her to revert back to school food if possible. What's on offer? Cost per day? Do they take cash or is their a card system? Thanks

Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 7:14 pm
by GUEST123
Do not worry about the meals. My daughter loves the whole range from the rolls, ciabattas, salads to the hot foodstation. She is a particular fan of the chicken tikka!!! There is also a pasta bar. She also buys food pre-school and at break time (particularly useful if there is a lunchtime club).

We did start with some packed lunches but she now realises that there is no need as long as she is organised and much prefers the extra 5 minutes in bed in the morning.

As far as money goes. We give our daughter £10 at a time and she lets us know when it is running down. She reckons on a bout £2.00 to £2.50 per day but likes a little extra for charity events or incase she misses the bus... We just started with an amount and have adjusted it as necessary. Our daughter does not feel comfortable carrying around too much money so this way if works for us both.
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Posted: Wed Mar 21, 2007 7:26 pm
by Gerry
Thanks guest I'm sure she'll love choosing her food, completey different to primary. She is the only one going from her primary, she's not phased about this but is more concerned about the food and what house she'll be in.How do you find the friendships given that the girls come from far & wide?

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 12:09 pm
by Bingo
Gerry wrote:Thanks guest I'm sure she'll love choosing her food, completey different to primary. She is the only one going from her primary, she's not phased about this but is more concerned about the food and what house she'll be in.How do you find the friendships given that the girls come from far & wide?
She will make lots of friends but they will be from far and wide!! We have taken our daughter to parties in London (you want to make sure they are mixing well etc so tend to do all the travelling in year 7!). In terms of the houses, they do it alphabetically and the houses are C, H, S, G.

Posted: Thu Mar 22, 2007 6:44 pm
by GUEST123
How do you find the friendships given that the girls come from far & wide?

Gerry

The girls have seemed to have found their own way in my experience. The first few weeks they were sat alphabetically. This has now changed so my daughter seems to sit with different people in all her classes. Her mobile phone and email accounts are bursting with details both from her class and others. I don't know if your daughter has to travel to CCHS but mine goes on the bus and she has met lots of people on there from her year and all these girls are then based more locally. So far we have not had to travel too far after school. Most parents are aware of the issues and it is easy to plan for events that are up and coming. We live a few miles for the school and at the new parents evening (in September) we were offered houses as places to wait at should there be an after school event which was nice. The chelmsford based parents seemed to realise they were the most reachable. Hope this helps you out.