11 Plus Exams Forum

DD scored CCHS -119 I/C, and CSSE - 360 O/C, so she probably has the choice of CCHS or WHSG.

CCHS is a shorter commute (9 miles versus 15 to WHSG) and easier to get home late after clubs...I don't know many girls there tho...

I know many happy girls at WHSG...

I don't want DD under lots of pressure; hearing that CCHS really promotes extra-curricular, rounded girls... DD has lots of clubs which I don't want her to drop.
Would appreciate feedback from mums with girls at the schools now??
DD is ambitious and wants to go to CCHS. Currently interested in science - medicine / vet etc.

squeaky wrote:DD scored CCHS -119 I/C, and CSSE - 360 O/C, so she probably has the choice of CCHS or WHSG.

CCHS is a shorter commute (9 miles versus 15 to WHSG) and easier to get home late after clubs...I don't know many girls there tho...

I know many happy girls at WHSG...

I don't want DD under lots of pressure; hearing that CCHS really promotes extra-curricular, rounded girls... DD has lots of clubs which I don't want her to drop.
Would appreciate feedback from mums with girls at the schools now??
DD is ambitious and wants to go to CCHS. Currently interested in science - medicine / vet etc.

There is absolutely no reason why she shouldn't develop into a strong contender for medicine etc at either school. If CCHS is a quicker and easier commute and your DD has after-school activities that she wants to continue with, then go for Chelmsford. I'm not trying to put you off Westcliff and it is very popular with OOC girls, but relative to CCHS it is quite a long walk to the nearest station (Chalkwell) and therefore there seems to be quite a lot of reliance on coaches, which can restrict school-based after-school activities. (Possibly lots of days off, too, if we have a bad winter - I know someone whose DD has just left WHSG and said that as soon as it snowed, her form dropped to about half a dozen girls. ). Would your DD would be able to use the train to travel to CCHS?

Yes train (we live near a station) or bus on our route, both would be easy to get home from CCHS.

do you think one school sets more homework than the other? Or do you think that they are on par?

Feel like she has only just started reception, and it's gone so quickly and now she's off to big school. Feeling over-protective

My DD1 just started year 7 at CCHS and loves it. She's learning the violin and is in the dance show. At all the meetings we've been to the head has emphasised that they are interested in the whole child and not just an exam factory. They have noticed that the girls that do extra curricular activities tend to do better academically too.
I personally did not like the head at WHSG when we visited last year and found him to be extremely arrogant, I decided then that I would not like my daughter completing her school career in that environment.
I would always chose the school that is closest unless there was good reason not to.

squeaky wrote:Yes train (we live near a station) or bus on our route, both would be easy to get home from CCHS.

do you think one school sets more homework than the other? Or do you think that they are on par?

Feel like she has only just started reception, and it's gone so quickly and now she's off to big school. Feeling over-protective

Okay, so transport-wise, I would say it was a no-brainer. Don't worry about the journey, there will be lots of other school pupils (and 'real' passengers ) on the train at both ends of the day and she can hardly get lost between Chelmsford station and the school - just follow all the other kilts. (Mind you, when DS1 started at SHSB, I gave him the advice that when he got off the bus, he should just follow a green blazer. Then panicked when I imagined that the first green blazer he saw would be on a King Edmund child and he would end up on a number 7 bus to Rochford).

On the subject of homework at CCHS, pinkrabbit38 is obviously the person to ask . I'm sure someone like pushymother will help you on the Westcliff front. DS2 has a friend in year 9 at Westcliff and I can't say I have ever heard her or her mum complain about the amount they are given there.

Thanks peeps for your replies. Feeling better. definitely appreciate any feedback on homework levels. definitely prefer less ...

Hello,

I have a year 7 at Westcliff. I have been surprised that the homework has not been bad at all. Some days she has not had any

Choose the school your daughter prefers, but personally I would prefer a shorter commute myself. My DD can walk to school so can take full part in activities.

My DD1 loves homework...she's weird like that!! She normally gets 2-3 pieces a night but they're very small bits at the moment and she's never had to catch up over the weekend.

When we went to the year 7 parents meeting at CCHS a few weeks ago some of the parents were saying that their daughter was finding the amount of homework hard to get used to.

I've been pleasantly surprised at the amount of homework at CCHS (so far, less than half a term in to Y7).
It seems to arrive in small, discrete pieces, seems to be clearly communicated and DD is very motivated to complete it.
There has been a certain amount of texting with friends to clarify things - so far it really hasn't been a headache.

The HW set by CCHS has been manageable. So far DD has had no problems with it, moaned about it nor stressed over it. She is in yr 9 now. Very pleased.