Crypt 2018

[Amber]

Crypt cannot be "that" short of money - they are constantly investing huge amounts of money. Over 5 million has been spent in the last 5 years and more development is planned to start in July (redeveloping the sports hall, at least 3 new classrooms and pavillion.

Money for capital projects is ring fenced and can't be used elsewhere. The issue that all schools have is to do with running costs - they can't use money for projects to pay teachers and buy books. The per pupil funding has come down in real terms quite a lot recently (STR is more severely hit with that than Crypt, because of the way it is worked out) and spending is directly linked to numbers in school. That is why they want more bums on seats.

Their 6th form is also oversubscribed - 347 applications for Sept 2016, (currently273) but they can only accommodate 300.

That isn't a huge oversubscription rate though - I heard (anecdotally) that STR had well over 1000 applicants. Their sixth form open evening certainly couldn't fit everyone in - literally they had to stop people going into the hall as it would have been a fire hazard. They can't go on taking at that rate and I agree with Tolstoy that they shouldn't be required to take up the slack.

The most interesting player in all this is HSFG in my opinion, and it will be very interesting indeed to see what happens there. Falling rolls in sixth form will start to hit the finances of the school pretty heavily soon I would think - one reason why their PAN is also set to increase at 11+ imho.

[MedievalBabe]

I have a friend who's dd is at Ribston and she said that only about 5 girls in y11 want to stay and the rest are desperate to move, especially to STR with Crypt as the others option. The head was saying that all of the girls in the year had applied to stay which my friend thought was funny as she knew her daughter definitely had not. She also said the grades needed for both Ribston and HSFG at sixth form were lower than both Crypt and STR.

I think for all of these schools we just have to watch, wait and see where they go if Crypt does go co-ed as I think they will all have to react in one way or another.

[Amber]

I have a friend who's dd is at Ribston and she said that only about 5 girls in y11 want to stay and the rest are desperate to move, especially to STR with Crypt as the others option. The head was saying that all of the girls in the year had applied to stay which my friend thought was funny as she knew her daughter definitely had not. She also said the grades needed for both Ribston and HSFG at sixth form were lower than both Crypt and STR.

You are touching on the real issues now, which many with children at these schools already know about. You will also find that all the girls at HSFG will apply to remain there, while also often applying elsewhere. In some ways they would be daft not to - everyone needs an insurance policy and it isn't always easy to move schools, for lots of reasons, and some are happier staying in the end despite saying they want to move. Teenagers aren't always predictable.

Crypt is being very shrewd and my feeling is it will do very well out of it. My prediction (my own opinion, nothing more) is that STR will change nothing at all - why would you? This turn of events will just make it harder for boys to get in there, which is sad, but will push it even further up the unspoken hierarchy. It may also have to become harder to get into at sixth form over time - though some of the demand may be relieved by Crypt holding onto girls it has taken at Y7 in a way that that HSFG and Ribston aren't able to right now. This I think underlies the head's thinking.

You are right MB that the requirements to get into the girls' schools are lower than the boys' at Y12, and, as I understand it, lower than some of the non-selective schools in Cheltenham too. All very interesting when you think how things were just a few years ago. I wonder if Crypt has Pate's in its sights? That really would be fun!

[DC17C]

I have a friend who's dd is at Ribston and she said that only about 5 girls in y11 want to stay and the rest are desperate to move, especially to STR with Crypt as the others option. The head was saying that all of the girls in the year had applied to stay which my friend thought was funny as she knew her daughter definitely had not. She also said the grades needed for both Ribston and HSFG at sixth form were lower than both Crypt and STR.

I think for all of these schools we just have to watch, wait and see where they go if Crypt does go co-ed as I think they will all have to react in one way or another.

I know that dd mentioned friends of hers in higher years who had thought to go Tommies for Sixth form and these were mostly girls from Tewkesbury and Cheltenham so I am not surprised they would choose a school closer to home if it was a equally as good or better option for them. Oddly enough many are back at Ribston It is has been a lovely school so far for my yr 10 DD yes there have been ups and downs but she seems to have every intention of staying for sixth form. I wonder if there is any difference if Ribston was the original preferred school regardless of 11 + results as it was for my dd whereas for others it may be it turned out to be the 2nd, 3rd or 4th choice option after the grammar test.

[scaredycat]

I think this is certainly a financial decision and Crypt are trying to stay one step ahead. I have always wondered how much the grammar heads work together or against each other so these events are going to be interesting. I guess an advantage for Crypt is the size of their site, it's huge with the potential for significant development. This is very different to some of the other grammars who have much more limited space, HSFG for example. This is one constraint Crypt don't have to worry about, assuming they can obtain funding and consent of course.

[Iona]

I heard about the changes at Crypt from DD who goes to Ribston and had been told on the bus. In a newsletter the head of Ribston said they weren't changing to be non-selective. I wouldn't be at all surprised if they went co-ed as well , although for me that's a shame. We picked Ribston as we felt a girls only school would allow DD to thrive in science and maths, which were always pushed more towards boys or felt like they were. Plus their dance reputation.

I also have a nephew in yr 11 at STR and he was saying how over run the sixth form evening was. Besides the current grammar school pupils - you've got those coming from the non-selective schools and I don't blame them , as it's got such a great reputation.

Interesting times ahead.

[GL2Mum]

Crypt is definitely not short of money, so it is not that which is the primary factor. The decision is not popular with all staff (some having chosen to work at Crypt precisely because it is a single sex boys' school) but the VIth form went from not being supportive to thinking it was a good idea after reasons were presented to them. Much as I personally prefer single sex selective education I can see that schools need to evolve to survive.

[Amber]

Crypt is definitely not short of money, .

Wow! A school which isn't short of money?! That must be unique I would say!

[cazien]

Crypt is definitely not short of money, .

Wow! A school which isn't short of money?! That must be unique I would say!

I don't know how they do it but they do seem to be constantly having grants given to them and they are always spending with what appears to be an endless pot of money!

[Stressed?Moi?]

Same with Ribston. They've just secured a grant of £400,000 for the repair of flat roofs which is fab news. The school is smartening up nicely now I feel, after looking a bit rough for a while. They don't fundraise much and just seem to manage. STRS on the other hand seems frequently short of cash (and actively asks for money/fund raises) which must be very tough. I'm glad I don't have to manage a school budget!

Ref Crypt, I think it's a sensible move. Not everyone likes single sex so it may attract girls who would have gone to the girls' grammars. You may attract more siblings as they would be going to the same school. Statistically, girls (the last I heard) seem to do better in exams so perhaps that will further help their already great academic record. Plus, I suppose it's also a way of helping to secure bums on seats in sixth form.