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Queens Open evening

Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 2:41 pm
by Mum2
We attended the open evening last night, and I cant help feeling very overwhelmed by the size of the school. I know they get excellent results but does anyone have any experience (good or bad),which can go so way to stop my worrying. I am a little worried that my DS will get lost both in terms of where he is supposed to be , and also how can the teachers keep track of him. Sorry if I sound like a "helicopter mum" but I cant help thinking he is still so young

Re: Queens Open evening

Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 5:40 pm
by watfordmum66
I think the size of any Secondary School can feel very daunting. The children however appear to take it in their stride .
Teachers for Year 7 are very aware that everything is new and do make allowances for this to begin with and as far as possible try to reassure pupils.

I am sure that as with every other school some people have their grumbles ,on the whole I have been very pleased with Queens and more importantly my Ds ( now in Year 8 ) enjoys going ( it did take him a period of time to settle ) and loves the sport on offer.

Re: Queens Open evening

Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 8:56 pm
by Ally
Hi

The size of Queen's always worries parents and pupils. I myself went to a large secondary school (2000 pupils!!) but was equally worried how my DS would cope as he's the youngest in his school year. He's now in Y7 at Queen's and is enjoying every moment and is completly unfazzed by the size of the school. The house system seems to really work and all the staff are very supportive.

Ally

Re: Queens Open evening

Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 9:51 pm
by busybeenfun
Hello

My DD is in Year 7 at Queens and although at first the school can seem large and quite daunting within just a couple of weeks they completely settle in. My DD can't imagine being anywhere else now and she says that she knows her way round now. Each Yr 7 form is supported in the first week or two by a 'guide' who shows them where to go for each lesson. My DD even acted as one of the guides at yesterdays open day!

Queens' has been selected as a pilot school within Herts for the VLE (Virtual Learning Environment). As well as acting as a notice board/message portal between the school/parent, this platform will enable parents to track their childs individual targets and see how they are progressing in each subject against these (without having to wait until parents evening) and it will also track their attendance and punctuality for each lesson.

As mentioned, Queens' has an extremely strong house system (it is almost 4 schools in 1) and the students have a very strong feeling of belonging. I have been very happy with the pastoral side of things so far and the Heads of House make a big effort to get to know the students within their house. The students also have a planner (a bit like a filofax) that contains everything from their timetable, homework details, messages, merits, confirmation of absence etc. The school support the students in settling in and encourage the parents to get their children to become independent and develop a routine and good habits early. To support this the school do not give detentions in the first half term for being late to a lesson, forgetting a subject book, homework etc.

If you have any other questions please feel free to PM.

BBF

Re: Queens Open evening

Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 8:06 am
by AlisonR
I can only agree with all that others have said about Queens'. My DS (now in year 8 ) is thoroughly enjoying himself there and settled in really quickly, so quickly he helped out with the opening evening tours last year (and this year too).

The house system works really well and gives the children a real sense of belonging, with 2 houses residing on each half of school (North and South side). For the first 3 years the children are taught within groups of children in their half of the school so they don't mix with the other side in lessons until options are chosen. Also, I believe that they try to place children in a form such that they are with others from their primary school.

The head of year 7 is extremely approachable and helpful should there be any worries and will keep an eye (from a discrete distance!) on the children should there be a need.

Finally there is a good range of lunchtime and after schools clubs for the sporty and not so sporty for children to get involved with.

Alison

Re: Queens Open evening

Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 9:06 am
by muvvalac
sorry for my ignorance which school is this we are talking here

does not look like QE boys

please let me know which school we are talking here

Re: Queens Open evening

Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 9:10 am
by WP
muvvalac wrote:sorry for my ignorance which school is this we are talking here

does not look like QE boys

please let me know which school we are talking here
The first of the stickies lists the schools often discussed in the Herts section.

Thanks to everyone who's been posting about their experiences at Queens', which I'm sure a lot of people find interesting.

Re: Queens Open evening

Posted: Fri Oct 08, 2010 2:49 pm
by Mum2
Many thanks to all who posted your experiences of Queens. I must admit I do feel reassured now that I know the children adapt well and that house system works well .