11 Plus Exams Forum

I am in the south east of Kent.
Will be putting the first two choices as grammar schools, 3rd choice will be a local secondary school.
But i don't know what to do for the best!
Secondary choices will be Walmer science College or Sandwich Technology School.
How and when would i know if Sandwich is over subscribed?
I have only JUST started looking into all this so i will admit to being a novice!
We are living in Deal and i know our primary is not a feeder school for Sandwich. But i know a good few from Deal do go.
I am trying to compare the two and from my limited knowledge Sandwich comes out a little better.

Ofsted report for Walmer is old, they have since had a new head and pumped millions into the school site.
I do worry, if we felt Sandwich was the right school for the 3rd choice, that we wouldn't stand a chance to get in.
Do i risk adding it or do we play safe and put Walmer? (live down the road from Walmer..but also live close to a school that i don't want her to go to,)
We are visiting both next week.
My daughter is expected to do well, her SATS were 2 level 5 and her maths was the lowest at 4b (we are working on her maths as she finds this her hardest area at school, but she is happier with it since the SATS)so now just need to choose between Dover Grammar or Sir Roger Manwoods as our 1st and 2nd choice.

Any thoughts or opinions for a confused mum and her oldest daughter would be appreciated
k
x

I do not know these two schools either. But you need to study their admissions policies carefully, and ask as many questions as you can of the school about past year's admissions to find out whether you stand a chance of getting into the school or not.

If the schools are equal preference (check the Kent admissions to secondary school booklet and the individual school policies) it should not make any difference whether you place them 1st, second, or third.

And do remember that there are always waiting lists, and appeals - find out as much as you can about the Kent approach to both from the booklet and from KCC admissions officers.

Good luck

I think the best thing to do is visit them with your duaghter and see whatyou think, also worth going for a look round when trhe school is "in session" you get a goood idea of how it realy is then!!

Part of your choice for grammar is whether you want single sex or mixed.

Dover Girls Grammar has good reports now, has risen quite a lot in teh dreaded league tables over the last few years.

Don't know much about teh relative merits of Sandwich Technology College and Walmer. Might be worth asking around among other parents

We don't have a preference3 about single sex, so she will choose which grammar by which feels right,
As for the two secondary schools here are the BBC links:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/e ... 6_4169.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/e ... 6_5463.stm.

But we need to look to get a feel of what seems best. value added is better for sandwich but walmer results seem more consistant.

don't know


thank you by the way
k

Well in our local paper it now says Sanwich is the highest preforming non-grammar in Kent.