what happens when you go on waiting lists

[salsa]

You are most welcome! Maybe I'm spending too long at the forum!

I believe TWBGS is a good school, isn't it?

It's difficult with children at this age. They'll go for anything or reject a school for bizarre reasons. No harm keeping your son on Skinners waiting list, if that's the school you prefer. It's really early days. How long have you been given to accept the place at TWBGS?
My son is loving Dartford Grammar (year7) however, he did change his favourite school 4 times!

[NoBigDeal1]

His main reasons seem to be where his friends are going! Lucky they are all good schools.

[Villagedad]

We live ooc and have just had an email saying my son has been offered boys grammar off the waiting list but no mention of skinners.we got 359, what did you get? I feel like it must have been a no and must be pretty far down. Really not sure why we have had email before Wednesday either!

Hi NBD1
My son scored 362 so fingers crossed we get a Skinners place on Wednesday. We were offered TWGSB on 1st round which is an excellent school and our eldest DS is there. We had Bennett as a back up in case our DS's didn't pass the 11+.

I would defo take TWGSB over Bennett. Exam results are better but also I think it has a great feel to it.., a great choice

[NoBigDeal1]

I am so confused.feel like twbgs would be Better than Bennett because he is a boys boy.also everyone is in the tunbridge wells area so be easy to go to friends houses etc and meet each other,whereas at Bennett people come from all over.have heard some people say they have not been that happy with boys grammar.think he might fit in better there than skinners.why would you choose. It over Bennett? Also I think your son stands a great chance of skinners with that score

[Villagedad]

I am so confused.feel like twbgs would be Better than Bennett because he is a boys boy.also everyone is in the tunbridge wells area so be easy to go to friends houses etc and meet each other,whereas at Bennett people come from all over.have heard some people say they have not been that happy with boys grammar.think he might fit in better there than skinners.why would you choose. It over Bennett? Also I think your son stands a great chance of skinners with that score

Boys do travel to TWGSB the same distances they do for Bennett as it has a catchment area that stretches to north Sevenoaks. In fact DS1 has friends at TWGSB that come from Riverhead area.
We chose TWGSB over Bennett as it is a grammar school and people get high GCSE & A-level grades, check them out vs Bennett on BBC Education website. Bennett for us was a back up if our Ds's didn't pass 11+ as its the nearest thing to a grammar without actually being a grammar.

If I were you I would quickly visit both TWGSB and Bennett on a working school day which may help you decide

[NoBigDeal1]

thanks for the advice! Going to mull it over.Have looked around the schools several times and can remember them quite clearly.Did like the vibe of boys grammar and was very impressed with Bennett.Because my son is such a boys boy think he may prefer the grammar! good luck for skinners! Would you not want your boys at the same school?

[salsa]

I was wondering the same thing. Is Skinners a lot better than TWGSB?

[NoBigDeal1]

Skinners is a super selective and seems to have a great reputation.think it would be a push for my child but is very highly sought after.think the boys grammar is seen as a kinda of second choice for many.but I think different schools suit different kids no one is better than the other

[mystery]

If it helps, relative of mine went to TWGSB and finished there relatively recently - did extremely well. He could not have done any better at Judd or Skinners.

You need to speak to people who were not happy at TWGSB and ask for more detail about this and when it was. The "new" head has been there for around a decade now and seems very good - the old one was by all accounts completely different.

There's a bit of snobbery in certain quarters about TWGSB because it's not superselective and it was formerly a technical college many moons ago. But we saw nothing to make us go "don't send your child there". Equally though, Bennett does very well with children who work hard too.

People have lots of different reasons for not liking a school. "Worst" I heard recently was a school that gave a detention for child not completing homework .... well I liked the sound of that school. It would make life much easier as long as it wasn't a school with silly homeworks or silly completion deadlines.

[salsa]

Also, if NoBigDeal was worried about her son not coping at grammar, in my humble opinion, he might be better off at a school which is not superselective as there would be children who got in with lower scores. Just a simplistic view, it all depends on the schools and how the school is better suited for your child. Although my son had the score for Skinners or Judd, we didn't even think about it as it was too far for him. He is very happy at Dartford Grammar. In spite of not being superselective, Dartford Grammar has excellent results. Having said that, it is not the results which mattered to us, but the whole school experience. What they teach there which would be suited for our son, the ease of travel, friends, facilities, etc. We are happy in all accounts.

(I don't know the schools in question, but I understand that TWGSB is not superselective, is it?)