turning down grammar offer
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We have done it - the things which influenced us were - it was not our first choice of grammar, it was a long way to travel, DS got a scholarship...but when it really comes down to it, I think it was because the GS, the comp and the Indie are offering different things. Some parents have a choice - most do not - but if you do have a choice, it can come down to the ethos of a school, the pastoral care, the extra-curricular stuff (not necessarily just the sports teams, but for the non-sporty ones too) and little things like being able to email a teacher and get a reply the same day, or a casual remark which shows a staff member has taken trouble really to get inside your child's head. Every school is subtly different, and so is every child, and parents at every level are agonising over choices, particularly this week. I am sure there will be parents freeing up places at the school you want if you bide your time.
To put this into context, if it helps, at my local primary, there have been mothers in tears this week as their children have been allocated the supposed 'sink school' instead of any one of 4 comprehensives they put on the CAF. These are parents who really do have no choice whatsoever - no money, living in a LA housing area, no inside information and no GS test to give them a shove up the ladder. It is quite sobering and makes me feel very humble.
To put this into context, if it helps, at my local primary, there have been mothers in tears this week as their children have been allocated the supposed 'sink school' instead of any one of 4 comprehensives they put on the CAF. These are parents who really do have no choice whatsoever - no money, living in a LA housing area, no inside information and no GS test to give them a shove up the ladder. It is quite sobering and makes me feel very humble.
thnks Amber, am assuming the grammar turned down was other than AGS? Entirely agree with your thoughts on ethos of the school, pastoral care and extra-curricular - some of the very reasons we would like our first choice.
I really do feel for the families you mention too - I often think knowledge more useful than money - if some of those parents knew there were alternatives elsewhere - yes some distance away - they may opt for them. How the GS system works and Indies these days is not well known -most assume you need to be rich to school children privately, and many I know had not even heard of grammar schools so believe they have no choice. And yet I know well-off parents with little knowledge of alternatives (and maybe no interest).
Hoping my knowledge proves useful to my DC in the end
I really do feel for the families you mention too - I often think knowledge more useful than money - if some of those parents knew there were alternatives elsewhere - yes some distance away - they may opt for them. How the GS system works and Indies these days is not well known -most assume you need to be rich to school children privately, and many I know had not even heard of grammar schools so believe they have no choice. And yet I know well-off parents with little knowledge of alternatives (and maybe no interest).
Hoping my knowledge proves useful to my DC in the end
My parents did not know about alternatives and therefore it was straight from local primary to local secondary for me.
During the 11+ journey my son asked me: "how come you never did any grammar school exams?"
I said: "Because my mum and dad didn't know anything about them".
He said: "Ohhhhh - you were SOOOO lucky!! That's not fair!"
During the 11+ journey my son asked me: "how come you never did any grammar school exams?"
I said: "Because my mum and dad didn't know anything about them".
He said: "Ohhhhh - you were SOOOO lucky!! That's not fair!"
The reason we turned down a grammar in favour of an indie was because we didn't feel our DC would cope with the academic rigours expected at GS. It had nothing at all to do with feeling that the indie was in any way superior.
BTW, I think we may have been wrong, but you live & learn, and DC is v happy at current school (we're just poorer). Actually the ONLY downside I see of the indie is that the cohort are mostly from a very small (& IMHO often unpleasantly privileged) social group - not the greatest preparation for life.
BTW, I think we may have been wrong, but you live & learn, and DC is v happy at current school (we're just poorer). Actually the ONLY downside I see of the indie is that the cohort are mostly from a very small (& IMHO often unpleasantly privileged) social group - not the greatest preparation for life.
Hi 2togo, I know quite a few families who opted for indies instead of grammars because the rigours of grammars didn't suit and local schools poor, and children thriving. Can understand perfectly. Co-horts could probably do with more of a mix but more bursaries needed for that i think. Grammars not as mixed as they once were either...
And thnks Tree, let's hope there are more!
And thnks Tree, let's hope there are more!
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hermanmunster
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