Travel from Bham

[no_ball]

its a 17mile radius from memory, we live 0.16 miles within it, our offer for stratford grammar was not needed as higher placed school offered. In general I would advise be very careful with sand bagging a grammar, could back fire.

[um]

KenR - I had started a different thread on this earlier but having had little response, may as well ask again...Stratford Grammar is a quicker journey for us than KEFW, KEAston, BV or QM, yet we are just outside the priority circle.

I was told that ds would not be offered a place in the 'first round of admissions' but could be considered after that.

What exactly does this mean? That he would be placed on the waiting list on 1 March and, if he had scored highly, be offered a place after that as it moved? Do they over-offer above PAN anyway?
I am very unclear on the process.

[no_ball]

if you lives within the 17 mile radius (confirmed from the warwickshire LEA letter), get high enough marks and grammars pleaced higher on your local LEA list do not offer, then stratford have to offer, i think.

We live just within that radius, DS got marks within the automatic offer range from stratford but because another school was placed higher than stratford and offered, stratford did not have to; they termed it as 'not needed'. I assume this was what you were asking, if not, apologies, I got the wrong end of the stick.

[mike1880]

No, the question was what happens if you're outside the 17 miles (actually 16.885 miles! you learn something every day!).

The following is paraphrased from KES's 2012 admissions policy - SGSG is similar, I haven't looked for AGS's:

http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/Web/corp ... Policy.pdf

Admission in the first round will be:
1. Children in care reaching the automatic standard
2. Children registered for the test on time, application submitted on time, resident within the circle and reaching the automatic standard
3. Children registered/applying on time, within the circle, considered as possible exceptions and priority set by the committee

Category 4 is children outside the circle, children who registered late for the test and children who applied late. "Places will not normally be offered to category 4 in the first round of offers but retained on the waiting list (see later explanation)." The later explanation says "Children living outside the priority area and late registrations and late applications will be offered places in the first round only if there are insufficient children of the required level of ability living within the priority area. Children living outside the priority area, late registration and late applications will normally be offered places in the second or subsequent round of offers subject to their position on the waiting list and a vacancy occurring."

Does that help?

Mike

[um]

Thank you very much Mike
(thanks also no-ball, but I am a smidgen outside 'The Circle' - wonder why they have one anyway - is it to keep us yokels from Brummagem out? )

The admissions document does not really clarify what 'required standard' means, which is the cut off point. Is this standard very low or very high, for example?

It is all becoming a bit clearer - but I am now searching for answers to the million dollar question: where do the Stratford Grammars (I hesitate to use the acronym KES here as it is SO confusing ) sit in relation to the Birmingham Grammars in terms of ease to get into?

I can't find any thread on the Warks forum giving 'lowest' entry scores...as we have in Birmingham, but surely someone must know them?

In Brum for example, we know that the Grammar schools are 'easiest' (I use the word advisedly) to get into in this order:
Handsworth Grammar
Sutton Coldfield Girls
KE Handsworth Girls
Bishop Vesey
KE Aston Boys
Camp Hill Girls
Five Ways
Camp Hill Boys.

Anyone's thoughts on where the boys' and girls' Stratford Grammars could slot into this list?

[mike1880]

This year's qualifying scores are buried in the relatively unedifying "which is the best grammar school" thread:

King Edward and Stratford Grammar = 335
Alcester = 329

I can't see last year's anywhere, two years ago they were 329/329/325. Assuming there is no enormous difference in ability between the B'ham and Warks cohorts that makes them similar to Five Ways and Camp Hill Girls.

I am a smidgen outside 'The Circle' - wonder why they have one anyway - is it to keep us yokels from Brummagem out? )

Yes!

Mike

[um]

Thank you Mike1880 - I will be visiting for their open day (cannot as yet find out when this is!) and will hopefully decide after then, what to do.

[fm]

But surely it is not the last qualifying score in the first round which is relevant to Um. Surely it is the last qualifying score in the second round when they then starting looking at children outside the catchment which is what she needs to base a judgement. I would have thought Warwickshire might be willing to give this information for last year, with the proviso that it may not apply to this or next year.

I am also unsure if you can equate the scores with the KE grammar schools. Surely the standardised scores relate to the cohort taking the exam and, if the KE or the Warwickshire cohort was significantly brighter overall for whatever reason, a much higher raw score would be needed to attain the same standardised score. I think you would need some data on the scores of children taking both exams before you really conclude anything.

[mike1880]

um's problem is that it's the highest score in the second round that will determine whether her child gets a place - i.e. her child's position on the waiting list. Hence why it really is a gamble to depend on a place via this route, it will depend entirely on whether/how many childen scored higher.

Standardised scores do indeed relate to the test cohort - that's why I said assuming no enormous difference in ability. However, with about 5000 children taking the Birmingham test and about 2000 taking the Warwickshire test, it's a fairly safe assumption that there's very little difference between them.

Mike

[fm]

However, with about 5000 children taking the Birmingham test and about 2000 taking the Warwickshire test, it's a fairly safe assumption that there's very little difference between them.

I suspect I am being a little thick here but why can you assume that? Are you saying it's because the ratio of places to children sitting is the same? As in 5000 sitting for 600 places so 2000 sitting for 240places?

Or is it a case of over a certain number statistics become irrelevent?

I would have thought the comparsion would be what percentage of eligible children attain the grammar school, as in is it the top 5% in the area, or 10%, or 30% as it is in Buckingham. I know that would be hard to calculate for Birmingham as there are about 12,000 appropriately aged children on a year so that would argue the top 5% but a good percentage of those sitting it are from outside Birmingham (possibly 20%).