London to Colchester.

Eleven Plus (11+) in Essex

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eleven
Posts: 50
Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2012 11:53 am

London to Colchester.

Post by eleven »

I wonder if anyone is out there who's DD travels to Colc CHS from London. I would like to hear from them.
hopingforcrgs
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Oct 31, 2011 9:14 pm

Re: London to Colchester.

Post by hopingforcrgs »

That is an awfully long journey for an 11 year old girl - is Colchester your only option?
Personally I would not expect my child to do it, sorry.
NOTLEY PARENTS
Posts: 178
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:09 pm
Location: Great Notley

Re: London to Colchester.

Post by NOTLEY PARENTS »

Gosh that is a slog and not easy either, if by train the station is (Im pretty sure) a long unwalkable distance from the school. My DD takes the yellow school bus from Braintree, a journey taking about 45 minutes in itself, so I imagine London would be double on a bus/coach. Good luck.
tangle1
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 11:02 pm

Re: London to Colchester.

Post by tangle1 »

Dear Eleven,
I have not written on the forum before but have followed with interest for my last two DCs. I have felt compelled to write a response to your post. I must admit to being horrified at the thought that you are prepared to put your 11 year old child on a train from London, then a bus journey or a 40-50 minute walk to school. I understand that the GS system and fight to get your child in, can become all compelling, as most of us on the forum will admit, we are all slightly obsessed!

I am lucky enough to have a DD at ColCHS and the school is tough enough without the exhaustion of a massive travel each day. I am really not sure that it will be worth it for your DD. Many of the girls are actually quite local or are on well organised school bus routes to minimise the time spent travelling. If your DD is so tired will she actually get much more out of school than if she went to the local comp? I am not sure that she will, however good the school.

I see from your profile that you tried Kent and other schools presumably closer to your home and I completely understand and sympathise with your desire for a great school for your DD. I had a friend in a very similar situation to you and the overwhelming desire to get her DD into a GS seemed to get rid of some common sense regarding travel etc. Have you considered moving up to Colchester in which case I take back all I have said about it not being the right place for your DD. It is a lovely place to live.

I do appreciate that you will probably think that I am being a bossy cow and that it is none of my business, you would have every right to think that as I am sure this is not what you want to hear, but it is written with the best intentions and with your DD in mind
Best wishes
NOTLEY PARENTS
Posts: 178
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:09 pm
Location: Great Notley

Re: London to Colchester.

Post by NOTLEY PARENTS »

I would echo that, my DD is on a bus which has been running for years via the school, I wouldnt like to add anymore time onto her journey though, thats why we never added the westcliff & southend school on the list (although my DH sometimes sees the bus to those schools around the same time as he drops DD off at her bus stop in the morning so it may well have been ok though not needed thankfully), if you add on the homework which sometimes can be anything from half hour to two hours then your daughter will not have time to much else, she will be shattered. Then you have the parents evenings and concerts, we huff enough having to drive over there from here sometimes. If you do consider moving I agree Colchester and surrounding areas are beautiful, perhaps you could rent for a while to get a feel of the place. Good luck in whatever you and your DD choose.
katel
Posts: 960
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2007 11:30 pm

Re: London to Colchester.

Post by katel »

Think about parties and sleepovers and after school clubs and weekend social life. Then don't do it. Sorry.
Minesatea
Posts: 1234
Joined: Sat Oct 31, 2009 12:08 am

Re: London to Colchester.

Post by Minesatea »

I can't imagine there is any bus options.
DD has a friend coming from the Thurrock area (I understand temporarily until moving) and she uses trains and the local bus.
Colchester mainline station is not walkable to CCHS (not by a year 7 with the quantity of books they have to carry!). The most frequent bus option from the station is the First bus service no. 65 (Highwoods to Stanway) and plenty of girls use this but most from short train journeys (Ipswich, Manningtree ect.) She would need to be at Colchester station by 8am as the bus takes some time. Obviously I don't know what area of London you are in but Liverpool street to Colchester is just under an hour so she would need to be on a train from there by 7am. It won't be cheap either!
SEP18
Posts: 238
Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2010 2:18 pm

Re: London to Colchester.

Post by SEP18 »

No offence intended at all - how can you seriously be considering a journey from London to Colchester for your 11 year old daughter???

I can appreciate now why the Chelmsford schools are having a catchment radius when you hear about such journeys for children to undertake for a GS education! Surely there must be schools closer to you that would give your daughter a very good education?
moved
Posts: 3826
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2007 1:42 pm
Location: Chelmsford and pleased

Re: London to Colchester.

Post by moved »

DS travelled from Southend to Chelmsford for the whole of year 7. He coped and still managed homework, music and swimming. However, his total commute was just over an hour with a very short walk to school from the station and lots of friends on the train. I am really pleased we moved as both children now have a short walk to school. They are teenagers and can meet up with their friends easily.

I would recommend a house move if this is your only option for a school.
First-timer
Posts: 698
Joined: Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:47 pm
Location: Essex

Re: London to Colchester.

Post by First-timer »

I think you might find that the journey is too much for her. Sorry. I just don't think it's practical. Chelmsford might have been a better bet for you. Too late now, I know. Did you investigate the journey before applying? If it was simply a case of going from station to station it wouldn't be so bad but the school is a fair old hike away. I don't imagine she'd have any travelling companions for most of her journey either. Perhaps the school could give you an idea of how many pupils make such a journey.

Being brutally honest with you, I think you should look at your other options now rather than have to deal with a crisis in November/December time which will likely see you change schools anyway.

Good luck!
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