On the day.....

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and...breathe
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2012 9:06 am

On the day.....

Post by and...breathe »

Can anyone please tell me how bad the parking will be?What time would be a good time to arrive?Do they have a piece of paper in the exams for working out?Are they given "10 minutes left" type of warning? And are cube/nets in the NVR exam?.....This is for the AGGS exam next Saturday when I will hopefully 1,get my life back and 2,be able to sleep,Thanks in advance
and...breathe
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2012 9:06 am

Re: On the day.....

Post by and...breathe »

Well at least it will all be over by this time next week :-) Still hoping someone will answer tho.
TraffordMum
Posts: 593
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:29 pm
Location: Trafford

Re: On the day.....

Post by TraffordMum »

I can't help you with most of the info since my daughters did the exam years ago but, in relation to parking, it will be bad.

The problem is that the boys' grammar and the girls' grammar hold their exams at the same time and, due to their relative proximity, the two lots of traffic get tangled up with each other. There are also a lot of double yellow lines around the girls' grammar (which a lot of people totally ignore and therefore block the road for everyone else) so you need to go some distance to find parking. The school is in the middle of a residential area and a lot of residents have to park on the roads as well.

If I were you, I would try to approach from the west side of Altrincham down St Margaret's Road but don't try to go all the way down the road. Park when you can, or go off one of the side roads and try and park there. Then walk. The approach on Ashley Road from Altrincham centre or the opposite way will be totally snarled. Avoid that route.

Leave early, even though the exam is early. You can always go for a quick walk on the Devisdale (the park which is by the hockey pitches/6th form centre) beforehand. Better to be early and calm than late and panicked.

If anyone is reading who is heading to Alty Boys instead then there is a reason they tell you beforehand not to drive down Marlborough Road (the road the school is on). Even if you arrive early and get a space you won't be able to leave that space until the exam is nearly over due to the other muppets who persist in driving down the road, or trying to, since a single track road cannot physically carry two lines of traffic. Gridlock.

Good luck to you all.
and...breathe
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2012 9:06 am

Re: On the day.....

Post by and...breathe »

Thanks for the info TraffordMum,I think we'll hop on the Met and walk up the Downs,the I'll go over to the Devisdale after she goes in and chew my nails down to the quick.Good Luck to all for next Saturday x
TraffordMum
Posts: 593
Joined: Thu Feb 22, 2007 3:29 pm
Location: Trafford

Re: On the day.....

Post by TraffordMum »

Oh, if you have the public transport option then definitely do that. Much less stress.
jugglermum
Posts: 111
Joined: Tue Oct 11, 2011 8:45 pm

Re: On the day.....

Post by jugglermum »

Hi,

My daughter sat the exam last year. Both me and my husband drove her there we arrived about 30mins before exam and I just got out of the car with her do we didn't have to park. This seemed to work well. We went up the downs and managed to get there with no congestion. Pick up was crazy however with cars all over but there's no pressure by then.

You defo got a working paper at alty however if she is sitting sale they did not hand out paper.
My daughter remembers getting s time warning but sorry she can't remember at which point this is.
Cube nets? Haven't a clue sorry!

She can bring a snack and drink for the break. We had her younger brother and sister stay at their grandmothers house so it was nice and calm in the morning too.

Best of luck
Jm x
and...breathe
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2012 9:06 am

Re: On the day.....

Post by and...breathe »

Thanks JM that's a help knowing about the paper.Also like the sound of a calm(ish) morning,think I'll send my youngest to my Mum's for a sleepover :-) Doing our last "mock" as I type...fingers crossed for this one to steady my nerves(not hers-she's fine!)
NotAPushyMum
Posts: 27
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2009 12:17 pm

Re: On the day.....

Post by NotAPushyMum »

We're going to opt for a two parent approach, one to drive the car and move on into Alti and the other (me) to get out with DD and then walk into Alti to meet husband.

DD's tutor has advised us to give her something sweet for a snack (much to dd's joy) to keep her going. You do get given warning that time is coming to and end but dd1 couldn't remember at what point.

I can't wait for it all to be over.... except I have another dc in year 5 so will be doing it again next year.
and...breathe
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2012 9:06 am

Re: On the day.....

Post by and...breathe »

Thanks Notapushymum,I'm sure my DD would be thrilled with a sweet snack too.Love your user name by the way :-)
It'sme!
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Mar 07, 2012 10:30 pm

Re: On the day.....

Post by It'sme! »

I highly recommend parking away from the school, or using public transport. We parked in the car park on Regent Road, and had a gentle walk in. DD was in floods of tears when we got to the car park, but by the time we'd talked and walked our way there, she had managed to pull herself together. The actual going in was brilliantly organised and efficient. There was an older girl holding a card up with the name (or letters) of the room your child needed to go to, and they ushered them inside in groups fairly quickly. Very little hanging around. Far better than the crazy Sale Grammar queueing fiasco!
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