Slough admissions 2008 discussion

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chad
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Slough admissions 2008 discussion

Post by chad »

Carries on from the sticky : Slough admissions 2008
http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... php?t=2708

You're right I misunderstood completely(could be down to the couple of glasses of wine last night :roll: ) .....much clearer now....

I was wondering how they were going to schedule in the exams.

I wonder if this will affect the numbers of local children achieving a grammar school place. Will all 'internal' applicants take both 11+ exams or will some just opt to take the consortium as it is held on the primary school site?
Tearing Hair Out Mum
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Location: Slough, Berks

Post by Tearing Hair Out Mum »

No I think it will be good. It gives local children a second chance, lets hope that this is explained properly to parents. Lets hope less externals come. At St Bernards last year they had literally hundreds turn up for the external 11+. As I am sure did the other grammar schools.

What should be happening is that the local schools in the area should be boosting their children to try to get them to the grammar schools so that external children should go to schools in their own area. I know personally from friends that marish, ryvers and parlaunt park do not produce many children who pass the 11+. Why is this? I know that Holy Family have at least 25-30 each year who pass and I am sure that Castleview is similar.

Unfortunately no-one wants their kids to go to the local comprehensives, which is a shame. The focus should be on improving them and local primary schools.
Tearing Hair Out Mum
Bewildered
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Post by Bewildered »

Tearing Hair Out Mum wrote: Lets hope less externals come.
Tearing Hair Out Mum wrote:What should be happening is that the local schools in the area should be boosting their children to try to get them to the grammar schools so that external children should go to schools in their own area.
Tearing Hair out mum, What would you say to the unfortunate parents in neighboring counties/towns who do not have local grammar schools or good local comps?
Catherine
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Post by Catherine »

Bewildered wrote:
Tearing Hair Out Mum wrote: Lets hope less externals come.
Tearing Hair Out Mum wrote:What should be happening is that the local schools in the area should be boosting their children to try to get them to the grammar schools so that external children should go to schools in their own area.
Tearing Hair out mum, What would you say to the unfortunate parents in neighboring counties/towns who do not have local grammar schools or good local comps?
I understand Tearing Hair out mum position and I agree with her that the locals should get the grammar school places, but that should also include children who live in neighbouring areas. Chlidren from Slough can get into Burnham for example, so the reverse should also be possible.
Bewildered
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Post by Bewildered »

Chlidren from Slough can get into Burnham for example, so the reverse should also be possible.
I'm baffled :?

Are you saying that only counties with grammars should be allowed to accept other counties with grammars children?
Tearing Hair Out Mum
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Location: Slough, Berks

Grammar Schools!

Post by Tearing Hair Out Mum »

Unfortunately if the schools in your area are "no good" then you only have a few choices, some of which are more difficult than others.

You move! (expensive but a lot of people do it).
Lobby your local MP/Council to try and get local schools achieving.
Send your child to a private school (again expensive)

It is unfortunate that we are in this situation, I too would not send my child to the local comprehensives and I am doing my best to try to help him succeed to a grammar school.

As in my previous post, we should be trying to get these local comps in a better situation then they are currently. What else can we do?

The 11+ will be with us for a long time to come and if its not called the 11+ it will be called something else.

I still firmly believe that local children should go to their local schools, but until standards are raised in the low achieving schools this will not happen as parents obviously want the best for their children and in the Berkshire area it is the grammar schools.
Tearing Hair Out Mum
Bewildered
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Post by Bewildered »

You move! (expensive but a lot of people do it).
Lobby your local MP/Council to try and get local schools achieving.
Send your child to a private school (again expensive)
OR like many parents that visit this site, try to get their children into the best, nearest local school. even if that means the child having to travel across borders into another county with daily 1/2hr+ journeys as external entrants.

As you say moving and private education are expensive options, and as a governor for the past 6 yrs, I can attest that the wheels of bureaucracy turn way too slowly to help our current primary school children.

In an ideal world All children would go to their local secondary schools (benefiting the greenhouse gases to boot). Until that happens I don't agree with begrudging parents, who are only doing the best for their children, from being able to have access to the only good schools within their reach.
Catherine
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Post by Catherine »

Bewildered wrote:
Chlidren from Slough can get into Burnham for example, so the reverse should also be possible.
I'm baffled Confused
Are you saying that only counties with grammars should be allowed to accept other counties with grammars children?
Bewildered wrote:I don't agree with begrudging parents, who are only doing the best for their children, from being able to have access to the only good schools within their reach.
I do understand your point, but I do have a problem with the situation in Slough because only the grammars are open to children coming from any location. Typically, children from Slough cannot get into good neighbouring comprehensives, and most Bucks grammars because they are over-subscribed with children who live locally, but children from anywhere can take the best school places in Slough. Overall, Slough children loose out with this system.
WOBW

Post by WOBW »

Catherine wrote: Overall, Slough children loose out with this system.
One of the main problems being, the primary schools in Slough (the ones I know of) don't encourage 11+ at all. The teachers in the primary don't have a clue about it, unless their own children have gone through it. I found it really frustrating that my son's school was giving out wrong information to parents about the 11+ test on an 11+ information meeting. I am so glad that we researched ourselves about the whole system and feel so relieved that he got into a grammar school. He has gone for his day in the school today. I can't wait for him to get back.
We will have to research the whole system again in a couple of years time.
Bewildered
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Post by Bewildered »

but I do have a problem with the situation in Slough because only the grammars are open to children coming from any location
I think you'll find this is also true of Reading School, Kendrick Grammar, Tiffin Boys Grammar, Tiffin Girls grammar, to name but a few.
Bucks is an issue, because of its grammar catchment criteria.
But out of intake periods, as long as a place is available in any secondary/primary school, a child that applies, is entitled to it; Post code irrelevant, (unless it's a grammar of course). This is current practice.

It's a post code lottery, and if you live in the right postcode, Life's peachy.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree, on this one.

BW
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