Relocating to birmingham - school choice and safe score

[echoes]

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum. Only came across it day before yesterday. As we are not from Birmingham we didn't take the exam seriously and our dd didn't attend any tutions etc. But someone recommended grammar schools to us so we got her to attempt the entrance exam.

We have now got the results and she has managed to achieve 225 for Birmingham consortium. As we are not from Birmingham and would be relocating to Birmingham for the sake of the admission, we have lot more factors to consider such as accommodation, jobs etc.

Ideally we would prefer to live around kings heath/kings norton so KE camp Hill would be ideal.. however it seems that results are good this year and 225 is borderline even compared to last couple of years.

Is there a lot of difference in standard of education between Camp Hill, Aston and Handworth ?

According to BBC school league tables...Camp Hill is number 9 on the list and the other two are around 160.

My other query is about Sutton Coldfield, Is it feasible for someone to live in Sutton Coldfield and commute to Birmingham for work everyday? How long does it take to commute considering the factors such as traffic and rushhour.

sorry about a long post but we are confused about so many things...

[hermanmunster]

where are you likely to be working? I know of quite a lot of people who commute from Sutton, Solihull and further afield - the train service to the centre of B'ham is pretty good.

PS train from Sutton coldfield to New Street is 20 mins and goes every 10 mins.

[echoes]

where are you likely to be working? I know of quite a lot of people who commute from Sutton, Solihull and further afield - the train service to the centre of B'ham is pretty good.

PS train from Sutton coldfield to New Street is 20 mins and goes every 10 mins.

Thank you for your reply.
I am not sure.. I have just recently started a new job so I haven't even started looking around Birmingham. I have till next Sept to find work around Birmingham. Train must cost a fortune though?

[hermanmunster]

. Train must cost a fortune though?

probably cheaper than driving...


http://tickets.networkwestmidlands.co.u ... and=ntrain" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

about £56 / month for zones 1-4

[echoes]

. Train must cost a fortune though?

probably cheaper than driving...


http://tickets.networkwestmidlands.co.u ... and=ntrain" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

about £56 / month for zones 1-4

Thanks for that..

Any idea about my other queries.. Ie.. is there a lot of difference in education between handsworth, aston and camp hill schools?

[KenR]

Don't discount KEFW which is co-ed - good green bus service, good access from south birmgham as well as parts of worcestershire.

[Paramjeet]

It depends on the definition of 'difference'
League table results
Distance/ease of commuting (consider winter is grim up north)
Incidence of bullying/satisfactory outcome
Extra curricular activities
etc..

[mike1880]

You'd have trouble separating Camp Hill Girls, Handsworth and Sutton Coldfield Girls in the FT Top 1000 table (based on A-levels and a lot more reliable than the GCSE-based BBC tables). In fact Handsworth was higher last year (123rd vs 128th - SC was 130th). Camp Hill take rather a lot of GCSEs (although not as many as Five Ways) and this skews the BBC table. The DofE attainment tables also show there's very little to choose between them:

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/per ... 0_all.html

Where are you relocating from? I imagine you won't relocate until after you know school allocation?

Paramjeet, Birmingham is hardly "up north" and winters are positively balmy compared to the Pennines where I grew up. It's just that local authorities and population have a pathetic inability to cope with half an inch of snow.

Mike

[echoes]

You'd have trouble separating Camp Hill Girls, Handsworth and Sutton Coldfield Girls in the FT Top 1000 table (based on A-levels and a lot more reliable than the GCSE-based BBC tables). In fact Handsworth was higher last year (123rd vs 128th - SC was 130th). Camp Hill take rather a lot of GCSEs (although not as many as Five Ways) and this skews the BBC table. The DofE attainment tables also show there's very little to choose between them:

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/per ... 0_all.html

Where are you relocating from? I imagine you won't relocate until after you know school allocation?

Paramjeet, Birmingham is hardly "up north" and winters are positively balmy compared to the Pennines where I grew up. It's just that local authorities and population have a pathetic inability to cope with half an inch of snow.

Mike

Thanks. Relocating from Nottingham.

I looked at the following when comparing the school. Camphill is 9th on the list and sutton coldfield is 14.. whereas handsworth and aston in 160s..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-16729387" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I guess, I am not making a fair comparison.

The other thing I am confused about is the distance.. We are nowhere near the catchment area.. So if the school has 60 places, would they allocate the place to top 60 students no matter where they live? If enough children don't take up the offer they would then go beyond top 60. Or am I completely barking up a wrong tree here..

[echoes]

Don't discount KEFW which is co-ed - good green bus service, good access from south birmgham as well as parts of worcestershire.

Not sure why KEFW wasn't listed on our letter.. Has it got a separate exam? My child did the exam at KE Camp Hills girls highschool.

Just corrected the pass score for KEFW last year on the sticky - it was 227 not 225 - thanks sss