Camp Hill Girls School

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Bubbles44
Posts: 110
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2012 12:45 am

Camp Hill Girls School

Post by Bubbles44 »

I have just read the thread about Camp Hill Boys School, and I am quite surprised by some of the very negative views and experiences. I have only recently submitted the preference form to Birmingham LEA and we have put Camp Hill Girls as our first choice, followed by Five Ways and then Handsworth. (Me and my husband thought all three schools were excellent so we let our daughter have the last say in the order of preference). Do parents of pupils at Camp Hill Girls have some of the same concerns as the parents of pupils at Camp Hill Boys e.g. poor uninspiring teachers, expectation of parents to ‘teach’ pupils, lack of guidance, the need of ongoing private tuition, etc? Don’t get me wrong, I am more than willing to help and support my daughter, as I have done throughout her primary education, but I find some of the comments about the standard of teaching, etc, very worrying. I hope we have made the right choice!!!
mike1880
Posts: 2563
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:51 pm

Re: Camp Hill Girls School

Post by mike1880 »

Not ALL teachers at CHB are uninspiring - far from it (although the science department is poor imho). Nor is there, in my opinion, any expectation that parents take responsibility for their sons' education, any lack of guidance or any expectation that the boys are in some way supposed to educate themselves with minimal input from teachers. There is I think an expectation that the boys will (a) listen and (b) make an effort (both a major hurdle for our son), but I don't think the teaching ethos is any different from that in any other school.

Mike
DIY Mum
Posts: 744
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 10:08 pm
Location: Not in a hole in the ground but in a land where once they dwelt-the Beormingas

Re: Camp Hill Girls School

Post by DIY Mum »

Don't have any concerns regarding CHB. Actually very grateful that ds1 is there as although he doesn't work as hard as I'd like, and has minimal input from me (understandable as he is 1 of 5 dc, with both dp in FT work- 6 days per week) , I know that the school delivers a higher standard of teaching than most I know.

Recently, I've encountered a dp (who has a ds in the lower years) raising issues about the teaching of science at chb. So yes, there are some dps concerned about some aspects of the science dept / staff. But I've heard that from dps, as well as, from their dc who attend chg too- that the teachers there aren't that inspiring either. :|

But let's get a perspective- they are good schools and you will find that most dp / dc are happy to be there.
80's girl
Posts: 112
Joined: Mon May 26, 2008 9:53 pm

Re: Camp Hill Girls School

Post by 80's girl »

Thank you mike1880 and DIY mum, like the op I read the thread and was a little concerned having put chg as first choice for my son. I had a look back at some earlier discussions regarding chg and was reassured by contributions from dcs who have ds's at the school like yourselves um immediately springs to mind! I have 3 ds's at 3 very different schools and there are some things I dislike about all of them. I suppose chg will be no different but hopefully if enough parents express concerns regarding the science dept they may do something about it.
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: Camp Hill Girls School

Post by um »

I think it very much comes down to the child and how they fit in the school.

I know girls who loved/love their time at CHG. And in all honesty I know girls who hated it - including one who recently started and I am afraid is seriously considering leaving.

My boys both seem very happy - in their own way - with CHB but I know that there have been boys in their year groups that have left the school.
I would not disagree that they have both encountered frustration with some science subjects but on the other hand have had some very inspiring teachers in other subjects, especially Maths and English.

When I visited CHG I realised that for me, personally, had I been young again, this would have been the wrong school. I am far too much of an anarchist and always was, I am afraid. I felt more comfortable myself at KE Handsworth.
My dd, in contrast, loved it and I know very well that, even though she is my only daughter, she has inherited virtually nothing of my personality (or appearance!) and is genuinely happy to put her head down and fit in, in a competitive environment. We don't know where she will go yet though as she's borderline for CHG.
reeyah
Posts: 530
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2011 1:14 am

Re: Camp Hill Girls School

Post by reeyah »

Fingers crossed for you Um! I know your DD will make it for CHG. I've been trying to pass on my positivity for a while now and you must now accept it! :)
Bob1892
Posts: 1186
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2013 10:14 am

Re: Camp Hill Girls School

Post by Bob1892 »

um wrote:I think it very much comes down to the child and how they fit in the school.

I know girls who loved/love their time at CHG. And in all honesty I know girls who hated it - including one who recently started and I am afraid is seriously considering leaving.

My boys both seem very happy - in their own way - with CHB but I know that there have been boys in their year groups that have left the school.
I would not disagree that they have both encountered frustration with some science subjects but on the other hand have had some very inspiring teachers in other subjects, especially Maths and English.

When I visited CHG I realised that for me, personally, had I been young again, this would have been the wrong school. I am far too much of an anarchist and always was, I am afraid. I felt more comfortable myself at KE Handsworth.
My dd, in contrast, loved it and I know very well that, even though she is my only daughter, she has inherited virtually nothing of my personality (or appearance!) and is genuinely happy to put her head down and fit in, in a competitive environment. We don't know where she will go yet though as she's borderline for CHG.
The more I speak to dp the more I find they are being put off by the camp hill schools & are seriously contemplating the alternatives, usually Five Ways or KES/KEHS if money's not a obstacle. The reasons for the negative Camp Hill views are numerous and varied.
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: Camp Hill Girls School

Post by um »

reeyah wrote:Fingers crossed for you Um! I know your DD will make it for CHG. I've been trying to pass on my positivity for a while now and you must now accept it! :)
:lol:

I'm trying to get a more optimistic personality Reeyah... your positivity is honestly helping :P
Amarstone
Posts: 124
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:29 pm

Re: Camp Hill Girls School

Post by Amarstone »

My daughter is in year 7 at CHG and I have been really pleased with how she has settled in. She (usually) finds new situations quite challenging and so I amazed that she said she felt "really comfortable" after just a couple of weeks. She has had a lot of homework and I have been impressed with the tasks she has been set: they have required thought, analysis and challenge and I assume they are linked to equally stretching lessons.

The environment seems quite competitive (in a friendly way!): my daughter seems to know where she is placed in most subjects and the girls seem to discuss their levels and grades quite openly. I think many bright children thrive in this environment but it might be something to be wary of if you think your child is demotivated by competition or is borderline.

She likes everybody in her form and the girls seem to be very supportive of each other.

She says what she likes most is that she is stretched and the pace of learning is fast without teachers going over the material again and again. She also loves being with keen motivated girls: she spent much of her time in primary sitting next to naughty boys!

Obviously, it is early days for us but at this point I am really pleased with the school and my daughter is very happy.
Smudger
Posts: 54
Joined: Thu Feb 28, 2013 2:03 pm

Re: Camp Hill Girls School

Post by Smudger »

My daughter is in Y7 and I echo the comments of Amarstone.

She seems to relish that so much more is required of her compared to primary school where they did little to stimulate the brighter children. She also seems happy to learn things the hard way - i.e. sometimes not putting in quite enough effort and getting a poor score relative to friends - but this encourages her to up her game.

It's definitely competitive but in a friendly way.
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