Chances of getting a place in Johm Hampden

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confusemum
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 7:37 pm

Chances of getting a place in Johm Hampden

Post by confusemum »

Hi,
My DS qualified for Bucks. We live in North Harrow which is out of catchment area.
I would like to put John Hampden as 4th preference and Chesham as 5th preference. I understand all of who applied for John Hampden got the place. My place is 13.3 miles from John Hampden .

What are the chances of getting a place in John Hampden/Chesham please ?

Thanks in advance
southbucks3
Posts: 3579
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:59 am

Re: Chances of getting a place in Johm Hampden

Post by southbucks3 »

There is a reasonable chance of getting either school. There are good transport links to chesham, none at all that are good to jh, bus journey would be torturous, train and bus even more so. Have you got a good chance of getting your first preferences?

Which programme did you use to calculate the 'as the crow flies' distance btw, it seems to be cutting the distance very short from north harrow to jh. Not that it would have made any difference last year as it was all offered.
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Chances of getting a place in Johm Hampden

Post by Guest55 »

You will only get a place if none of your first three can offer you a place and if you are near enough.
confusemum
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2014 7:37 pm

Re: Chances of getting a place in Johm Hampden

Post by confusemum »

Thanks southbuck3 and Guest55 for your responses.

@southbuck3,
I agree that commute would be challenging for JH. We are flexible to relocate near to any of the school.
Correct me if i am wrong if would shift near to Chesham train station , commute to JH would be rather easier ?

Also, i have used education.gov.uk to calculate straight line distance.
scary mum
Posts: 8840
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: Chances of getting a place in Johm Hampden

Post by scary mum »

I'm not sure about that, by bus it would be about 1h 30 mins (according to google maps). Driving would be about half an hour (for 7 years twice a day). Chesham Grammar School would be close by obviously if you moved.
scary mum
kittymum
Posts: 925
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:42 pm

Re: Chances of getting a place in Johm Hampden

Post by kittymum »

Please everyone do consider travelling times! It's easy to get caught up with the thinking that it *has* to be grammar! In mvho an hour+ of travelling would negate any benefit of a grammar - that's 10+ hours a week sitting on a bus /train - time which could be spent playing footie with your mates / hanging out in Costa / doing homework / chatting to your family / anything really! By turning our children into comuters we're removing part of their childhood and aging them before their time! School is about much more then what goes on in the lessons - it is about community - and to be part of a community you really need to live in it!!
southbucks3
Posts: 3579
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:59 am

Re: Chances of getting a place in Johm Hampden

Post by southbucks3 »

scary mum wrote:I'm not sure about that, by bus it would be about 1h 30 mins (according to google maps). Driving would be about half an hour (for 7 years twice a day). Chesham Grammar School would be close by obviously if you moved.
Not at school drop off time, it takes twenty minutes plus just to get across the wycombe roundabouts and up Marlow hill, plus the bit ftom chrsham to wycombe. This week it took approximately eight minutes, well done bucks county council, the new school bus policy is obviously working really well!

The trip is really not fun at all, thankfully son number two now walks up the hill with a friend, but not without the occasional whinge.

If you can relocate, but wish to stay near London tubes and trains opt for uxbridge for jh, they operate buses to the park and ride stops near the school.

Are your first three schools local to you?
Rags
Posts: 130
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2014 6:43 pm

Re: Chances of getting a place in Johm Hampden

Post by Rags »

Regarding commute times generally - sometimes I think a bit too much of a fuss can be made of of them (again, my opinon, no doubt not as humble as it ought to be.)

I used to walk to school as a child, and regularly spent 40 mins a day doing so - and many of my friends walked 40 mins each way. No one thought this was in any way unreasonable.

Why is an hour and half walking worse for a child than the same time spent in a car or a bus? (economic and ecological issues aside.) On the bus they're likely to have other pupils with them - and might well in the car if any sort of car sharing is going on.
My older two travelled to GS on the bus for years, until Bucks withdrew the free bus passes - now we have a car sharing arrangement. Takes 40 mins to drive them in, at schools time (twice as long as when there's no traffic.)

I can't see that it does them any harm. And they used to do homework on the bus, I believe (usually on the way in, when it was due that day, but that's just boys for you...)
It can make meeting up with friends more difficult - especially when they're in opposite directions from the school - but they're supposed to be bright kids - they can come up with creative ideas.
Our car sharing combines with one parent's regular drive to work, so that ties in nicely too.

Commute time can be what you make it - walking, it's exercise, on other forms of transport (when you're not driving) you can read, chat, do homework, listen to language tuition, whatever. It doesn't have to be dead/wasted time.
As a commuter (3 hrs a day) it can be tedious, and expensive, and yes, I'd rather have my 20 min cycle to work back - but the reality is what it is - so if you have to commute, at least make it a positive experience, as best you can.

Anyway, dragging it back towards the general question, if you can make the travel work for you, it's not always as bad as some fear.

YMMV ;)
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