Bus 132 via Dymock and Newent

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morrisdancingmummy
Posts: 46
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2010 10:02 pm

Bus 132 via Dymock and Newent

Post by morrisdancingmummy »

I am wondering if you know anyone whose daughter catches this bus to HSFGs in the mornings/ afternoons.

On the last Friday before half term I got up extra early and took DD1, 3yr old DD2 and myself down to catch DD1's school bus. This was prob a really sad thing to do- but was the only time that DD1 was not at school and HSFGs were before the start of next year!

I wanted to see how many HSFGs girls got on the bus, where, and what the journey was like.

I arrived at Gloucester pleasantly suprised that there were quite a few (and STR boys) and they got on from only 5mins after our stop....

Plus they seemed a really nice bunch of kids. :D :D :D :D

I chatted to a couple of the younger girls who said they caught the bus every day, and DD1 seemed quite relieved to find she was not the only one! They said it was not a problem, they just caught a bus back from school to the bus startion then caught the 132 home.

Now I know for sure she'll be going there it would be great if anyone knows who these girls are......then she won't feel quite so alone, and nor will I... please feel free to pm me.

Also hopefully it will put other parents at ease knowing their DC will not be the only newbie travelling on the 132 bus from Ledbury/Dymock/Newent every day.
mum23*
Posts: 417
Joined: Tue Mar 02, 2010 1:28 pm

Re: Bus 132 via Dymock and Newent

Post by mum23* »

Congrats MDM!
I am not 100% sure on this as DD doesn't often get the bus anymore but I think it's the one that you have to get out promptly at the end of the day - it leaves for the bus station at 3.34 I think but quite a few gs pupils get it. Make sure your DD knows how to get to and from the school and bus station, where the bus stops en route, what to do if she misses her stop etc and has a phone (charged!) There is a homework club if your DD misses the bus and needs to wait for a lift home.
morrisdancingmummy
Posts: 46
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2010 10:02 pm

Re: Bus 132 via Dymock and Newent

Post by morrisdancingmummy »

Thanks Mum23.

Really great advice!
am delighted that I can now 'come out' and do her streetwise education up front......
She is really looking forward to the challenge of the bus every day, and was really pleased so many girls just like her (!) on the day we all went togther.
I am glad I don't have to take 3yr old fidget bum who is fond of very embarrassing questions
"Why are all the ladies on the bus Grandmas????" at full volume. every day!

:lol: :lol: Bless her!

Plenty of other parents now we have 'come out' have looked at me a bit strangely when I say DD1 is going to Denmark rd when there's a 'Perfectly adequate' secondary 1/2 a mile from home! But we're all used to that by now aren't we???

Thanks again for your advice, much appreciated.

Any other parents looking into this bus as an option for their DDs or DSs I felt it seemed quite 'safe' and there were plenty of other Gs kids on it.....PLus lots of 'Grandmas' who I felt would keep an eye on them!
Milla
Posts: 2556
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2008 2:25 pm

Re: Bus 132 via Dymock and Newent

Post by Milla »

Perfectly Adequate Secondary ...
yes
well
I know
NOT ALONE!
Don't feel guilty. You learn to adopt a vaguely casual smile. Everyone does the best they can for THEIR child. Enjoy your child's success. It doesn't mean doing down anyone else. Aaargh. OOoh, sorry, more birthday cake calls. Off I scuttle!
penelope
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2015 1:33 pm

Re: Bus 132 via Dymock and Newent

Post by penelope »

Hi, Just logged on to this forum and found it by mistake as HSFG website not loading for me. I have a girl going to Denmark Road Sept 2015 and we live in Newent. Do you live actually in Malvern, we come to Ice Quest every Tuesday night (7pm) for iceskating lessons. She will be getting the bus both ways, although there is a minibus from our street at 07.10 to the bus station and it is £1. She will be getting the 132 or 32 back to Newent each evening though as minibus doesn't come back until 6pm.
Happy for you to contact me direct.
Look forward to hearing from you!

Personal details (names and phone numbers) removed by moderator.
DebsB
Posts: 144
Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2013 7:25 pm
Location: Cheltenham

Re: Bus 132 via Dymock and Newent

Post by DebsB »

I've been pleasantly surprised not to get any snarky comments about DD going to Denmark Rd. But then my older child is at Balcarras, so perhaps that makes them feel differently about my choices, or maybe it's because I often tell people that it was DD's own idea to apply to HSFG, or perhaps it's because people who live near us are all so worried about whether their own children will get into the ever decreasing circle that is Balcarras catchment, and are only too relieved to hear of an eligible child who is not taking up a place there! :lol:

Actually lots of people have been lovely - congratulating us on DD's place at HSFG, so that then I have felt I needed to explain why DS's personality makes Balcarras a better fit for him than STR would have been, and that sending my children to different schools is because they're individuals and very different from each other, NOT about one of them being cleverer than the other. :oops:

The only person I really don't want to discuss it with is my sister-in-law. My brother understands perfectly well, but his wife is a bit of a militant believer that all children ought to go to their local schools regardless of how good/bad/ugly they are. They live a very long way away and we only see them once a year or so. I am hoping that if it comes up in conversation I can just say "She decided she wanted to go to an all girls' school" (which is perfectly true) and hope she will let it go at that.
Kismet
Posts: 195
Joined: Wed May 07, 2014 8:23 pm

Re: Bus 132 via Dymock and Newent

Post by Kismet »

Congratulations to your DD and yourself. My DS is off to STRS in September so they may well meet at some social. We have a couple going to HSFG from our school in Cheltenham and they are both lovely girls. I'm sure your DD will have a great school experience ahead of her. The earlier thread was from 2011 but hopefully you will get some interest from newbies about to start there too and perhaps the oldies will chip in with advice. Oh, and just so you know, I love this forum so well done on a good move joining.

Debs, isn't it sad when you have to justify doing the best for your child. In principle I don't believe in grammar schools (I don't think) and I believe in sending to the local school and I believe in everyone having access to a great education but sadly I'm not living in a utopian society and I want to do the best for my child with what is available so off we head to Tommies. Sister in laws, mother in laws, so called friends. Why are people so judgemental? I'm sure they did what they considered right for their child and so are you. Ignore the detractors and enjoy the sisterhood on this forum. Time this sister did some more chores :lol: a
cazien
Posts: 533
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 12:20 pm

Re: Bus 132 via Dymock and Newent

Post by cazien »

DebsB wrote: The only person I really don't want to discuss it with is my sister-in-law. My brother understands perfectly well, but his wife is a bit of a militant believer that all children ought to go to their local schools regardless of how good/bad/ugly they are. They live a very long way away and we only see them once a year or so. I am hoping that if it comes up in conversation I can just say "She decided she wanted to go to an all girls' school" (which is perfectly true) and hope she will let it go at that.
In a number of counties, children do go to their local secondary school, so some people find it difficult to understand why you would want to send your child to a school which is further afield than your "local".

When our DS's went through the process of viewing Secondary Schools, we told them they had to decide which school they wanted to go to, but to remember that they would be spending the next 5-7 years not only at the school but travelling their as well.

I congratulate every DC who has achieved a place at a Grammar School, and do not believe anyone should have to justify sending your child to a GS. That is the education system in Gloucestershire - you are given a choice so you have the right to use it :D
DebsB
Posts: 144
Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2013 7:25 pm
Location: Cheltenham

Re: Bus 132 via Dymock and Newent

Post by DebsB »

cazien wrote:
DebsB wrote: The only person I really don't want to discuss it with is my sister-in-law. My brother understands perfectly well, but his wife is a bit of a militant believer that all children ought to go to their local schools regardless of how good/bad/ugly they are. They live a very long way away and we only see them once a year or so. I am hoping that if it comes up in conversation I can just say "She decided she wanted to go to an all girls' school" (which is perfectly true) and hope she will let it go at that.
In a number of counties, children do go to their local secondary school, so some people find it difficult to understand why you would want to send your child to a school which is further afield than your "local".

I congratulate every DC who has achieved a place at a Grammar School, and do not believe anyone should have to justify sending your child to a GS. That is the education system in Gloucestershire - you are given a choice so you have the right to use it :D
Kismet wrote:Debs, isn't it sad when you have to justify doing the best for your child. In principle I don't believe in grammar schools (I don't think) and I believe in sending to the local school and I believe in everyone having access to a great education but sadly I'm not living in a utopian society and I want to do the best for my child with what is available so off we head to Tommies. Sister in laws, mother in laws, so called friends. Why are people so judgemental? I'm sure they did what they considered right for their child and so are you. Ignore the detractors and enjoy the sisterhood on this forum. Time this sister did some more chores :lol: a
Thanks for the support, both of you. :)

I won't let her get to me. Most of the time when I see her we find enough things to talk about where there's not going to be any conflict. She's got loads of good points - in particular she's very hospitable, and very helpful to people in difficulties - she's just, as I say, militant about education. I remember just before her eldest moved up from his little village primary to their nearest comp, she told me it was a pretty rough school and she thought her son would find it a bit of a shock, but she gave me the impression she was pleased that he'd be discovering that the world is not all as nice as their village. So I'm not sure that she did "do what she considered right for her child" - I think she's one of the rare people who chose her child's school according to what she thought was right on principle, and right for the nation's education system, and her children had to lump it.

She knows that in Gloucestershire we have a choice about schools, but I rather get the impression that she thinks it's immoral of parents to take advantage of that choice. I know she disagrees even more with the choice my parents made to send my brothers and me to independent schools, and I have another brother who sent his kids to independent school too, so I imagine she's long since decided that it's a lost cause hoping people in our family will make educational decisions that she approves of!

I'm firmly in the "choosing the school I think is best for my child" camp myself, but I can't see that I'm doing anybody any harm by sending DD to HSFG. We live in the Balcarras catchment, so by sending DD to HSFG I am freeing up a much sought-after place at a heavily over-subscribed school for some child who is probably thrilled to have got it. Perhaps she would say that I should be concerned also about the detrimental effect of that child's non-appearance on the school they would otherwise have gone to, but I'm not going to feel guilty about something so tenuous.

My mother-in-law and father-in-law, I'm happy to say, are thrilled about DD going to HSFG, and have said all the congratulatory things one could hope for. :)
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