Can I ask out of area applicants something?

[Proudmumregardless]

Genuinely curious about this as it confused me during my school days too.

Why do you want to send your child to a school that means they have to commute for several hours a day?

[Taolut]

This is a question that has genuinely bothered me as well, sorry I do not have an answer but quiet curious to know why too. As an adult, I gave up a well paying job because the commute on the train was killing me, I wonder how the kids cope at such Young age.

[scary mum]

I believe it is a desire to obtain the best education possible for their child. Unfortunately such hype has grown up around grammar schools that people want to get their children into the "best" schools and will go to any lengths to do this with children sitting multiple exams around the country & then attempting journeys that no adult would consider for a daily commute. Then of course there are stories of children leaving a school early in year 7 as the commute is too much for them. A couple of Buckinghamshire schools had this happen this year & were able to open up places in year 7. Fortunately the allocations haven't gone out so far (yet) in Bucks this year.

[sleeplessinhalstead]

what i don't understand is why people choose to send children from East London to Colchester, if they have a score which will gain a place at the 2 Colchester Grammars, they will also have an adequate score for the Southend grammars, and would probably have done well in the Redbridge tests too. That is not a choice between a grammar or a comprehensive. It can only be driven by league tables.

[Tinkers]

This is a question that has genuinely bothered me as well, sorry I do not have an answer but quiet curious to know why too. As an adult, I gave up a well paying job because the commute on the train was killing me, I wonder how the kids cope at such Young age.

I took a pay cut when the job I had moved to London and the commute was terrible. It was worth it for the quality of life I got back. I didn't have hw to do when I got home either.

[tian]

Genuinely curious about this as it confused me during my school days too.

Why do you want to send your child to a school that means they have to commute for several hours a day?

Hi Proudmumregardless,
my story is little different. First of all, my son asked me to do the test and grammar school. So, before embarking, I warned him what is in the 'package', all the pro and against, and asked if he is 100% sure about it. He confirmed to me that he wants to go ahead and supported him all the time. Unfortunately the grammar school in Ilford doesn't take people from o/c, I called them and they told me straight away that my postcode is not and consequently he couldn't take the test at all. So of course we opted for Southend but he has never considered as last resource, he is on the moon about it and doesn't mind to commute at all. So if he didn't ask me I wouldn't have dared to force him to put him through this.

[optimisticmom]

I would like to give my two penny's worth....

Yes, it is far! and most times it is league table driven and NO! it is not for every child...some kids can hack it and some are simply too drained at the end of the day...BUT these kids do grow and become more mature and learn to cope alongside their peers. It also is early training ground for when they are older and get those jobs that require commuting, they will not be phased by it.

A friend's kids took the Colchester Grammar schl ...in yr 11 now, about to sit GCSE's....they live in Purfleet and at the time we thought she was crazy! But my goodness, was the child up for it? Never seen such passion in a kid to want to go to such a far away school! She did fine, and now I would love for my dd to go to Colchester Grammar for her 6th form as she has now been inspired by her friend and seen that it's possible to succeed despite all the odds of travelling, after school activities etc

In saying all of this, my dd is at CCHS and though she's got her eyes set on Colchester, she moans about her journey from Dagenham to Chelmsford...so I have to remind her of this but given half the chance I know she would certainly jump at it and make it work.

A lot of support for the child is certainly required though from the parents.

Optimisticmom

[scary mum]

Genuinely curious about this as it confused me during my school days too.

Why do you want to send your child to a school that means they have to commute for several hours a day?

Hi Proudmumregardless,
my story is little different. First of all, my son asked me to do the test and grammar school. So, before embarking, I warned him what is in the 'package', all the pro and against, and asked if he is 100% sure about it. He confirmed to me that he wants to go ahead and supported him all the time. Unfortunately the grammar school in Ilford doesn't take people from o/c, I called them and they told me straight away that my postcode is not and consequently he couldn't take the test at all. So of course we opted for Southend but he has never considered as last resource, he is on the moon about it and doesn't mind to commute at all. So if he didn't ask me I wouldn't have dared to force him to put him through this.

I'm sure your son will cope fine with the commute for 7 years (I have no idea how far it is), but I would doubt a ten year old has the ability to understand what they are taking on, which is why (at this age) parents should be making the decisions.

[Proudmumregardless]

Thank you for your replies they're certainly interesting and I do understand the pressure from the kids. My dd was so adamant she wanted colchs the prospect of being the only one from her school didn't put her off.

However she will only have a 20min walk for her commute. I'm not so sure if she'd have been agreeable to a commute to Southend

[tian]

Genuinely curious about this as it confused me during my school days too.

Why do you want to send your child to a school that means they have to commute for several hours a day?

Hi Proudmumregardless,
my story is little different. First of all, my son asked me to do the test and grammar school. So, before embarking, I warned him what is in the 'package', all the pro and against, and asked if he is 100% sure about it. He confirmed to me that he wants to go ahead and supported him all the time. Unfortunately the grammar school in Ilford doesn't take people from o/c, I called them and they told me straight away that my postcode is not and consequently he couldn't take the test at all. So of course we opted for Southend but he has never considered as last resource, he is on the moon about it and doesn't mind to commute at all. So if he didn't ask me I wouldn't have dared to force him to put him through this.

I'm sure your son will cope fine with the commute for 7 years (I have no idea how far it is), but I would doubt a ten year old has the ability to understand what they are taking on, which is why (at this age) parents should be making the decisions.

Hi Scarymum,
the journey from Dagenham to Upminster by underground 10min the c2c from Upminster to Southend is 35min max, and another 10min from Southend station to the school, let's say 50 or 55 max between all. It is not short but not bad at all.
Of course he wanted but I my decision was last word that's why I told him, ok let's go ahead. Despite he also knows that he will be the only one from his school, this has never bothered him. I also told him yes because I know that he's mature and responsible for his age. He is very enthusiastic and looks forward to start. Seeing him like this confirm that took the right decision to say ok. I am very positive he will cope well.