112 leaves in dilemma!!
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Re: 112 leaves in dilemma!!
BSG, may be you should be raising your concerns with your MP for getting the rules changed for Slough grammars schools.
There has been so many threads/debates on this forum about it that there is no point is repeating all the pros & cons of catchment area. As someone else said on a different board that ‘ I will not mind traveling to timbuktoo for the better education of my child’. As a parent if I feel that my local school is not good enough and a good but distant one will give my child a chance regardless of catchment area.. I will certainly give it a go.
There has been so many threads/debates on this forum about it that there is no point is repeating all the pros & cons of catchment area. As someone else said on a different board that ‘ I will not mind traveling to timbuktoo for the better education of my child’. As a parent if I feel that my local school is not good enough and a good but distant one will give my child a chance regardless of catchment area.. I will certainly give it a go.
Re: 112 leaves in dilemma!!
Both Herschel and Slough have now got a distance criteria within their admissions, this was to address the 'local to school' issue.
Parents can only abide with the rules they are given.
Parents can only abide with the rules they are given.
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English Emilia
- Posts: 27
- Joined: Sat Nov 26, 2011 11:53 pm
Re: 112 leaves in dilemma!!
As a Slough resident, I'm all in favour of making Grammar Schools favour local children as far as possible. Incidentally, my DD has put Herschel first choice and - if last year's statistics are anything to go by, she will just miss out of the "50 nearest to school" places - literally by a couple of hundred metres, so their policy has, in a sense worked against us (my DD is now competing for one of the 70 remaining places and we need to wait and see if her score will be high enough to secure a place), but nonetheless I am totally in favour of what they have done. I don't think it goes far enough, but at least they are going some way to ensuring that Slough children who pass their 11+ will get a Grammar school place (within Slough!), which hasn't always been the case. I think Bucks have a better system in that any Bucks child who passes will have priority over other children - and again, I say this even though the system works against us (we live a couple of miles from the Bucks border). DD has passed the Bucks 11+ but I am happy to accept that Bucks residents will take priorty over us.
One other point I feel I must make. I have taught in a grammar school where a number of my pupils travelled huge distances in order to get to school. One boy in particular (sixth former) sticks in my mind - he got up at 5.30 every day in order to get the bus and didn't get home until after 7.00. Given the amount of homework grammar schools expect children to do, this made for a very long day. I taught him last lesson in the afternoon and on many occasions he actually fell asleep in my lesson. I hope that wasn't a reflection on my teaching! Of course we all want the very best for our children and for many parents this means getting them into a grammar school if possible. We do need to look at the bigger picture though. Easier said than done, I know!
One other point I feel I must make. I have taught in a grammar school where a number of my pupils travelled huge distances in order to get to school. One boy in particular (sixth former) sticks in my mind - he got up at 5.30 every day in order to get the bus and didn't get home until after 7.00. Given the amount of homework grammar schools expect children to do, this made for a very long day. I taught him last lesson in the afternoon and on many occasions he actually fell asleep in my lesson. I hope that wasn't a reflection on my teaching! Of course we all want the very best for our children and for many parents this means getting them into a grammar school if possible. We do need to look at the bigger picture though. Easier said than done, I know!
