WHS from Birmingham - is it feasible?

[floozey]

Hi

My DD is due to sit the birmingham exam in a couple of weeks.

I was taking to someone and they mentioned Wolverhampton Girls High school.

Does anyone have any experience of this school and exam? Is it 'easier' than the birmingham exam?

Am I just stressing and going on a wild goose chance or can the trek from north birmingham to Wolverhampton be done??

Any view or opinions would be welcomed.

Regards

Floozey

[mike1880]

Haven't a clue - but my gut feeling would be that you're pushing the bounds of practicality a bit far there. However, you lose nothing by turning up for the open evening (except for the time, obviously ), asking about school buses and checking transportdirect:

http://www.transportdirect.info/

Someone in N B'ham may have more of a clue...

Mike

[floozey]

Thanks for that.

I think there is a green bus from Walsall but it will mean getting up at some ridiculous hour!!

I just went on website and apparently about 600 put it on preference form and 108 places.....better odds than birmingham. Also the school looks really nice.

I suppose we could move

Maybe I am just panic'ing.......I am so nervous about Nov 6th, thank god for this forum as I can't seem to talk to anyone else and I am careful not to show the tension at home in front of DD

[um]

Although my daughter is not taking the 11 plus for a few years (its ds2's turn next year) I had also looked at Wolverhampton as a possibility, as it did seem a very good school. I have a friend who went to Wolverhampton Uni from Birmingham, who says the journey was not bad, once you have got into the city centre (where my husband works anyway) you can then catch a train, bus or tram. It didn't seem massively more difficult than Queen Mary's Walsall, or Sutton Girls - for us, anyway. I wouldn't discount it, children criss cross the West Midlands every morning to get to school, but I would make the journey on public transport yourself to check first - that is what I will be doing in a few years! My son in KECH has told me that boys come from absolutely miles away - many from Walsall and beyond, one from Derbyshire but I think it is worth it for the chance of a good education.

[floozey]

Thanks um for your opinion.

Do you know if it is considered an 'easier' exam to the birmingham grammars??

The numbers are not as many.

[um]

That would be really interesting to know - I would imagine that it is, but the Wolverhampton forum was last posted on in April
I also wanted to check that there was no catchment area or priority circle that you needed to live in - as is the case with Stratford and Alcester Grammars.

[mike1880]

I would suggest the exam is likely to be a little harder in terms of getting a qualifying score. It's an NFER exam like the old Sutton Coldfield exam. My interpretation is that it may feel easy to a child taking it, but how well you do depends how well prepared everyone else is.

While the numbers sound lower, 386 first prefs for 108 places (3.6 per place) is actually a little stiffer than QMH (319 for 96) and not significantly better than KEH (470 for 128).

So by all means go for it if it's a sensible option (it's another bite at the cherry if nothing else - and a different exam style which may or may not suit your daughter better than CEM) but I wouldn't see it as an easier option.

[edit - there is no catchment/priority area, it's solely on exam performance]

[edit again - oooh, and I think their admissions policy is in breach of the Code!

Twins, triplets, multiple births – in this situation when the sisters live at the same address, the place will be offered strictly according to the examination order of merit list. In the event that here is a tie, the place will be allocated to the first born...

2.16 In setting oversubscription criteria admission authorities must not: ... o) use oversubscription criteria that give priority to children according to the alphabetical order of their first name or surname or their date of birth.

Mind you, I bet they've not used that criterion yet!

Mike