KEHS vs KECHG

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daphne
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2012 11:00 pm

KEHS vs KECHG

Post by daphne »

Hi .. I am new to the forum. My DD has a full fee paying place at KEHS and a place at KE Camp Hill Girls. We can't still make up our minds! We like both schools and live equidistant. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.
hermanmunster
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Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Re: KEHS vs KECHG

Post by hermanmunster »

Hi Daphne and welcome!

There has been a thread on CHB/KES recently http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 11&t=24659" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; :?

If anyone comments on this thread please be constructive 8)
daphne
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2012 11:00 pm

Re: KEHS vs KECHG

Post by daphne »

Thank you. I was requesting specific info regarding the girls schools : KE High School for Girls and KE Camp Hill for Girls. There is a lot of info on this forum about the boys schools.

Would you be able to give me some feedback about the girls schools please?

Thank you for replying.
AtoZ
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2011 11:50 am

Re: KEHS vs KECHG

Post by AtoZ »

Hi Daphne

First of all - well done to you and your DD for getting into both KEHS and KECHG. We were in a similar situation last year, trying to choose between KEHS and KECHG. They are both very good schools and academically you won't go wrong whichever school you choose.

Obviously finance is a big thing. But if you put the finance aspect of it aside - it might be a good idea to look at your child's personality. List your daughter's strengths, weaknesses and interests. Where will these be best met?

My daughter is an avid reader, loves English & History and has an interest in classical languages. (Of course it is still early days and all this may fizzle out as soon as she hits the teens! :lol: ) She is also an introvert and we felt that she would benefit from smaller class sizes/groups where she can hopefully become more open and confident in sharing her ideas. We chose KEHS because of its small size and the friendliness of the staff - as well as running clubs that she would be interested in.

Arrange for a visit of the school; it's very different to see it on a 'working' day and KEHS are very open and accommodating.

She has been there now for about 6 months and is absolutely loving it. The teachers are all very passionate about their subjects and it is infectious. My DD is now taking an interest in science - which to us is a huge shock and surprise :shock: :o (OH and I are both from a health/medical background and this was an area that previously she had just shunned completely, much to our dismay and resignation. :cry: ) You do have to work hard, but I'm sure that's the case with any GS as well.

I'm afraid I can't offer much insight about CHG as I don't know much about it but I'm sure others can fill you in.
hermanmunster
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Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Re: KEHS vs KECHG

Post by hermanmunster »

AtoZ wrote: My DD is now taking an interest in science - which to us is a huge shock and surprise :shock: :o (OH and I are both from a health/medical background and this was an area that previously she had just shunned completely, much to our dismay and resignation. :cry: )
AtoZ - good to hear that you DD is enjoying the science - I was a KEHS decades ago and it still looks great. TBH though we opened a bottle of champagne the day first child decided not to apply for medicine.
AtoZ
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2011 11:50 am

Re: KEHS vs KECHG

Post by AtoZ »

AtoZ - good to hear that you DD is enjoying the science - I was a KEHS decades ago and it still looks great. TBH though we opened a bottle of champagne the day first child decided not to apply for medicine.
:lol: :lol:

Well to be just as honest, we wouldn't advise them to go into medicine either unless they're really really keen. Just asking them to have a healthy appreciation of the subject and to not 'switch off' because they think they can't. She does find it hard and sometimes confusing but at least she's interested and attempting it. We really welcome this change and feel it's due to the passion of the teachers; although I suppose a new school, new environment and a possible (but slow! :roll: ) sense of maturity might also have to do with it.
hermanmunster
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Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Re: KEHS vs KECHG

Post by hermanmunster »

true need to get good GCSEs in science even if you never look at it again... best way to get those is to be enthusiastic about the subjects.... Went into the Biology labs at KEHS a couple of years back - haven't really changed in 30+ years! Reckon what is taught will have changed though - kids seem to far more human biology these days and quite detailed - far better than the plants and bunny rabbits we learnt about :lol: :roll:
mike1880
Posts: 2563
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:51 pm

Re: KEHS vs KECHG

Post by mike1880 »

I empathise with daphne, we too had the same problem last year. Needless to say, many people face far worse dilemmas about secondary schools at this time of the year but that doesn't make the choice any easier.

Academically, there's not really all that much difference between the two. Seven years of paying fees will basically turn one A-level from a B to an A*/A, and to balance that your daughter would probably have 11 GCSEs rather than 12 or 13. Although you get classes of 18-20 rather than ~30 in KS3 that difference will diminish once they start GCSEs.

As I've said on the KES/CHB thread, I don't see any difference in the extracurricular provision between KEHS and the grammar schools although I suspect that there might be a little more proactive encouragement to take part at KEHS.

IMHO the choice is down to (a) personal factors specific to your daughter and where you think is best suited to her personality, strengths and weaknesses and (b) if that makes KEHS your first choice, whether you believe you have enough financial security to pay the fees for the next 5/7 years (because if you turn down the GS place now, it's very unlikely that the opportunity will ever present itself again). I'm not going to try and generalise about either aspect, but if you have any questions feel free to PM me.

We chose KEHS in the end, mostly I think because of its light touch and slightly unconventional approach which we think will bring out the best in our daughter. She has absolutely loved it from the first moment and has a wonderful time there. I can't say that she's taken to science, sadly - major reason for us preferring girls schools! :roll: - but she is (for example) enjoying sport for the first time, something I'm sure she wouldn't have done in a larger school. I don't think it's a coincidence that both our AtoZ's daughter and ours are enjoying things that they perhaps wouldn't previously; as well as the teachers' enthusiasm I think it's also due to the school working quite hard on encouraging the pupils to be supportive of each other so they all feel confident about taking part.

Mike
DenDe
Posts: 390
Joined: Wed Jul 07, 2010 1:45 pm

Re: KEHS vs KECHG

Post by DenDe »

I don't really like these "which school is better" debates but I am aware that there isn't as much information (or interest?) about the girls' schools as there is about the boys' which is why I am replying.

I don't have any information about KEHS as we didn't even look round but I'm sure it's awonderful school and I'm sure you are thrilled to have such a lovely choice of schools.

My DD is in Yr 7 at KECHG. From the minute she looked at the school, when she was in Yr 5, she was adamant it was the school for her so we were relieved when she got a place. It has completely fulfilled her expectations. She is very happy there, is thriving academically and has got involved in many extra- curricular activities.

Feel free to pm me if you want to know anything specific and enjoy making your decision :P
mike1880
Posts: 2563
Joined: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:51 pm

Re: KEHS vs KECHG

Post by mike1880 »

I hope
DenDe wrote:I don't really like these "which school is better" debates
I hope we've already done that one to death this month with the KES/CHB thread :wink: .

Mike
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