Still deliberating and need help CHG v KEVIHS

[moseleymum]

Thank you both, she isn't my first child but will be the furthest away. I know some children travel vast distances and this isn't far by comparison. I will ease her into travel gently.

I know it's all about preference and what suits the individual child. DH didn't get the opportunity to visit the girls' schools with us so its perhaps harder for him to appreciate which is the best fit for DD. The right school is the right school irrespective of score or distance, I suppose.

[UmSusu]

I should admit that I am one of those parents who think the travel time needs to be weighted quite heavily in decision-making especially if the child / family have not usually travelled very far for schools and there are other siblings to consider - but then again I am very lazy

I have never looked at either of the girls schools (as I have a houseful of boys!) but I do know of people with children at both and they are all happy with their choices: so you can't really go wrong as long as you feel a longer day waiting for green buses is not really a problem - unless you plan to drive her I have heard negative feedback from open day visitors but the girls I know who are actually at CHG are very happy there.

I wouldn't go as far as to say it is 'crazy' to turn down CHG when it is so near to you in preference of a school further away that has a lower QS as they both get the most out of their pupils and at any good school where the teaching is in place it ultimately rests on
the attitude and ability of the child. But I would need to be really swayed that the further school really is a significantly better fit before choosing to go for it - that is probably the reason why the higher scoring children near Handsworth did not bother themselves to travel to CH too. I would completely ignore anything to do with perceived prestige though as a lot of parents just follow each other like sheep when it comes to ordering preferences without looking at whether the school actually suits their child. At the end of the day, if you and your DD really prefer Handsworth and you are up for the disruption of travelling further then go with that. If you are not, I would pick CHG as it is much easier to get to and the complaints don't usually come from the girls that go there ( although I do remember a comment from Mike that he found it not as relaxed as the boys' school).

UmSusu

[muminbrum]

If it helps I don't think I would have gone for CHB over FW or KEA even if we lived in Kings Heath. However distance is not something to be dismissed as a factor - if she went to CHG she could probably get most of her homework done before the time she would be home from KEVIHS and over seven years that is a lot of time saved. I also think that is impossible to get more than a feeling for a school from the Open Evenings and truly say that one school is a better for them than another. I think we (and our DC) will just adjust to the school they end up at and they are all good schools. What is difficult for you is that your DD prefers KEVIHS and if you go against her and she doesn't settle at CHG that's quite a bit of guilt to handle.

I'm not sure I'm helping here but I do sympathise with you. My DS made it simple by scoring under the CHB QS

[nervousmom]

Distance was not really we considered, as all the GS we could apply for would be about the same travelling distacne, KEFW, KES stratford and AGS. (this is our order of preference)

however, our main concern was that we have a DD who will be doing all this in 3 years time, so we were thinking ahead to her and we ideally wanted a co-ed school, so FW was the perfect choice.

So now DS will be going to FW, the pressure is on DD to do the same!! However, no worries about that, she is a bright girl and more than capable of doing the same as her brother!

However if DS doesn`t get FW (score 237) we have KES stratford as second choice, so we would then be looking to get DD to Stratford Girls!

[Amarstone]

Hello there,

I don't think you should dismiss the school as unfriendly on the basis that someone wouldn't show you round during the school day as that is probably simply their policy and one that quite a few schools adhere to.

I thought CHGs was outstanding and my dd was bowled over; it was her desire to go there which motivated her to work in order to do well in the exam. However, a good friend of my daughter (and her parents) also thought it was unfriendly and didn't like it at all. When we attended our second open evening, I keenly observed the atmosphere to try and see what they meant, but couldn't. On the contrary, I thought the girls had very good relationships with each other, and with their teachers. They were also witty, articulate and clearly proud of their school. Our pupil guides were friendly, informative, polite and very helpful.

With regard to the teachers being more approachable at KEHS, I think the staff at KHG deliberately take a back seat on open evenings and let the girls sell the school themselves: they're the best advocates after all.I remember a teacher sitting in a corner marking books whilst the girls promoting her subject spoke with such enthusiasm and eloquence about the work they had covered, I deduced that she had clearly done a great job. But just because the teachers aren't overly accessible at open nights, doesn't mean that they won't be approachable on a day to day basis.

I can see that "relaxed" is perhaps not a word which one would use to describe the school as the type of pupils it attracts are likely to be ones who like to keep really busy, striving to be the best they can be and engaging in many extra-curricular activities. I loved KEHS too, but thought I'd share my experiences of KHG. Btw, very tasty school-baked donuts were handed out for sampling in the Technology department which I thought great hospitality!

[muminbrum]

Like newbiemum, I received a letter last night confirming the choices I had submitted and saying that no further changes were not possible 'without exceptional changes of circumstances' so moseleymum sounds like you might struggle to change now.

[moseleymum]

No, I posted in the other thread:

Just wanted to reiterate, for those that did not know, that it IS still possible to change preferences for those who applied online.

I have spoken to Admissions, the extended deadline is Sunday and it doesn't matter if you received a letter saying you cannot change. The last set of preferences submitted before the Sunday deadline are the ones that count.

[Amarstone]

In my previous post, I meant KE Handsworth not KEHS indie.

[mike1880]

If you are not, I would pick CHG as it is much easier to get to and the complaints don't usually come from the girls that go there ( although I do remember a comment from Mike that he found it not as relaxed as the boys' school).
UmSusu

But bear in mind that it was still our first preference because FW failed to inspire as well, and if our daughter hadn't done well enough in the indie exams to make those a realistic option she'd be there now (and would be anyway if it was my decision, but I was in a minority of 50% on that one).

I'm on record as saying that it should be down to parents, but if your daughter has a strong preference I'd go with her choice. There's really not much to choose between them academically and there's absolutely no substitute for being able to say for the next seven years "it was your choice" instead of having to listen to "I never wanted to come to this school anyway" every time any little thing doesn't go quite right.

Mike

[moseleymum]

I'm on record as saying that it should be down to parents, but if your daughter has a strong preference I'd go with her choice.

Mike

Even if there is some spurious reason like the girls may be "nicer "(no guarantees anywhere) or "they were kind on the open day"? Or even that it felt "warmer".