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KEHS

Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2014 11:28 am
by Bubbles44
I dropped my daughter of at KEHS this morning for the first of her two days of exams. I couldn’t believe how bad the traffic was. We only just managed to make it in time. Are there any other forum members putting their daughters in for the exam? Very little seems to be posted about KEHS on this forum.

Re: KEHS

Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2014 1:32 pm
by Turtlegirl
My daughter did the exam a couple of years ago. If you use the search function you should find some stuff I posted back then....

Re: KEHS

Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2014 4:39 pm
by Thegodfather
I couldn't work out why it was so bad!! Why not park in the UOB south car-park and walk 100m up the road??! First 30mins free. Or park in selly oak/park...

Re: KEHS

Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2014 5:04 pm
by kanamm
Good luck to all the girls sitting this exam!

Re: KEHS

Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2014 5:18 pm
by UmSusu
I went to drop my son off (I do a drop-and-run at the Bristol Road/Edgbaston Pk Rd) and we had been warned to leave home earlier but it was mayhem at that junction. The queue was all the way into Selly Park so I don't know what it was like nearer the schools. There is plenty of traffic there at that time anyway but it was worse today - must have been very stressful for those counting the minutes to get there in time.

Agree with godfather, it is much simpler to park at the university's South Car park and walk up. It will also give you a few quieter/ less stressful minutes before you drop them off.

Re: KEHS

Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2014 6:14 pm
by um
I understand that GuidingStar's dd is at KEHS on a scholarship...I don't have any personal experience of the school but maybe they could comment?

Re: KEHS

Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2014 6:59 pm
by atom8
There was a serious RTA on Paradise Circus (top end of Bristol Street/Road) this morning. It caused massive tail backs on Broad St and further down Hagley Road (made me 30 mins late for work). I guess it would have had a similar effect further down Bristol Rd to compound the traffic chaos.

There were similar delays three weeks ago when my boy did the KES exam. We just parked nearby and walked the final 10 mins. However, some parents seem ****-bent on dropping their kids off right outside the school gates.

I do think KES do a fairly good job of forewarning parents and directing traffic though.

Re: KEHS

Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2014 7:43 pm
by moseleymum
atom8 wrote:There was a serious RTA on Paradise Circus (top end of Bristol Street/Road) this morning. It caused massive tail backs on Broad St and further down Hagley Road (made me 30 mins late for work). I guess it would have had a similar effect further down Bristol Rd to compound the traffic chaos.

There were similar delays three weeks ago when my boy did the KES exam. We just parked nearby and walked the final 10 mins. However, some parents seem ****-bent on dropping their kids off right outside the school gates.

I do think KES do a fairly good job of forewarning parents and directing traffic though.
The KES exam is usually easier to get to as it's on a Saturday so there's no rush hour/school traffic/Uni traffic to contend with. Also on a Saturday, those sitting the KES exam can park at the girls school. There's very little space to park on a week day other than on site especially since the Gun Barrels is no longer available.

Never understood why KEHS have the exam over two consecutive mornings, it causes maximum disruption to parents and children (both those sitting the actual exam and siblings who still need to get to school).

Re: KEHS

Posted: Fri Jan 31, 2014 11:28 am
by Bubbles44
Thank you for all the information Turtlegirl!!! It has been really useful.

I don’t think KEHS handle the exam-arrival process very well at all, and I have found these morning drop-offs quite stressful. I agree with moseleymum that having the exam on two consecutive ‘mid-week’ mornings causes major disruption. There are already traffic issues in the area with the schools, university, Queen Elizabeth Hospital and city centre traffic, etc. Most of the parents, myself included, had younger siblings with them, so we then had to navigate through the traffic again to do another school drop off in other parts of the city. Maybe KEHS needs to follow KES and change their exam day/s to a weekend.

I agree that parents could use alternative parking places, but the information given by the school says to drop the girls off in the school car park, so that is what most parents did. Additional information should be given about alternative parking places (e.g. University car park, etc), otherwise most of us parents will be unaware of these.

Remarkably, my daughter has remained very calm on both mornings while I have been panicking about the time, traffic, weather, etc. :oops: This morning she instructed me to take deep breaths and relax. You'd have thought it was me sitting the exam. :lol: I will take her for a lovely ‘relaxing’ lunch when I collect her in two hours.

Re: KEHS

Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 11:21 pm
by coolcalmdad
THOSE PARENTS WITH DD AT KEHS, can you please shed some lights about the exam papers. They sit english and maths on 2 days. Are both days papers any similar or very different? What you think about sample papers on school website- are these right level of difficulty?

Thanks.