A very heartfelt thank you to KenR, Okanagan and

[AK loving Dad]

CheekyMonkey, MSD, Bubbles44, goodmanj,Natalie74, kanamm, Thegodfather, Amelia, um, smiley27, Turtlegirl, Bob1982,sbarnes,HappyDad and numerous others I failed to mention.
I am really grateful for your advice and help.

KenR and Okanagan have been brilliant.

As this journey will now draw to a close, my story is perhaps worth sharing. DD had a wretched time 2 years ago scoring 179 and having to cope with dyslexia and her mother having biopsies.

Two years on, DS1 was given the option to leave it, but gave it his best shot almost wanting to do it for his mum and sister.

His mum is fine now and DD is flourishing at EHS. I know his fairytale ending would be to get into CHB; At 237, he may just do that but we know what a brilliant school FW is so hopefully job done.

I know we could not have done this without all of the advice from you. Far from "gloating" (as per another thread!) I have found the forum to be remarkably supportive, ably led by KenR and Okanagan.

I hope you are all successful on the 3rd. DD, was born premature weighing only 3Ibs and 3oz. and proves that even if it doesn't turn out to plan you can still make a real success of it, whatever hand your dealt.

God Bless.
AK.

[Natalie74]

Ahh what a lovely story. It's lovely to get to know people on here a little bit better and learn about their journeys. Sounds like your DD is doing really well. How premature was she? That was such a tiny birth weight. Bet you and your wife are beaming with pride. Glad to hear your wife is doing well now. Wow sounds like you have two little bright buttons with your son scoring so well. Fingers crossed he gets into CHB but like you say, if not FW for sure. What a massive achievement. Well done to you all.

[sbarnes]

Best of luck for the future. The toughest choice we had was between KES and KECHB; in the end for various reasons we plumed for KECHB. I hope you get a place in your first choice.

In my limited experience the gloaters are those that pop in with 1 or 2 posts against their name; its almost pathetic how they enter the chat room with so few posts against their name and then advertise what score their child has got. It serves no purpose as they have not invested any time in forming any meaningful relationships with anyone on this forum. Just my thoughts. Good luck

[um]

Best of luck to your son, AK Loving Dad.
It's lovely to hear of your success - with your wife and dd doing well and your son's truly excellent result.
Keep us informed next week

[z-g]

Ahh, thank you for sharing your lovely story, AK loving Dad, it really touched my heart. I wish you all the very best for the future and I hope your son gets the school he wants. Good luck!

[Bubbles44]

Wow!!! What an emotional and touching story. Thank you for sharing such a lovely personal journey with us.

Your son has 'done his mom and sister proud'. What an absolute star. You must all be so proud of him. I pray that he gets a place at CHB, because that is his dream, but I honestly believe that he will achieve equally well at FW. They are both superb schools. All the best!!!

[CheekyMonkey]

A very inspiring journey AK. I'm sure you are very proud of your DC and it all comes from the support and encouragement of DPs.

Hope your journey does not end here but you continue to be part of this forum for future stressed parents.

All the best.

CheekyMonkey

[kanamm]

Thanks for sharing this emotional story with us AK.Your son sounds lovely I hope your son gets into Camphill. With the extra seats this year I think your son stands an excellent chance .Wishing you and your family all the very best .

[OldTrout]

I just wanted to add my thanks to everyone for writing about their experiences/ emotions through this process.

I know my little fish looks very unlikely to have done enough for entry to KEFW/ KECHG - but the process itself has been incredibly helpful and has certainly made her a better student. She wanted to try for it (I think to stay with her friends) and that desire meant she was willing to read more books (a bonus), do Bond workbooks (again a bonus - with lots of good practice) and we enjoyed trying to figure out answers to NVRs that stumped us both (who doesn't love a good puzzle).

I have DD2 (small fry) to get through this in 2 years time so I'll be back - but I'll also let you know how little fish is doing at her school (most likely our local comp).

So thank you AK Loving Dad for reminding me that success is usually down to individuals - not the institutions they're in. It helps of course to have brilliant resources & teachers - don't get me wrong, but it's possible to achieve in environments other than grammar schools/ independent schools.

[Sunflower2]

I just wanted to add my thanks to everyone for writing about their experiences/ emotions through this process.

I know my little fish looks very unlikely to have done enough for entry to KEFW/ KECHG - but the process itself has been incredibly helpful and has certainly made her a better student. She wanted to try for it (I think to stay with her friends) and that desire meant she was willing to read more books (a bonus), do Bond workbooks (again a bonus - with lots of good practice) and we enjoyed trying to figure out answers to NVRs that stumped us both (who doesn't love a good puzzle).

I have DD2 (small fry) to get through this in 2 years time so I'll be back - but I'll also let you know how little fish is doing at her school (most likely our local comp).

So thank you AK Loving Dad for reminding me that success is usually down to individuals - not the institutions they're in. It helps of course to have brilliant resources & teachers - don't get me wrong, but it's possible to achieve in environments other than grammar schools/ independent schools.

OldTrout - Do u mind me asking how much did your little fish score?