Queen marys boys or Bishop vessey can't decide!!

[booellesmum]

Is camp hill boys out of consideration for you? E.g. a train and bus, but a few do it from Walsall?

I now of of one boy who does it and it is complete madness.

...may be its because of the misconceptions parents have about the scores and assume high entry scores means these are the only schools which have the very brightest children.

I agree some parents genuinely think this. I did read though that the year my DD scraped into SCGSG with 213 the highest score to gain entry that year was 264. So some parents do go for the best school for them and not the one with the highest cut off.

[JaneEyre]

Maybe its because I am an outsider I have never understood it or may be its because of the misconceptions parents have about the scores and assume high entry scores means these are the only schools which have the very brightest children.

I can understand why some people choose to do that (though I would prefer them to relocate to make their children’s life easier).
It is not just because they noticed that the CH schools have the highest cut off score to get in, but because they have understood that with such a bright cohort of pupils, the schools have a curriculum which pushes the pupils further academically than some other GS, while offering them plenty of opportunities to develop their skills in art, music and sport.
But I have been repeating myself for so long that I am weary of repeating each year the same explanations. So this is my final explanation this year on the topic ‘Why do people do that to their children?’

[quasimodo]

Maybe its because I am an outsider I have never understood it or may be its because of the misconceptions parents have about the scores and assume high entry scores means these are the only schools which have the very brightest children.

I can understand why some people choose to do that (though I would prefer them to relocate to make their children’s life easier).
It is not just because they noticed that the CH schools have the highest cut off score to get in, but because they have understood that with such a bright cohort of pupils, the schools have a curriculum which pushes the pupils further academically than some other GS, while offering them plenty of opportunities to develop their skills in art, music and sport.
But I have been repeating myself for so long that I am weary of repeating each year the same explanations. So this is my final explanation this year on the topic ‘Why do people do that to their children?’

Sorry JE I was not having a go at you.I had forgotten you travelled fro Sutton Coldfield to KE Camp Hill until you relocated.Most parents don't want to or are unable to locate.

I was thinking of a friends child who went against his parents advice who had asked me for mine.He travels for between 3 to 4 hours a day.He is not sporting and therefore doesn't get involved in the extra curricular activities.The commute to Birmingham from Walsall has been particularly bad and this will continue until Xmas until the next set of roadworks.

My recent trips to London have led me to appreciate how much traffic congestion increases as the years progress.

[Eileen16]

Thank you all for your response, we attend the qm open afternoon yesterday, had another look around the school. Qm boys will probably be the best school for my son, we would be able to do the drop off and pick up.
Thanks to this forum, I've picked up so much advice, i recommended it to everyone.
Thank you to all the mums that post on this forum..x

[kenyancowgirl]

Some of the mum's are actually dads too...!!!

[Eileen16]

Really sorry, and definitely not forgetting the dads

[JaneEyre]

I was thinking of a friends child who went against his parents advice who had asked me for mine.He travels for between 3 to 4 hours a day. He is not sporting and therefore doesn't get involved in the extra curricular activities.The commute to Birmingham from Walsall has been particularly bad and this will continue until Xmas until the next set of roadworks.
My recent trips to London have led me to appreciate how much traffic congestion increases as the years progress.

I really see your point, Quasi. However, having been a Suttonian, I have heard of several pupils doing the daily commute from Sutton Coldfield to CHB. I have no idea if it was their choice or their parents's one but, for sure, when I talked to a school prefect a few years ago during the New year 7 Induction Evening for parents , he explained to me that he had changed from a school in Sutton to CHB for the sixth form and he was absolutely over the moon. He wouldn’t have spoken to me with such warmth if it were not true. And he explained to me the route : train + bus Bournville- CHB.

In my DS’s former form, there is a boy who has been doing the daily commute Burton-on-Trent – CHB for more than 4 years now. Some children who have very high aspirations prefer to get into the best schools. This is their right if they obtained the right score at the 11+ after all!

I do not agree when people just say ‘oh, no! don’t do that, it is madness!’. I understand that we can warn parents, but at the end of the day, if they think that such school is the best fit for their child or if their child really wants to go there, this is their choice and it is not up to us to comment.

In fact, a classmate of one of my friend’s son at CHB used to do the daily trip London- CHB ( no idea which part of London!). Even to me, that seems quite extraordinary! Frankly, I admire such resilience and I have even no idea how this is possible! I suppose that he was doing his HW on the train table as Virgin trains are much better equipped than the train on the Londonmidland network.

[kenyancowgirl]

"...I do not agree when people just say ‘oh, no! don’t do that, it is madness!’. I understand that we can warn parents, but at the end of the day, if they think that such school is the best fit for their child or if their child really wants to go there, this is their choice and it is not up to us to comment..."

People who come on an open public forum, invite comment to the things they say or the questions they ask. Forums do not exist solely to massage the egos of those who ask questions. Forums such as this invite open, public, passionate - often heated discussions, in fact they thrive and grow on it. It is up to forumites to question and comment otherwise the entire purpose of the forum is nullified.

[quasimodo]

I was thinking of a friends child who went against his parents advice who had asked me for mine.He travels for between 3 to 4 hours a day. He is not sporting and therefore doesn't get involved in the extra curricular activities.The commute to Birmingham from Walsall has been particularly bad and this will continue until Xmas until the next set of roadworks.
My recent trips to London have led me to appreciate how much traffic congestion increases as the years progress.

I really see your point, Quasi. However, having been a Suttonian, I have heard of several pupils doing the daily commute from Sutton Coldfield to CHB. I have no idea if it was their choice or their parents's one but, for sure, when I talked to a school prefect a few years ago during the New year 7 Induction Evening for parents , he explained to me that he had changed from a school in Sutton to CHB for the sixth form and he was absolutely over the moon. He wouldn’t have spoken to me with such warmth if it were not true. And he explained to me the route : train + bus Bournville- CHB.

In my DS’s former form, there is a boy who has been doing the daily commute Stoke on Trent– CHB for more than 4 years now. Some children who have very high aspirations prefer to get into the best schools. This is their right if they obtained the right score at the 11+ after all!

I do not agree when people just say ‘oh, no! don’t do that, it is madness!’. I understand that we can warn parents, but at the end of the day, if they think that such school is the best fit for their child or if their child really wants to go there, this is their choice and it is not up to us to comment.

In fact, a classmate of one of my friend’s son at CHB used to do the daily trip London- CHB ( no idea which part of London!). Even to me, that seems quite extraordinary! Frankly, I admire such resilience and I have even no idea how this is possible! I suppose that he was doing his HW on the train table as Virgin trains are much better equipped than the train on the Londonmidland network.

Thank you JE for your kind words and thoughts in your post last night.

I was looking at the entry marks for CHB and BV for 2016 they were 236 and 217 respectively.This means CHB was taking boys in the top 12% and BV in the top 32% from their performance in the 11 plus exam. CHB had about 90% performance at A*A and BV at about 67% and the latter was educating more boys.

Any boy in the top 12% will do well in many schools even if they don't go to a Grammar.When you look at the facts in this way CHB is not performing better.For a boy in Sutton Coldfield to lose 3 hours plus in travel 5 days a week for 5 years in the formative years of his life is madness even if the parents cannot recognize the symptoms.

I have a friend who has a IT contract with a major bank and has to travel from Walsall to London by train 4 or 5 days a week.He travels with Virgin from Birmingham International to Euston. For him it is positively dangerous he is half asleep at times and in the evenings he tells his wife to phone him a few minutes before his stop so he isn't on the train sleeping after the stop.He has no choice he has to travel home because of health difficulties with his children.Most parents do have a choice.

Parents of course have the right to make these decisions for aspirational and well intentioned reasons.But it is fair and reasonable to be able to comment.In the same way others can comment on a decision agreed by everyone in my family for my youngest to commute from Walsall and go to WGHS and not the local QMHS.

[JaneEyre]

I was looking at the entry marks for CHB and BV for 2016 they were 236 and 217 respectively.This means CHB was taking boys in the top 12% and BV in the top 32% from their performance in the 11 plus exam. CHB had about 90% performance at A*A and BV at about 67% and the latter was educating more boys.

Any boy in the top 12% will do well in many schools even if they don't go to a Grammar.When you look at the facts in this way CHB is not performing better.

I am afraid I do not agree with you. As the intake is not the same, the curriculum does not push academically forward in the same way in both schools. For example, I remember the BV website giving some explanation 2-3 years ago about the profile of the boys they have at BV in maths ( though of course, they are also excellent mathematicians whose parents considered that it is not worth do to a daily trip to Kings Heath if they have a local GS). As a consequence of the general profule of the pupils, the boys were entered for the junior Maths challenge (UKMT) in year 8 and not in year 7 like CHB do with its pupils.

Some people high up in the field of education know about these kind of differences.(I am trying to find back a communication given by Mr Garrod to parents about the added value to the boys at CHB, but unfortunately, I do not know what I have done with this document. angry with myself)
I had once a conversation with Tony Gardiner, who was precisely responsible for the foundation of the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust in 1996 (my conversation with him took place in June/July 2015). I could see clearly that he knows very well the differences between the GS in Birmingham … because there ARE differences. However, I do agree that all people having the chance to get a place at a GS in Birmingham and around ( whether Wrekin, Stratford, Walsall…) should be absolutely over the moon and feel blessed to get a place in such wonderful schools! If I am a ‘pro- GS’, there is some well-founded reasons behind that!


However, I need to mention that despite having very high academic aspirations, CHB is very far from being an exam factory, as really the boys have wonderful opportunities given to them to excel in drama, sport and music. But it doesn't matter if they are not good at none these three . My son is not a fine sportman, he just enjoys sports ; he is not a musician ( which is sad in my opinion but here we go, parents cannot always afford all what they wish for their children). I don’t think he is specially good at drama, and he never took part in the wonderful drama productions put up by a very experienced and wonderful member of staff at the school ( the latter has just retired last July but he will go on teaching and guiding the boys in their drama productiona). In a nutshell, the fact that a child is not good at sport, nor good at music nor good at drama is not a hindrance at all.

By the way, I really try my best to weigh my words carefully while trying to pass on some information as you can all read in this post (Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2016 12:22 am) :

If I frame a similar question but with CHB vs BV for someone living in Sutton?
Views please...

Some people from Sutton do the daily commute because they consider that their children will be more pushed academically at CHB (which is true). Some other people prefer their children not to lose lots of time in the transport; in that case:
they chose BV and are happy with it as it is a GS
or they move the Kings Heath (like our family did).