11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi, just wondering if anyone from Solihull is considering BV.
Thanks

Hi,

yes we will be for sure. From what I was told at the opening morning that when places are offered 1st March and then via the waiting list. In May when they hold an welcome day, they will cluster children from respective areas. What we will be looking for as well is any groupings for anyone that would be interested in doing private taxi/transport from Solihull.

Thanks

Checklist when considering a car share:

• How much do you really know about this parent from a child safeguarding point of view? (Remember, anyone working with children, e.g. bus drivers for the school service, must have a current DBS form.)
• How much do you really know about their driving skills? Have you seen their insurance and car roadworthy details? (Remember that public transport and dedicated school services are required to have these, to a high level.)
• How would you cope if your child fell out with the other children in the car pool, or wanted to do different after school activities, or didn't want to stay after school when the other children were staying late?
• How would you cope if one of the other car pool parents had their car break down, or off the road for some other reason, at short notice?
• What if it's your turn to drive, and you or your child is sick?
• What if the other family turns out to be unreliable, or the driver/their child is regularly late, or ill?
• What if the other child moves to a different school?
• What if one child needs to stay after school for an activity or event?
• What if the driver smokes when driving?
• What if the driver's conversation turns out to be objectionable or age inappropriate?

Great. That is an option for us. BV is our first choice.

bigupash wrote:Hi,

yes we will be for sure. From what I was told at the opening morning that when places are offered 1st March and then via the waiting list. In May when they hold an welcome day, they will cluster children from respective areas. What we will be looking for as well is any groupings for anyone that would be interested in doing private taxi/transport from Solihull.

Thanks

kenyancowgirl wrote:Checklist when considering a car share:

• How much do you really know about this parent from a child safeguarding point of view? (Remember, anyone working with children, e.g. bus drivers for the school service, must have a current DBS form.)
• How much do you really know about their driving skills? Have you seen their insurance and car roadworthy details? (Remember that public transport and dedicated school services are required to have these, to a high level.)
• How would you cope if your child fell out with the other children in the car pool, or wanted to do different after school activities, or didn't want to stay after school when the other children were staying late?
• How would you cope if one of the other car pool parents had their car break down, or off the road for some other reason, at short notice?
• What if it's your turn to drive, and you or your child is sick?
• What if the other family turns out to be unreliable, or the driver/their child is regularly late, or ill?
• What if the other child moves to a different school?
• What if one child needs to stay after school for an activity or event?
• What if the driver smokes when driving?
• What if the driver's conversation turns out to be objectionable or age inappropriate?

Some good things to think about here!

Hi,

thanks good points for consideration. I was thinking of contracting a private hire bus/taxi company as that would be a more reliable option dependant on numbers....

Thanks

Be even more cautious about private hire companies - there has been several instances of them recently where they have been found to have incredibly unsafe vehicles and no insurnace, meaning that they have been taken off the road (by the law) with absolutely no warning, meaning parents have been left in the lurch and financially out of pocket. If there is no public or school transport in place, you need to ask yourself why? It could be that the distances are deemed to be too far for the child to meaningfully engage in the whole school activities.

There is a small group of current year 7s taking the train to BV from solihull. Their mums grouped together to organise and I believe they were escorted for the first few weeks until they were confident. I'm not sure if it was the boys or the mums that needed to be confident lol.

There are lots of BV kids joining at New Street.

As a current year 7 parent I now consider the train as a normal part of my son's school life. As a year 6 parent I was beside myself with worry about catching the train!

Isn't it funny how your perception changes as you get used to things?

Hope this helps your transport thoughts!

Mids wrote:There is a small group of current year 7s taking the train to BV from solihull. Their mums grouped together to organise and I believe they were escorted for the first few weeks until they were confident. I'm not sure if it was the boys or the mums that needed to be confident lol.

There are lots of BV kids joining at New Street.

As a current year 7 parent I now consider the train as a normal part of my son's school life. As a year 6 parent I was beside myself with worry about catching the train!

Isn't it funny how your perception changes as you get used to things?

Hope this helps your transport thoughts!

Thanks Mids

I think I am the one who needs more confidence! I think my son would feel comfortable if he had another child/a small group.
Its a big step and its quite common for kids to travel by train but i think i wouod probably drop him or even go on the train with him until hes a bit settled.

Yes thanks Mids.

I did speak to someone in school admissions and she said that you can request a buddy pairing, for someone that they know that already travels from Solihull. I was going to request this once we knew if he had been successful, or possibly after March.

Over the half term we are going to do a dummy run of the journey, so my Son gets a feel for what his day will be like albeit without the usual traffic as its half term.

Sandkb wrote:

Mids wrote:There is a small group of current year 7s taking the train to BV from solihull. Their mums grouped together to organise and I believe they were escorted for the first few weeks until they were confident. I'm not sure if it was the boys or the mums that needed to be confident lol.

There are lots of BV kids joining at New Street.

As a current year 7 parent I now consider the train as a normal part of my son's school life. As a year 6 parent I was beside myself with worry about catching the train!

Isn't it funny how your perception changes as you get used to things?

Hope this helps your transport thoughts!

Thanks Mids

I think I am the one who needs more confidence! I think my son would feel comfortable if he had another child/a small group.
Its a big step and its quite common for kids to travel by train but i think i wouod probably drop him or even go on the train with him until hes a bit settled.