Out of catchment Transfer Test sitters

[BlueBerry]

It's about personal priorities and cultural norms to an extent though, isn't it?

Some of the kids at school have told her their parents are "going to move if they get a great score" so there are clearly parents willing to spend thousands and uproot the whole family for a grammar place.

Yes, a friend of ours is selling up their house and relocating to Barnet as their son got accepted at QE.

We are relocating too but there are myriads of reasons for this, not just the grammar schooling issues.

[Eccentric]

Any parents who live a distance away a from a school should be prepared for collecting their children at least some days a week. As others have said there are certain times of the year when my DC is involved in productions this can involve Saturday's Sunday's and after school. She also does sports clubs after school. Luckily most of her friends live locally but one lives over an hour away so can't come to birthday parties, meet ups etc. This is very sad.

[southbucks3]

I am always perplexed as to why parents think it perfectly acceptable for their children to travel two hours or more each day by bus, but then say it's too far to travel to take those same children to visit friends or attend sports/drama/music fixtures after school or weekends, or if they do deign to transport the child have the cheek of moaning about the journey.
The list of after school activities at John hampden is vast, ranging from squad sports to judo to climbing, all far better for any child both mentally and physically that sitting on either bus seat or sofa. As for RGS it's biggest sports all insist upon weekend involvement and drama and music are after also school, including some gcse booster sessions. Oh yes and many schools, both uppers and grammars offer excellent gcse booster tuition during hallf terms and holidays when contract buses do not run, and the tutoring is not all day so the children will need lifts during work hours, then of course attending the actual gcse exams....few children want to stay at school between exams if they do not need to.

Lots to consider!

[K76]

I know some parents who are putting their child in for entrance exams all over the place - just to see how they would do. They have no intention of sending them to a far away grammar school. They just want to see how their child would do in the test and whether they would pass or not.

I am not sure how this helps at all but it was what I was told.

[scary mum]

Sadly, I'm sure you are right. Poor children

[BlueBerry]

K76, for what purpose though?

[kenyancowgirl]

One of two things:

They use a scatter gun approach because they are actually not confident their child will get offered a place anywhere so apply for as many places as possible in the hope of getting at least one offer...and then face packing up the entire family and moving to the other end of the country, heaping pressure on the poor kid who has gained the place at the school.

Or, they are confident their child will get offers and simply want the bragging rights of "oh well, my precious Petunia was offered a place at x school, but then also at y school but we chose z school as it is by far the best..."

Just awful...

Very occasionally it is genuinely a potential work move, where they do not actually know whether they will be in place a or b so have to apply to both.

[BlueBerry]

Oh dear

We are potentially moving home but my son will only be sitting one exam.

[Aethel]

If we're just talking state grammar, I think two exams is reasonable: most people don't live on top of a grammar school (unless seriously playing the cachement game), they are more likely to live in between two which may well be in historically different counties eg Berks/bucks, or different bits of Essex/London.

Independants seem to be more varied just because each school has their own test, there are no "consortia" or county exams.

We entered for Slough: that's four schools with one test.
Those folks in main Bucks have one test but several schools depending on their location.

Some parents anecdotally have "test-itis"
But honestly, I don't think there are figures for those who take more than three tests, how would you know other than by asking the parents?

[ToadMum]

If we're just talking state grammar, I think two exams is reasonable: most people don't live on top of a grammar school (unless seriously playing the cachement game), they are more likely to live in between two which may well be in historically different counties eg Berks/bucks, or different bits of Essex/London.

Independants seem to be more varied just because each school has their own test, there are no "consortia" or county exams.

We entered for Slough: that's four schools with one test.
Those folks in main Bucks have one test but several schools depending on their location.

Some parents anecdotally have "test-itis"
But honestly, I don't think there are figures for those who take more than three tests, how would you know other than by asking the parents?

Don't some of the North London independent schools still hang together in a consortium or two?

In answer to your last question, some of them post about it on the forum - and then ask other members to list which schools their child is actually eligible to apply to