Clubs at JHGS & Voluntary Contribution

[anotherdad]

£50 a month? Wow. I can't disagree with anything you've said, CSB, but I am concerned with where this is heading. Grammar schools already select largely by wealth and I can't help feeling that they are not doing enough (certainly not in Bucks) to address that and simultaneously exploiting the situation they perpetuate to raise funds. Would a Bucks upper school dare to send out a DD form for £50 a month to new parents? I hope I am wrong and that the upper schools are doing similar things.

Of course the answer to all of this is to have a sensible government which genuinely values education as an investment for the long term good of society, but given that that looks to be a long way off at the moment, this creeping parental subsidy will only widen the social divide between grammars and uppers in Bucks.

[kenyancowgirl]

These are voluntary contributions and certainly in our school the forms/talks from teh head make it clear they are that. There is an interesting website - I can't recall the exact link but its something like School Cuts (I'm sure someone on here will know it!) You can put in any school in the country and it tells you the financial cut it will be facing...it is frightening. Of course the school should not have to come cap in hand to the parents - and yes every organisation needs to make sensible cuts to avoid wastage - but I can't see any other way to avoid a shortfall and maintain (let's be clear, this is about maintaining what they already offer, not extending provision at all) current experiences if the government refuses to fund education properly.

[sparklies]

I heard about this kind of thing recently and I was genuinely shocked. Being new to secondary education (well, I'm a quarter of a century out of date at least!) I was not expecting this. I'd heard mention at our primary school (in a reasonably well-off area) of asking employers to do things like Give as you Earn to get funds, but most things are funded through the PTA via the endless school fairs and so on.

I was shocked not because they are asking, because obviously they are left with no choice, but because it has come to this with state education. And I guess it explains why Grammars seem to have the "nicer" stuff in general too over other schools - I naively hadn't questioned it until then. It now makes perfect sense. And it is so sad that education funding has got to this point.

That said, I don't mind paying a regular amount to avoid accidentally breaking the school candyfloss machine again (or the guilt of being too exhausted to volunteer - full-time work plus four children with SEN) but I bet now you are going to tell me that they still have a million school fairs with highly fragile candyfloss machines on top of the contribution.. argh!

However, whilst we are lucky enough to be able to afford to pay, if we couldn't I would feel horribly guilty. And that's not a nice way to feel.

[Reading Mum]

I was shocked not because they are asking, because obviously they are left with no choice, but because it has come to this with state education. And I guess it explains why Grammars seem to have the "nicer" stuff in general too over other schools - I naively hadn't questioned it until then. It now makes perfect sense. And it is so sad that education funding has got to this point.

Not my personal experience. DD's GS is gently crumbling wherever you look. At senior school there seems to be much less parental involvement so most parents associations really struggle to raise funds. Less events are held because people just don't turn up.

[sparklies]

Not my personal experience. DD's GS is gently crumbling wherever you look. At senior school there seems to be much less parental involvement so most parents associations really struggle to raise funds. Less events are held because people just don't turn up.

Do they ask for (and get) funds in the form of cash at all? It makes sense there would be fewer fundraisers. I guess a lot of the parental detachment at secondary is down to having much larger year groups so nobody really tries to get to know others, parents are now potentially able to return to work full time if childcare was previously an issue, no hanging around at the school gates for collection (a big part, surely) and in most cases, further to travel for events.

[Reading Mum]

yes they ask - often. They certainly do get contributions to the school fund from a fair proportion of the parents.
I agree that all those reasons for detachment are relevant.

[BlueBerry]

CSB, £50?! i think we got off lightly with our £30 monthly contribution! I also agree with what you all said about the need for these contributions so I feel really good and virtuous that I have sent the DD forms back already

I'm usually active on our PTA, so I will be looking to join JHGS one too.

[anotherdad]

Not my personal experience. DD's GS is gently crumbling wherever you look. At senior school there seems to be much less parental involvement so most parents associations really struggle to raise funds. Less events are held because people just don't turn up.

I agree with this. The two grammar schools with which I am familiar have done a good job with cosmetic improvements but look behind the shiny new signage and general polish and there's a lot of old estate there that is expensive to maintain. Simple things like window replacement can end up costing a lot because they often involve asbestos assessment given the age of the buildings concerned. Running IT infrastructure around a 1960s school is time-consuming and expensive, too. Making old facilities meet Equality Act and H&S requirements is an expensive business.

I also agree about the lack of parental involvement. AHS warned a few years ago that its PTA might have to close because of a lack of members and volunteers for events. This is a direct consequence of the greater allocation distances that were in place a few years ago. Things are tightening a bit but there are still a lot of parents who struggle (or are unwilling) to travel to Aylesbury in the evenings for events and meetings. One of my criticisms of the grammar schools' selection processes was that they end up serving more and more children from far-flung places. They then have to deal with the consequences on school punctuality and attendance in bad weather, children not being able to fully participate in clubs, sports, etc and a lack of parental engagement. Some of these problems are of their own making.

[BlueBerry]

I also agree about the lack of parental involvement. AHS warned a few years ago that its PTA might have to close because of a lack of members and volunteers for events. This is a direct consequence of the greater allocation distances that were in place a few years ago. Things are tightening a bit but there are still a lot of parents who struggle (or are unwilling) to travel to Aylesbury in the evenings for events and meetings. One of my criticisms of the grammar schools' selection processes was that they end up serving more and more children from far-flung places. They then have to deal with the consequences on school punctuality and attendance in bad weather, children not being able to fully participate in clubs, sports, etc and a lack of parental engagement. Some of these problems are of their own making.

That's really sad to read. one of the overriding criteria for us was that DS must be able to participate fully in the after school clubs and activities.

[anotherdad]

That's really sad to read. one of the overriding criteria for us was that DS must be able to participate fully in the after school clubs and activities.

You see quite a bit of it on here. Parents asking about travel routes, car shares, private buses, etc. after they've got a place. A lot of regular posters then point out that most of the solutions to those lengthy or tricky journeys aren't flexible enough to cope with things outside the normal school day.

"I am appealing for a place at GS for my DD because she's really into science, reads Brian Cox books and the school does lots of science activities."

"Great, we'll give you a place*. Science Club runs until 5pm on Mondays and Thursdays."

"She can't attend that, the last bus back to Luton leaves at 4pm."

*Oversubscription appeals don't quite run like this.