11 Plus Exams Forum

I was looking for some info on the 2012 11+ date and found this:

http://www.kegs.org.uk/assets/files/adm ... %20_4_.pdf

It would seem that they want to take 90 pupils from a 12.5 mile radius of the war memorial in Chelmsford to reduce travel times.

Will the other Essex Grammars go the same way?

Still don't know the 2012 11+ date - looks like September though!

11 places to be awarded to the musically gifted too. Grade 5 distinction or above.

They have not made a decision yet. But if they do it will reduce the travelling time for Chelmsfordians and the 12.5 mile radius DSs as well, because at the moment many travel to Southend and Westcliffe from these places.

A very interesting read, thanks for sharing. I can see pros and cons of the proposal & will be watching closely to see whether it gets through & if other schools follow suit.

The test date is usually around the 3rd Saturday in November. They might be moving it forward if you say it's September, but that would mean forms having to be in before / during school Summer hols, which I would have thought would be an admin nightmare ?

Kent changed the date two years ago and I believe that children had to be registered for the test by the end of June.

I hope the Colchester schools don't follow suit. We are within the proposed priority area for KEGS but would be just outside if the Colchester schools opted for the same distance criteria. With a son already at CRGS, Colchester would be our first choice for DD.

I'm not sure if the Colchester schools have the same problem of a high proportion of DC having a lengthy commute, or indeed, if they see it as being a problem. Does anyone know?

First-timer wrote:I'm not sure if the Colchester schools have the same problem of a high proportion of DC having a lengthy commute, or indeed, if they see it as being a problem. Does anyone know?

I think one of the reasons that KEGS are making these proposals is because they have many students who commute from the London boroughs which make their day potentially very long (they may also have a tube journey on top). Rail links are very good between Liverpool Street and Chelmsford which must be an attraction for commuting students.

I don't think that the Colchester schools have many students who commute from such a distance. For a start the rail links are not so good. Whilst there is the main line train station in Colchester, it is not within reasonable walking distance of the two grammars. I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anybody on a daily basis.

My son is at CRGS and he said he doesn't know of any boys that travel from as far away as London. This is obviously only a tiny snapshot based on his year group.

There are many buses that travel to and from Lexden Road travelling to lots of different towns/villages. This probably averages out anywhere between half to one hour of travelling each way every day. I think most schools would think this fairly reasonable.

It's quite possible that most students already live within a 12.5 mile radius of the school anyway so I don't envisage that anything will change.

The Colchester grammars may think differently at some point if they start taking more students who would otherwise have got a place at Chelmsford but who missed out because of distance.

This may also have repercussions for future children who live within the Colchester area who may not get a place at their chosen grammar school because more children are applying from further away.

Only time will tell if this move is just shifting the problem from one school to another.

Your son is obviously more switched on than mine - he doesn't have a clue where most of his classmates live or even if they have brothers or sisters. Sometimes I wonder what they talk about!

DS's commute is easily manageable although we live further than 20km from the school. It would take longer for him to get to KEGS, even though it's closer than CRGS (once you factor in public transport times, traffic and the walk between home, station and school).

I think you may be right about the school trying to shake off some of the London applicants. I have mixed feelings about this. I can see why the school wants its intake to be based in the local community for clubs and events but at the same time I think it's up to parents to decide what sort of journey their DC are capable of. The fact is that if the school is too far away, they simply won't get there in time each day.

Opinions will be split according to personal circumstances. If I thought that ColCHS was going to bring in a priority area that neatly included our home, I'd be absolutely delighted!

moved wrote:Kent changed the date two years ago and I believe that children had to be registered for the test by the end of June.

Yes, had forgotten about that. I guess if the scores are published before your final application, as per Kent, that would be good. Would end this horrible long wait until March and let us manage our DC's expectations better. I would hope that they wouldn't keep us waiting from Sep to March - it's cruel enough as it is !!

My DD travels to CCHS from redbridge, by means of a contract bus. This service has 2 pick-ups and gets to chelmsford within the hour. Its a safe and secure way of travelling and I feel very comfortable about it. She has not been late in school throughout the term and only once had a horendous journey home.

I have driven from Basildon to pick her up on a couple of occasions and has taken me approx 35 mins without stopping at bus stops. So a schoolbus or public bus stopping at many bus stops would take the best part of an hour.

My colleagues son travels 13 miles by public transport, to KEGS, which tends top stop more regularly and takes 1 hour to school.

Another colleague's son goes from chelmsford to WHBS and he takes well over an hour.

Another colleagues daughter travels from Wickford to SHGS , train + bus + walk equates to approx an hour.

Going by my limited experience there are lots of kids travelling making it a long day. But they are tougher than we give them credit for, they adapt and get on with it.

This proposal has incensed me as that would limit my sons options. If it were to come in place then KEGS will no longer be the super selective that it is.