11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi,
Looking at dd doing the next sitting of 11plus for 2014 entry

My preference for the schools is currently CCHS and then WHSG, we are in catchment for CCHS but not WHSG.
Loved them both on the school open evenings but preferred CCHS due to distance and just gut feel and also liked its size.

On speaking with my dd's tutor who does have a lot of contact with WHSG leadership staff, he was telling me that there is bullying at CCHS and that he had never heard of any problems at WHSG.

My dd has had a lot of trouble with bullying at her current primary and I am loathed to send her to another environment with bullying issues if that is the case. Has anyone ever had bullying issues with their dd at CCHS and were they resolved, was everything sorted out and are they happy there?

Can someone please calm my fears. I would hate her to do all this work and then have a miserable time. I appreciate all schools have problems with bullying, I am not naive but ...... well I do worry
PMs would be fine if you don't wish to post fully on the forum. Thank you.

It would be a lie to say that there is no bullying in any school. Children can be very unkind. What is important is how it is dealt with.

There are groups of girls at CCHS who are the 'cool' group, groups who are a bit nerdy, girls who are popular, etc. The girls find their own group and on the whole this seems to be fine.

We haven't had an issue with bullying, but there have been times when DD has been less happy at school than normal. The pastoral team have always looked after her well.

WHSG seems to be quite similar from what I've heard. Certainly my friends girls have been unhappy at times, but the school has picked this up and dealt with it.

moved wrote:It would be a lie to say that there is no bullying in any school. Children can be very unkind. What is important is how it is dealt with.

Thanks Moved - I agree with your comments. Glad to hear that the Pastoral support seems effective at CCHS. The trouble I have with her current primary (and she is not alone in this) is that the bullies are not being dealt with and the issues continue. It seems to be the case of the Head not being brave enough to be firm!

I found two Ofsted reports for CCHS, one in 2003 and one in 2007 and they both say that the students report virtually no bullying and where there is bullying, it is dealt with very quickly.

I have heard rumours of bullying occurring at CCHS but only from parents who do not have children at CCHS! As Moved said, bullying happens everywhere - what counts is how the school deal with it.

My dd also has issues with bullying at her current primary school where it is also not being dealt with very effectively so I too am quite keen to find out how CCHS and WHSG deal with bullying issues. I have heard that WHSG have an excellent pastoral care system.

I would be very interested in hearing other people's views on this.

Or comments on any of the other CSSE schools? I would be interested in CRGS reputation on this issue...

To be honest, I have heard from a friend whose DD attends CCHS of bullying in her first year (she is now in year 9) and it went to the extent of the other girl doing it via the internet as well. My friend is vocal and not afraid to speak her mind, so she dealt with it by approaching the school authority with the evidence from the web and I think the girl was expelled from the school.
Her DD is happy now and continue to strive brilliantly in CCHS.
WHSG I believe pastoral care is good my DD is just 8 weeks there no issue and she has not reported any in her year as we talk about it as at when necessary.
For all I know if it happens, report it and ask for feedback on how it was dealt with.

Cyber bullying has been an issue in a number of schools over the last few years. All of the cases I have heard of in both Southend and Chelmsford schools have been dealt with swiftly and have resulted severe measures being taken including temporary inclusion during the first term for one child.

I have no knowledge of Colchester beyond this forum I am afraid.

toolate wrote:Or comments on any of the other CSSE schools? I would be interested in CRGS reputation on this issue...

My DS suffered a degree of bullying that was dealt with very effectively and did not reoccur. The school have a zero tolerance and the staff could not have been more helpful. Parents were phoned, the boys were spoken to and the problem disappeared.

I feel very assured that any future problems (hope that there is none!) would be effectively managed.

The e-mail communication with any teacher, regarding any problems, are always answered promptly. Very impressed and happy with the school.

Bullying at CRGS concerns me over the way the administer Free School Meals, as it is obvious to pupils which ones are on FSm's, as the apparently use a raffle ticket system, rather than a cashless system for everyone.

My DD has had issues with this in her bog standard Comp, and I feel that this could be an issue.

I spoke to the Deputy Head at the second open day, and he told me that the boys don't notice and are oblivious to it, as they keep their heads down and are not observant enough to notice this. And he told me that he is not aware of any bullying that has occurred over this issue. I doubt that, given my DD's experiences in a school that has a far higher percentage of pupils on FSM's.

However, he did tell me that they would not countenance bullying, and it would be dealt with appropriately if it did happen, for any reason.

CardyMow wrote:Bullying at CRGS concerns me over the way the administer Free School Meals, as it is obvious to pupils which ones are on FSm's, as the apparently use a raffle ticket system, rather than a cashless system for everyone.

My DD has had issues with this in her bog standard Comp, and I feel that this could be an issue.

I spoke to the Deputy Head at the second open day, and he told me that the boys don't notice and are oblivious to it, as they keep their heads down and are not observant enough to notice this. And he told me that he is not aware of any bullying that has occurred over this issue. I doubt that, given my DD's experiences in a school that has a far higher percentage of pupils on FSM's.

However, he did tell me that they would not countenance bullying, and it would be dealt with appropriately if it did happen, for any reason.

I went to an all-girls grammar school in the 70's and 80's - in an area of England with the same kind of demographics as Colchester. I was there during the high unemployment years of Maggie Thatcher & Co, when it wasn't at all uncommon to have children on free school meals. We certainly had girls on free school meals in my class and in my year. No-one batted an eyelid or made anyone's life a misery because of this. No-one seemed to care a bit. Similarly, no-one seemed to be bothered that some of us had hand-knitted cardigans and Jumpers, rather than those purchased from the specialist school uniform outfitters at 3 times the cost, either...

Times change some suggest that children are more materialistic now. I can't say what happens these days and I certainly have no experience of local grammar schools. What I can say, is that I would be pretty confident that they'd tackle any issues that arose as a result of this kind of thing. At the end of the day, in the current economic climate and with employment instability, any one of us could find ourselves in the position of having to fall back on free school meals. The number of children having free school meals will have risen over the last 3 years and one might reasonably suggest it will continue to rise. I think that we might be surprised at the figures and it has to be said those parents with children at GS won't have been immune from the effects of this "recession", or left untouched in some way. There but for the grace of God, and all that.....

Be aware...but don't plan your worries, as it zaps your valuable energy