In Shock!!!!

[ToadMum]

I looked on the website and at present they have 5 form groups of 30

Where does it say that? As far as I am aware, they have had 3 'EA' - Tuscany and Athens houses - and 3 'ST' - Sparta and Troy houses - classes in each year at least since the PAN went up to 150 a few years ago. The recent info packs for applicants for teaching posts also say 'The main school’s admission number each year is 150, split into six forms of 25'.

Anyway, at least now they will have an equal number of 'E's, 'A's, 'S's and 'T's in each class . DS1 having been in the 'ST2' class, we're hoping for Troy house for DS2 as well, as it will save having to buy new ties and sports kit!

Incidentally, neither SHSB nor WHSG seem to have given current parents any inkling that the extra places were going to be offered; when I told a friend with boys at SHSB, she assumed that I meant the expansion planned for year 12.

[pinkrabbit38]

I looked on the website and at present they have 5 form groups of 30

Where does it say that? As far as I am aware, they have had 3 'EA' - Tuscany and Athens houses - and 3 'ST' - Sparta and Troy houses - classes in each year at least since the PAN went up to 150 a few years ago. The recent info packs for applicants for teaching posts also say 'The main school’s admission number each year is 150, split into six forms of 25'.

Anyway, at least now they will have an equal number of 'E's, 'A's, 'S's and 'T's in each class . DS1 having been in the 'ST2' class, we're hoping for Troy house for DS2 as well, as it will save having to buy new ties and sports kit!

Incidentally, neither SHSB nor WHSG seem to have given current parents any inkling that the extra places were going to be offered; when I told a friend with boys at SHSB, she assumed that I meant the expansion planned for year 12.

I don't know Toadmum, I thought I read it but now can't find it, must have been having a senior moment.

Is your son in catchment or out?

[ToadMum]

We're IC, about 2 miles away - must get DS2's hiking boots ready for the winter - I'm sure the snow won't avoid us for two years in a row

WHSB is 4 classes of 31 and one of 30, perhaps that was it?

Did the school include an invitation to take part in t he 'Olympiad' at the Fete on Saturday?

[Manana]

Wow! my DS is in Y7 at SHSB and I didn't know anything about this!

I presume it hasn't affected the pass mark of 303? I wonder if it's all out of catchment boys as didn't all the 'in catchments' get offered one or the other?

At present there are 3 forms of 25 in EA and 3 forms of 2 in ST. I wonder whether it will be like this every year?

Is it the same for WHSG then?

[Manana]

I've just asked Y7 DS and he knew about this but had forgotten to tell me. They apparently told the new parents/children at the Open Day last Thursday. They have taken on an extra 5 boys into each form, so there will still be 6 forms, but they'll have 30 in each.

[ToadMum]

I've just asked Y7 DS and he knew about this but had forgotten to tell me. They apparently told the new parents/children at the Open Day last Thursday. They have taken on an extra 5 boys into each form, so there will still be 6 forms, but they'll have 30 in each.

Funny what people remember - or rather don't... Earlier I bumped into a friend and her DD who is at WHSG and neither of them knew anything about either school, even though they had also been at the SHSB open evening on Thursday

So is PAN going to be 180 from now on, then? If so, and no offence to you OOC folk, but it would be nice if the number of reserved IC places is increased a bit, if not proportionately, especially since Dr Bevan seems to be really getting involved with trying to encourage parents who wouldn't usually think about GS for their DC to consider it and SHSB is often the more popular school with IC boys and their parents.

DS2 is really looking forward to Friday and to getting started in September - he has stopped saying 'No!' and instead says 'Yes!' when I say, 'Our baby's going to Big School'

[Manana]

If so, and no offence to you OOC folk, but it would be nice if the number of reserved IC places is increased a bit, if not proportionately, especially since Dr Bevan seems to be really getting involved with trying to encourage parents who wouldn't usually think about GS for their DC to consider it and SHSB is often the more popular school with IC boys and their parents

I agree with getting more IC boys in, but am not sure how.

Wasn't the reason for extending the postcode catchment malarky last year though because there just weren't enough IC children getting in? I don't know about this year, but last year Dr Bevan said that the IC reserved places still weren't filled-even with the expanded catchment. The only way to get more IC boys in would be to lower the passmark?

[ToadMum]

In the immediate Southend area, other than the hordes from a few well-known primaries, the numbers taking the CSSE test are quite low, I think, so one of the first ways of trying t get more IC kids passing is to get them to take the test in the first place. The change in the catchment area in 2012 was mainly due to the 'unlawfulness' of defining catchment by attendance at schools within the bounds of the SBC area; it would have been okay to name said schools as feeder schools, apart from the private schools involved. So the HTs opted to change to 'place of residence' and adjust the boundaries to include the postcodes where a significant number of the usual OOC applicants tended to live anyway.

The Southend grammars' set-up, where the number of places reserved for IC is a maximum, means that any proportion of the extra number that were added to the current total would automatically be offered OOC if not required IC, but would be there for IC if more qualified. cf the system with KEGS and CChHS, where the IC allocation is a minimum, with the remaining places going to the 24 highest scorers remaining, regardless of origin; if KEGS added 30 year 7 places, somehow I can't see the school allocating all f them to the 'regardless of origin' group.

Anyway, I'm sure it will all come out in the wash, so to speak.

[stressedalready1]

May I ask if on the offer letters there was a deadline for responses please. Thanks

[Bups2002]

According to my letter it only gives instructions for if you do not wish to accept the place.