Hi,

We live at Nottingham and I am planning to sit my ds for the CSSE tests in 2021. My question is are we considered too far out of catchment to get a place and also how easy is it to get a place?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Nottingham is 147 miles from Colchester and it takes nearly 3 hrs to get there!

Are you seriously considering this as a daily journey?

I’ve just replied to the same question on the Birmingham forum.... I thought Nottingham to Birmingham was a commute too far

both are far too far - have a look a the schools in Nottingham, there are some good comprehensives there or Nottingham High School / Loughborough Grammar

The Admissions Code ensures that schools cannot not accept applications from anywhere, but also allows them to set lawful admissions policies that prioritise those living in a defined priority area, with the provision that said priority area is also lawfully set. Unlike the other grammar school members of the CSSE, the Colchester grammar schools set no overall priority admissions area. So if your DS sits the CSSE test and you apply to CRGS as your first effective preference and he is ranked highly enough by score, he will get a place there, even from Nottingham, and you will have six months to move your family from Nottingham to Colchester, or at least somewhere sensibly near. He will be expected to turn up on the first day of term in year 7, even if you haven't managed to do that, but there are rental properties in the town and, if push comes to shove, I'm sure there must be hotels somewhere, although I've never actually needed to go looking for one.

Presumably both you and your DH work from home, or do you work for one of the big multiples which will transfer you from one local branch to another?

The year before last, there was a girl who sat the CSSE test at WHSG, whose parents had got her up at 4am to get there iirc. Perhaps she was from Nottingham? I think the helper to whom she imparted this information was probably just too shell-shocked to ask .

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Hi,

I have seen your reply on the other one too. As I said, as we dont have a grammar school at Nham and I am keen for him to get into a grmmar school. So I am trying varied options. Depending on his score and sureity to find a place, we will be ready to move closer to school.

I am not even sure If I am right by having this plan. But he is clever and I thought a grammar school would be better than a comprehensive one.

Thanks for your reply. We will be moving closer to school once we find a place.

Aishwarya, I didn't assume that your son would be traveling from Nottingham, and had thought that you would move.

Colchester is a super selective school and distance is not a criterion for admission - incase your child gets admission, move to a place where the commute is reasonable.

It is a great school and if you write the CSSE exam your child can also be considered for Southend, westcliff and King Edwards Grammar schools.

All the best.

I'm afraid they do photo ID checks these days, so it really does have to be the relevant DC that takes the exam . To be fair, the possibly apocryphal tale of the exam candidate getting into their car and driving themselves home didn't arise from a CSSE test session, though.

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Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx