Weald Grammar School
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Don't move closer to TOGS in the hope that it will get you a place. In some years the cut-off mark for out of county candidates is higher than that for in county candidates.
Have you read the admissions policies for any of these schools? You sound as though you are relying entirely on what people are telling you. People are frequently wrong / misinformed / bad at understanding what they have read.
Why will it be so devastating if your daughter does not get into TOGS? There are plenty of other girls across the country who will not get in to TOGS and they are not all devastated!!
No-one can make TOGS their be all and end all as the cut-off score is high, wherever you live. Parents and pupils know this when they sit the test. Surely your daughter understands that the chance of getting in is lower than the chance of not getting in?
Sorry to sound a bit mean, but your posts sound like you've built your daughter up to getting into TOGS, worked her really hard, and are now only getting to grips with the fact yourself that she may not get a place. It isn't unfair, it's just a fact. Please don't make her feel it is unfair, it is not. It is all as described on the tin!!
Good luck.
Have you read the admissions policies for any of these schools? You sound as though you are relying entirely on what people are telling you. People are frequently wrong / misinformed / bad at understanding what they have read.
Why will it be so devastating if your daughter does not get into TOGS? There are plenty of other girls across the country who will not get in to TOGS and they are not all devastated!!
No-one can make TOGS their be all and end all as the cut-off score is high, wherever you live. Parents and pupils know this when they sit the test. Surely your daughter understands that the chance of getting in is lower than the chance of not getting in?
Sorry to sound a bit mean, but your posts sound like you've built your daughter up to getting into TOGS, worked her really hard, and are now only getting to grips with the fact yourself that she may not get a place. It isn't unfair, it's just a fact. Please don't make her feel it is unfair, it is not. It is all as described on the tin!!
Good luck.
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Kent99
Aron
You can apply to any grammar you like but most of them give priority to girls who live within the Kent 11+ areas. The reasoning being, I think, that in those areas the only alternatives are secondary moderns, whereas in other areas (both out of county and in parts of Kent) the comprehensive schools cater (at least in theory) for the whole ability range.
Weald of Kent has a list of "priority areas" instead (details are in the Kent admissions booklet now available online). Whether or not they will take OOC girls therefore depends on how oversubscribed they are. Chances are low.
If you go to the open evenings which are coming up soon you will be able to ask about marks and how many children usually get places from out of county etc.
You can apply to any grammar you like but most of them give priority to girls who live within the Kent 11+ areas. The reasoning being, I think, that in those areas the only alternatives are secondary moderns, whereas in other areas (both out of county and in parts of Kent) the comprehensive schools cater (at least in theory) for the whole ability range.
Weald of Kent has a list of "priority areas" instead (details are in the Kent admissions booklet now available online). Whether or not they will take OOC girls therefore depends on how oversubscribed they are. Chances are low.
If you go to the open evenings which are coming up soon you will be able to ask about marks and how many children usually get places from out of county etc.
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inkypinkyponky
- Posts: 1864
- Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:41 pm
- Location: Gravesend, Kent
I agree with Mystery, I think saying that it would be 'devastating' if your daughter does not get in, is a bit OTT in my humble opinion.
A cancer diagnosis or a death in the family is what I'd call devastating.
Three years ago we told DD1 that doing the 11+ was just a way of helping us decide what school would be best for her. She was laid back, had no tutoring, hardly any sleep before due to her 3month old brother screaming the nights away, and she passed by a long way.
Other parents I know told their children that if they failed, they'd ruin their lives by going to a 'cr*p' school. This put un-believable pressure on these children, most of whom were average anyway, and did not pass.
Note, I did not say fail, just didn't pass- it's all psychology!
Perhaps you could have a softly,softly approach with your daughter, and bring other schools in to the equation.
A cancer diagnosis or a death in the family is what I'd call devastating.
Three years ago we told DD1 that doing the 11+ was just a way of helping us decide what school would be best for her. She was laid back, had no tutoring, hardly any sleep before due to her 3month old brother screaming the nights away, and she passed by a long way.
Other parents I know told their children that if they failed, they'd ruin their lives by going to a 'cr*p' school. This put un-believable pressure on these children, most of whom were average anyway, and did not pass.
Note, I did not say fail, just didn't pass- it's all psychology!
Perhaps you could have a softly,softly approach with your daughter, and bring other schools in to the equation.
We live very far from Kent and thats the reason why we have TOGS as the only option and there are few children who board a train from here .
Grammar school wasn't our option when the distance came into picture but my daughter wanted to give it a try and so did I.She is very smart with her studies so we want the best for her but we always have other options and we've talked about all that.
I know its not a life and death situation but when she has worked really hard you would defenitley have high hopes for her.To be honest with you my dd is expecting a score between 415-420 .Last year the togs cut off was 413.
So i think her chance of getting in is very very high.
Grammar school wasn't our option when the distance came into picture but my daughter wanted to give it a try and so did I.She is very smart with her studies so we want the best for her but we always have other options and we've talked about all that.
I know its not a life and death situation but when she has worked really hard you would defenitley have high hopes for her.To be honest with you my dd is expecting a score between 415-420 .Last year the togs cut off was 413.
So i think her chance of getting in is very very high.
Mystery,
I forgot to mention certain things as i was in a hurry.
Since its only 3 yrs since i moved into Uk,am just learning how the educational system works in here. I rely upon all possible sources to get information regarding this and the details about 11+ admission was from an experienced tutor and from parents who already have their children in TOGS who live in neighbourhood so am pretty sure that taken into account the area we live in we can apply only for TOGS.
I am 99% convinced that my dd would get a high score looking back on her previous practise and tests.But the other 1% chance always pulls me back.Before we went for the grammar school coaching she had an ability test and her tutor and teacher at schools said she is a good grammar school material and that why we went for it.We cannot force education on someone who cannot take it...may be we can but that journey wouldn't last long.
I din't mean to say that it is unfair on my child.What I meant was just 35 seats and atleast 70-80 applying for that is unfair b'coz its hard to convince a child if he or she looses it at a border line .
I came to know about the stardardisation of score through this thread and that gives me even more hope .
Its seems like 19th of october is very very far.
I forgot to mention certain things as i was in a hurry.
Since its only 3 yrs since i moved into Uk,am just learning how the educational system works in here. I rely upon all possible sources to get information regarding this and the details about 11+ admission was from an experienced tutor and from parents who already have their children in TOGS who live in neighbourhood so am pretty sure that taken into account the area we live in we can apply only for TOGS.
I am 99% convinced that my dd would get a high score looking back on her previous practise and tests.But the other 1% chance always pulls me back.Before we went for the grammar school coaching she had an ability test and her tutor and teacher at schools said she is a good grammar school material and that why we went for it.We cannot force education on someone who cannot take it...may be we can but that journey wouldn't last long.
I din't mean to say that it is unfair on my child.What I meant was just 35 seats and atleast 70-80 applying for that is unfair b'coz its hard to convince a child if he or she looses it at a border line .
I came to know about the stardardisation of score through this thread and that gives me even more hope .
Its seems like 19th of october is very very far.
You simply cannot know how your child did on the day, what questions they misunderstood and so on. That applies even more so to a ten year old child's assessment of their performance - no matter how intelligent that child.
There are likely to be 2,000 children taking the out of county test of whom a sizeable portion will be hoping for one of those 35 places at TOGS. A sizeable portion will also come from private schools, have attended private tutors and will have been intensively coached over years for this single test. That is not competition to be taken lightly.
A child who has had a lot of practice may well be able to guess that they messed some of the questions up or didn't mess too many up. And a child who has done a lot of practice papers in a classroom exam setting with a strong cohort may well be able to make an 'educated guess' about how well they did compared to their peers. But it is nothing more than a guess.
Going beyond that to being confident about getting a place is ill-advised.
There are likely to be 2,000 children taking the out of county test of whom a sizeable portion will be hoping for one of those 35 places at TOGS. A sizeable portion will also come from private schools, have attended private tutors and will have been intensively coached over years for this single test. That is not competition to be taken lightly.
A child who has had a lot of practice may well be able to guess that they messed some of the questions up or didn't mess too many up. And a child who has done a lot of practice papers in a classroom exam setting with a strong cohort may well be able to make an 'educated guess' about how well they did compared to their peers. But it is nothing more than a guess.
Going beyond that to being confident about getting a place is ill-advised.
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inkypinkyponky
- Posts: 1864
- Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2009 1:41 pm
- Location: Gravesend, Kent
Well, it sounds like you have done your homework!
But always check details yourself, don't rely on others giving you exact information as things can change year to year. Check with the school itself if needed.
Maybe the other parents mean that TOGS is the only 'realistic' option, distance wise. There is no point wasting preferences on the CAF form with schools that there is no hope of attending. Also, they're aren't enough spaces in Kent for its own 11+ pass children let alone ones from out of county, that's why spaces are fought for. Keeping local schools in the picture is sensible.
Good luck to your daughter, keep us posted. But don't forget, no-one 'fails', they just 'didn't pass'!
But always check details yourself, don't rely on others giving you exact information as things can change year to year. Check with the school itself if needed.
Maybe the other parents mean that TOGS is the only 'realistic' option, distance wise. There is no point wasting preferences on the CAF form with schools that there is no hope of attending. Also, they're aren't enough spaces in Kent for its own 11+ pass children let alone ones from out of county, that's why spaces are fought for. Keeping local schools in the picture is sensible.
Good luck to your daughter, keep us posted. But don't forget, no-one 'fails', they just 'didn't pass'!
