Judd?

[franticmum]

I would say go with what feels best when you visit the schools and after you have absorbed all the information thrown at you.

I certainly wouldn't rule out Judd on the travel side of things as many children travel at those start and end times and just adapt and get on with it.

You may just want to check from someone in the know what the homework side is like but I certainly wouldn't take that too seriously as it really depends on your child and whether they are slow, perfectionist, etc. Homework amount is very difficult to gauge accurately.

You may find that many of Judd's clubs are in the lunchtimes as they have wider catchment area and are conscious of the need to travel home after school for further distances. This is Tonbridge Grammar School's (girls) policy and Judd has a similar admissions criteria, I believe (but obviously for boys!!).

[pheasantchick]

We are from the Maidstone area and my ds goes to Judd. If you have any questions, pease feel free to ask. Quite a few boys travel from maidstone. The journey isn't too bad.

[cazbar]

Hi Pheasantchick,

We are seriously considering Judd. How long is the journey for your DS and how much homework does he really get? Our journey would be 45-50 mins and I'm concerned about the homework on top of the journey and also how his friendships would work out with how spread out his friends potentially could be. I was told this morning some sixth formers commute in from Hastings

Sorry for gate crashing your thread GreenDad!

[monstermum]

cazbar my daughter is going to be travelling to her GS. A bus ride of 40 mins and although it took me a while to get my head around this the journey time will be fine. There is a social group on the bus and it's also a chance for them to read/ sleep/ wake up! My son goes to a grammar school in our town and his friends are spread far and wide so even at a local GS this happens. The other thing that it's important to remember is that our DC now will be so different in a years time. And even more so by the time they are 13 or 14 We are willing to go the extra mile (s) for the school which suits our DD the best and I'm sure it's going to pay off.

[GreenDad]

cazbar my daughter is going to be travelling to her GS. A bus ride of 40 mins and although it took me a while to get my head around this the journey time will be fine. There is a social group on the bus and it's also a chance for them to read/ sleep/ wake up! My son goes to a grammar school in our town and his friends are spread far and wide so even at a local GS this happens. The other thing that it's important to remember is that our DC now will be so different in a years time. And even more so by the time they are 13 or 14 We are willing to go the extra mile (s) for the school which suits our DD the best and I'm sure it's going to pay off.

40 mins on the bus is fine but as far as I can tell, the bus for where we are leaves at 7 (so he would leave the house at 6:50) and arrives near the school at 8. So there 45 mins before school to hang around. Then after school the bus leavs at 4:15, arriving back at 5ish but the bus back terminates further away so there would be another 15 min walk at the end. He would be getting home from school after I get home from work! Then he has to do homework and eat. If the choice was between Judd and a non selective we might think different but MGS seems to be a pretty good school so we are not considering Judd.

[monstermum]

Our journeys are much more sensible time and timed to suit the school times. I can understand your decision greenman..