TWGSB, Knole grammar stream or Trinity for Sevenoaks boys?

[chimera-ma]

With the Test now over and thoughts turning to school preferences, what do people think about the options for Sevenoaks boys?

Our DS is a likely 11+ pass, but I'm not expecting a super-selective score. (Practice test results late in the Summer holidays ranged 62% - 90+%, so highly variable!) Last year, an 11+ pass would have got him into TWGSB, but only just, in respect of cut-off distance.

Both Trinity and Knole are walking distance, but does the time-saving on school travel and greater opportunity for independent study at home compensate for not being at a grammar school? DS is very studious, conscientious and enthusiastic about learning, having overcome some earlier learning difficulties and progressed from remedial English to top set.

Any advice/information from parents with children at any of these schools would be much appreciated. I'm also interested to know what people's thoughts are after school tours this month and next.

I thought I would renew this thread by quoting my initial post in the hope that a few more people will share thoughts on the relative merits of TWGSB, the Knole grammar stream and Trinity this week and next, particularly when the open school events are over.

I also wanted to share with you that when I collected DS's results from his headteacher and responded to her query about school choices by indicating that we wanted to review his results first, she confirmed: "He has passed, but not spectacularly well." I already knew he had passed, of course, but not how well, since I had not yet seen the contents of the envelope. I was so taken aback by the head's unprompted and unwelcome intimation, I could barely speak!

As my initial post in this thread indicates, I had a realistic expectation of DS's results. I make mention of this matter in this thread, as I feel it indicated DS's headteacher's bias against both Knole and Trinity as local options for boys who have passed the 11+: she automatically assumed I was waiting to see if he'd got a super-selective score, whereas all I wanted was to consider his results privately with my husband, hoping that DS had done as expected and managed more than a bare pass in all areas, to help reinforce in our thinking that a grammar school was a suitable for a boy whom the school once determined needed 'school action plus'. (His aggregate score was in the low 350s and his lowest individual score, 112 for English.)

I would add that that I do understand that the head may have assumed that I would be biased against the local options myself, but she didn't offer comments on either; suggesting only that we consider Oakwood Park Grammar (great school - more than an hour and a half away from us by public transport!) and responding to the news that DS liked TWGSB with: "Did he?".

Has anyone in Sevenoaks had any useful teacher or headteacher input on Knole or Trinity?

[chimneys]

I would add that that I do understand that the head may have assumed that I would be biased against the local options myself, but she didn't offer comments on either; suggesting only that we consider Oakwood Park Grammar (great school - more than an hour and a half away from us by public transport!) and responding to the news that DS liked TWGSB with: "Did he?".

Has anyone in Sevenoaks had any useful teacher or headteacher input on Knole or Trinity?

Congratulations to you/ your son Chimera-ma.

I must jealously say you are lucky in having the 3 options (Trinity, Knole and TWBGS), as the cut off for Trinity looks again to be cSt Johns Hill/Bat and Ball this year unless you are a practicing Christian. So Trinity not an option for most Sevenoaks folk!

On to the Oakwood Park distance, TWBGS isn't much less than 1.5 hours door to door from your part of Sevenoaks by bus! Bradbourne Lakes to TWBGS means leaving home at 7.20 and arriving c8.40. And that is for the Arriva private bus which avoids the trawl through Hildenborough/overcrowding, but its £1000 per annum for the privilege....and is still often late!

[chimera-ma]

Thanks, Chimneys.

Yes, we are lucky with the local options now and I'm sorry if Trinity really is unavailable to you.

We are 2 minutes' walk from the bus stop from which DS could catch the 431x at 07:40, arriving TWGSB at 08:24, which gives a bit of a margin for delay. Another option of bus + train + walk takes 54 minutes according to Google Maps.

For Oakwood Park, the shortest journey by public transport (bus + 2 trains) and then a walk takes 1hr and 41 minutes, not allowing for delays. Being the Seal end of Sevenoaks doesn't help in that regard, unless anyone has another suggestion?

[FortyNinePence]

Chimera ma- had you considered Judd? I wonder how much the score will drop for in area? Given that the final cutoff was 361 last year with a different admissions criteria, it might be a possibility?

There was lots of talk of people not putting Judd last year because they didn't think their scores were high enough.

[chimera-ma]

Yes, thank you. We are likely to try for Judd now that we know DS's score, although I think there will be higher demand this year from families in West Kent like ourselves who are encouraged by the new admissions rules to think a drop in scores possible.

We have nothing to lose, since we only need to put one of Knole or Trinity, not both, on our SCAF form to be guaranteed a place at our preferred option of the two. That's a real bit of luck given that neither school existed when we moved to our current home.

[doodles]

On to the Oakwood Park distance, TWBGS isn't much less than 1.5 hours door to door from your part of Sevenoaks by bus! Bradbourne Lakes to TWBGS means leaving home at 7.20 and arriving c8.40. And that is for the Arriva private bus which avoids the trawl through Hildenborough/overcrowding, but its £1000 per annum for the privilege....and is still often late!

The journey to TWGSB/Skinners/Bennet/TWGGS is actually under an hour. The Go-coach buses from Bradbourne / Riverhead area tend go along the A21 and get there about 8.20/8.30' ish (TWGSB is obviously nearer the earlier time as its one of the earlier stops) and the children use the £200 Kent school bus pass. My sons travel to Skinners' on these buses and are hardly ever late for registration at 8.45 am.

Oakwood in Maidstone is a longer journey but I believe that there may possibly be a bus from the Seal area - it's three year since I looked into it so it may have changed.

[chimera-ma]

It's handy to know there is at least one Go-coach option as back-up from Riverhead to TWGSB, thanks, and I'll trawl further re:other options for the Oakwood journey, in case the Google Maps information is not complete.

[doodles]

Chimera, Look on the go-coach website for the 431x, 432x, 433x, 434x and 402x routes. These all come along Bradbourne Vale Road or from Tesco direction stopping en route and then at Riverhead Church Steps.

Yous ds will not be alone, there's loads of children from a range of schools getting on and it becomes a part of their social life - even preferable to the odd lift from mum

Coming home is even quicker my ds's walk through the door between 4.25 and 4.40 depending on how long they've spent on the street corner chatting.

The Oakwood scenario is slowly coming back to me and I would call them as I think it was a teacher at the open evening who told me about the bus as she lived this way, but that was several years ago now.

[chimera-ma]

That's super-helpful, Doodles.

[chimera-ma]

Just a quick post to say that Knole Academy has been downgraded from 'Good' to 'Needs Improvement' by OFSTED this month with concerns about leadership, quality of teaching and outcomes for students, particularly boys. The full inspection report comments that able students are not always stretched enough nor lessons sufficiently differentiated.

Knole will be lodging an appeal/complaint. I'm happy to post a link to the OFSTED report if anyone is interested. There is also an article about it on the Sevenoaks Chronicle website.