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Re: Advice needed, please

Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 7:45 pm
by First time
Thank you very much everyone for your input.
The only issue I am having is I really want to avoid DD settling somewhere and then having to move schools in year 7.
I can't move now because we live in a house given to us by a very good friend who had to go abroad to work on a contract and returning only next year. We had an agreement that we would live there rent free just to keep the house secure.
We can move only next year by which time DD would have already started secondary school.
I would have to move to Kent because I work there and planning to expand my business further.
At the moment the predicament is getting a school admission in Kent while still living in East London.

Re: Advice needed, please

Posted: Wed May 16, 2018 8:13 pm
by mad?
Hi Firsttime, rather than repeatedly adding new details which negate the points others have already made in trying to help you, it might be better if you start a new thread, FULLY explaining what the situation is and then asking what others would advise in those circumstances. That way you will save the time of those forum members who are trying to help you and get advice tailored to your specific situation which might actually be of use to you?

Re: Advice needed, please

Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 1:28 am
by First time
Hi, mad?,
I only expanded on circumstances further just to add some details.
My question remains the same as in the original post.
I am looking for a grammar school in Kent for my daughter while living in East Ham.
And for easier ways to travel.
I have only later explained why I am doing so.
I don't think it would be appropriate for me to create a new thread asking the same thing.
I am very grateful for those replies I have received on this thread, they have all helped me.

Re: Advice needed, please

Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 7:41 am
by ToadMum
https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-c ... ria-201819

https://www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-c ... ion-201920

The first has the Admissions criteria for this year's entry, the second the intended changes for those schools which consulted on their admissions policies this year, for entry in 2019. As far as I can see, the 2019 entry composite prospectus isn't yet up on the Kent CC website, but it may be there and I just completely missed it. Anyway, from the first, I think you should've able to identify grammar schools with 'score' places and check from their websites whether this has changed for 2019 entry. From following this forum, my impression is that schools are more likely to change from 'open' access to a scheme prioritising more local candidates than the other way round (but again, I may be wrong here).

Presumably, you need somewhere which is both accessible from your current address in the short term and from the area of the county you will be moving to for a sensible commute to your own place of work?

Re: Advice needed, please

Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 7:58 am
by piggys
First time wrote:Hi, mad?,
I only expanded on circumstances further just to add some details.
My question remains the same as in the original post.
I am looking for a grammar school in Kent for my daughter while living in East Ham.
And for easier ways to travel.
I have only later explained why I am doing so.
I don't think it would be appropriate for me to create a new thread asking the same thing.
I am very grateful for those replies I have received on this thread, they have all helped me.
There aren't any easier ways to travel. They are all awful. The real issue is whether or not you are willing (and able) to give up your rent free gig in order to move now. You could if you wanted to, but of course you will have to start paying rent/mortgage. The question is - which is the higher priority: moving to get into catchment, or paying no rent. You can't have both.

Re: Advice needed, please

Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 9:19 am
by First time
Thank you so much, ToadMum, extremely helpful.

Piggys, I would gladly leave the rent free house and move now but I have the agreement that I have to live there till the family owner is back. I wish I didn't agree to that. You are right, it looks like can't do both things. I just wanted to try.
Maybe we can go on waiting lists once we move.
I have read here that Kent residents can apply to additional schools after which could increase our chances of getting a place at a later time from a Kent address.

This is now becoming so much clearer, thanks to this forum.
Securing a good secondary school for your child is hard and stressful enough for the first time but my circumstances made it even harder and much more stressful.
For the mean time DD is practising GL papers and getting 90-97% right under timed conditions, so we are going to decrease the practice time to 2 papers per weekend.

Re: Advice needed, please

Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 3:45 pm
by Sorrel
Any chance that you or the house owner know someone - perhaps a recent graduate - who might be happy to take over the house sit for the last few months?

Re: Advice needed, please

Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 6:17 pm
by kenyancowgirl
Actually, you can leave the house you are in - unless there is a written contract you are not tied into that - and as there is no money changing hands, it is unlikely there is a written contract, I would have thought?

Re: Advice needed, please

Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 8:13 pm
by The Lamp Post
One option is that your daughter boards for one year with a family local to the school that you are aiming for.
Or another option is for your daughter to take a train from Stratford International go to Ebbsfleet and then from their your daughter could change trains and get a train into Kent, e.g. Stratford International to Gravesend apparently take 15minutes. With those sorts of times you could accompany her during autumn and winter

Re: Advice needed, please

Posted: Fri May 18, 2018 9:03 am
by mystery
First time wrote:Thank you so much, ToadMum, extremely helpful.

Piggys, I would gladly leave the rent free house and move now but I have the agreement that I have to live there till the family owner is back. I wish I didn't agree to that. You are right, it looks like can't do both things. I just wanted to try.
Maybe we can go on waiting lists once we move.
I have read here that Kent residents can apply to additional schools after which could increase our chances of getting a place at a later time from a Kent address.

This is now becoming so much clearer, thanks to this forum.
Securing a good secondary school for your child is hard and stressful enough for the first time but my circumstances made it even harder and much more stressful.
For the mean time DD is practising GL papers and getting 90-97% right under timed conditions, so we are going to decrease the practice time to 2 papers per weekend.
If your daughter is doing GL papers under exam conditions and getting 90-97 percent right every time on all subjects you probably needn't bother with any preparation whatsoever as she will most likely get the highest standardised score possible on every paper. So you have 8 papers in each of the subjects NVR, VR, English and maths and they are definitely the GL ones that you can buy from the shops with multiple choice answers? Do you know what the cut-off score is for the school(s) you are aiming for ?