I have one at TWGGS yr10. She seems to be getting lots of work and sat exams which seem to be fairly well organised. Not much live learning although that seems to be getting going more now. Pastoral support seems to be very eager to offer help. As usual for TWGGS not an awful lot of communication back from school to parents though specific teachers have generally responded to my queries. If anything she is getting more work than usual.

Yr8 Bennett seem to be setting work quite enthusiastically, less than yr10 TWGGS, understandably. They too have had exams though the computer system for exams seems awful at marking them, the teachers have to second mark them all. Regular general updates from the school, fortnightly reports to parents on how well each child is engaging with the work. Some optional live lessons and the option of weekly assembly live for the year group.

Skinners' (Year Eight) has been brilliant. Lots of live lessons via teams, with chance to talk to each other and their teachers, plus form time with their tutors and recorded assemblies. They upload work for marking and tests are set (and chased if they don't upload in time!). He's still missing school but it's so much better than just being set work and left to get on with it.

How strange, I originally wrote Year 8 rather than Eight and it changed the number into a smiley.

Hi Sorrel - you can write Year 8 and that is fine but if you put ")" after it then it becomes - only way to get "8 )" is to put a space between them

Aha, thanks!

Y12 Skinners’ has been fabulous. Nearly all lessons involve some video call time, plus form time twice a week. There has clearly been a lot of thought and effort put into making it the best experience it can be for as many boys as possible. Wellbeing week was brilliant!

Y10 Bennett has been solid. Most subjects are setting work and parents are getting an effort based report every fortnight (red, amber, green per subject). Not many video calls (maybe 2 since the start of lockdown) or much interaction though - it’s quite hard on the kids, but I assume this is a conscious decision so that families are not competing for limited devices.

I have a child at grammar and one at Uplands in Wadhurst. Both schools were good at the work side of things but Uplands were great with well being and communication from the school was outstanding. They even set up a Facebook page for parents. I wish I had known about Uplands before I put my eldest through the stress of the test.