Newbie needing advice
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Re: Newbie needing advice
Hi thank you for those kind words. You are indeed correct and I have taken your words to heart - I will change when she goes back to school to how was today? Like you state its my cross I will always bear. She did a mock exam today with a tutor and got 98% in verbal reasoning and 80% in English which is a good improvement from last time she did a test in January. With months to go she should make it, hopefully so I want it all to be a big fresh start.
I have considered going north but one of the health problems I have is the cold, even 1° makes me shudder. Going south as it can be several degrees warmer there than North but of course you do sacrifice the size of a house/space but sure the right thing will appear, just havent decided which part yet. Thank you
I have considered going north but one of the health problems I have is the cold, even 1° makes me shudder. Going south as it can be several degrees warmer there than North but of course you do sacrifice the size of a house/space but sure the right thing will appear, just havent decided which part yet. Thank you
Amber wrote:Please don't do this. I know very well indeed how it feels to have a child coming out of school and all you can think of is that question. I went through it for far too long. But now that my children are older they have all given me the same message about this and that is - don't go on about it. Don't make it the focus of everything and don't make it a daily question. I know it is difficult but your daughter really doesn't need that. If you feel private guilt (like every mother on the planet remember - it goes with the territory) then sadly that is your cross to bear. I do/did too. But children need an escape from it and a constant focus on the issue doesn't help. Make it clear she can talk to you, say 'how was your day?' and move on. For her sake. My three teenagers all now say that is the one thing I could have done differently to help them through the difficult times.Googley2 wrote: somehow I just feel responsible as I didnt listen when she said she didnt want to go to school. Its was one of my questions to her now when I collect her from school "Has anyone hurt you?"
Have you thought about going north? Lots of lovely coast from Yorkshire upwards, lower house prices, more space, and possibly (opens can of worms... ) a friendlier demographic on the whole.
Re: Newbie needing advice
Googley2 did you say sea is important? If so then I think Broadstairs, Dover, Bournemouth, Colyton and Caistor have grammars and are coastal.
mad?
Re: Newbie needing advice
Folkestone and Dover have single gender schools and the house prices are not horrendous.
Re: Newbie needing advice
Thank You - I did look into Dover and I must admit I dont know it at all. Thinking of all the traffic to the docks etc put me off and when I checked the crime figures it was not recommendable. There probably are good and bad parts but I just couldnt find enough to make me want to visit to check it out.
yoyo123 wrote:Folkestone and Dover have single gender schools and the house prices are not horrendous.
Re: Newbie needing advice
Have a look at Chatham & Clarendon GS in Ramsgate, Kent. That part of the world really is worth a look. It seems to be single sex up to KS3 and GCSE core subjects and then mixed for option subjects and 6th form. There are others in the area too, in fact if you Google GS in Kent a country wide list comes up on Wikipedia. I'm afraid that other South East / South Coast areas such as Sussex don't have GS, but there's plenty of choice.
Re: Newbie needing advice
Does it have to be a grammar school? (If so - why? Misconceptions abound and the curriculum in other schools won't be any different). Other parts of the country do still have schools (!) and a grammar school is just one type - it isn't always better and in areas without them there will still be good schools. You give yourself a lot more scope if you don't go after one - and you would still have clean air to breathe and a rural way of life - many people like Cornwall and Devon for example, which would be slightly warmer as you desire and have lots of countryside and coast.
Re: Newbie needing advice
You are right Amber. I think the OP was about the 11+ so that is why the answers have had a GS bias, but life in Devon or Cornwall would actually meet the better lifestyle requirements more than the South East which is getting a tad built up and crowded
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Re: Newbie needing advice
There are lots of rural options but I would suggest that you don't go for a small school with not many friendship options. You have not yet experienced the teenage girl but many of us have and are telling you that it is an animal to be cautious with. I have two teenage girls in Y11 and Y12 and although my parents had four girls they did not have to deal with the attacks that come through social media. The phone will be another bullying medium for you to deal with. I think choice in friends is very important so your dd can walk away from some social situations. I feel the male friends of my dds are a lot more predictable at this point but everything is always changing so it is very difficult to generalise. But I will say dd1 has just had a very hard week and it is her male friends inside school and out who have supported her. I have been very touched by their tenderness towards her at a time when she needed them the most. DG
Re: Newbie needing advice
I fully agree. It's true - both single-sex and mixed - at primary, at secondary and in later life. There's a lot to be said for a bigger pond (and while I'm at it, small class sizes are overrated).Daogroupie wrote: I think choice in friends is very important so your dd can walk away from some social situations.
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Tiffin Girls' School has a designated area; see the determined admission arrangements. Use the journey planner. Note the Admissions timetable and FAQs.
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Re: Newbie needing advice
Ooh, small class sizes over-rated? Have to disagree with that. I have one in big and one in small. The big size is not really an issue for him, but the small size is a real boon for the other. Different children and one is benefiting a lot from the smaller class size in terms of not being able to hide or slip under the radar, the other is totally fine making his own mark in a class of 30.
In short - I am not saying that bigger class size is awful or a disadvantage necessarily, or that small class size is always an advantage. but for some it CAN be a huge advantage and should not be dismissed as a game changer for SOME individuals.
In short - I am not saying that bigger class size is awful or a disadvantage necessarily, or that small class size is always an advantage. but for some it CAN be a huge advantage and should not be dismissed as a game changer for SOME individuals.