Simon Langton Girls ~ Canterbury

Monicas Mum · Post by **Monicas Mum** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 8:50 am

Hi
I am new on here and new to this whole process of the Kent test. My daughter is keen to go to SLGS, does anyone know how far the catchment area is normally?

We haven't been to look around yet but it does seem a good option if she passes the kent test. Does anyone have any personal experience of this school?

Our other options for a GS will be Barton Court or Queen Elizabeths in Faversham and any input from anyone is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance. x

katel · Post by **katel** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 9:18 am

My dd is at SLGS.

I think the catchment was something like 6 miles this year. Certainly it has closed in quite a bit since my dd got in - we live 15 miles away and certainly wouldn't have got in this year.

Happy to awswer questions about Faversham/Canterbury schools - I did a lot of research 2 years ago!

Monicas Mum · Post by **Monicas Mum** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 4:37 pm

Thank you.

We are about 7 miles away from SLGS so may just miss out. We have it in our minds as our first choice GS at the moment, it appears to have good facilities for the students to be creative as well as academic. Can you possibly enlighten me any further?

What were your impressions of the other GS in our area?

Thanks again x

alexandra6 · Post by **alexandra6** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 5:26 pm

My daughter is in Y9 and has friends from Wye, near Ashford, Stelling Minnis, Greenhill, Herne and River, near Dover, in her year. So the catchment was quite large 3 years ago. Several of her friends travel in on buses packed with children from quite far afield!
She is happy there, it is a music and IT specialist school and has a good music block, newly built and a newish modern languages building but the rest of the buildings are rather run down and scruffy. They seem to get really good results though. New head 2 years ago so things could change of course. I know very little about Barton Court - the only other Grammar for girls in Canterbury - but it does the IB instead of A levels and has unusual hours - starts early, about 8.30 and finishes at 3 ish (you'd need to check the exact time with the school) both of which might influence your decision. Good luck.

katel · Post by **katel** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 7:16 pm

alexandra6 - my dd is in year 9 too!

The catchment was much wider 3 years ago - last year I know people from Faversham didn't get in when they always have before.

I'm very impressed with the mix of academic and creative - my dd is not an academic high flier, just ordinarily bright and is doing very well. The school is particularly strong musically, and dd has done a lot of drama and creative stuff. She is having, as far as I can tell, a wonderful time. Single sex wasn't my choice, but hers!

The plan is for a new building soon, so with a bit of luck your dd won't have to put up with the frankly horrid, scruffy place it is now.

QE in Faversham is not, I think, as strong academically, but is still a good school. The building is too small though, so it often seems crowded and "busy". Newish head there too - the jury still seems to be out on him!

jingle · Post by **jingle** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 3:25 pm

Hello,
First post so please bear with me. I have a daughter at Barton Court and so far have been very pleased with everything. We picked it because of the specialist language facilities which is a strength of hers, and also very impressed by the IB curriculum. The school itself is a sociable happy place with really good support for students. I really felt the teachers had got to know my daughter well when meeting with them. My daughter has blossomed from a shy little soul into a confident, motivated teenager and we feel this school has helped her achieve this, so for her was the right choice.Having said that I have friends with daughters at the langton who also seem to be getting on well. At the end of the day it is what will suit your daughter best, and unfortunately catchment sizes.
Best of luck with it all. Happy to help if I can

jingle · Post by **jingle** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 3:28 pm

Oh yes, forgot to add BC starts at 8.40 and ends 2.40. Bus service seems pretty good to and from most areas.

jingle · Post by **jingle** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 3:29 pm

Oh yes, forgot to add BC starts at 8.40 and ends 2.40. Bus service seems pretty good to and from most areas.

Monicas Mum · Post by **Monicas Mum** » Mon Oct 05, 2009 7:54 pm

Thank you all so much for your messages.

A couple more q's for you, hope you don't mind. x

* Do you find you are kept informed of where your children are at?

* Do you feel your views are taken into account and are you actively encouraged to be part of the school?

* Have your daughters had the chance to experience out of school trips?

* How has homework been?

Thank you all so much.
x

alexandra6 · Post by **alexandra6** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 9:41 am

yes, the school keeps us in touch, there was a very early parents' evening in Y7 to see how they were settling in (October i think) then there are annual parents' evenings plus detailed termly reports with each subject marked for effort and work quality, then for organisation plus a section letting us know whether 2 or more homeworks have been handed in late. I found this last box very useful as we had some evenings when we were told all her homework had been done when clearly it hadn't!
The homework itself is a hard area to quantify. My snapshot of friends' parents shows a wide range of times spent on homework from less than 1/2 hopur per night (sadly my daughter) to nearly 2 hours per night for those girls who are hugely conscientious and present everything beautifully. There were a lot of posters and the usual covering books for homework at the beginning. A poster can take as long as you want! Not really what we expected from grammar school education! But she now has lengthier pieces of writing and slightly more in depth work but still no more than 1 hour per night. Alot of girls do some home work at lunchtime too.
Hope this helps.