moving to warwickshire

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clueless123
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2010 11:45 am

moving to warwickshire

Post by clueless123 »

We are considering moving to warwickshire - mid 2011. My Daughter is in year 5 in a very small private school( not a prep, not a hot house ). She is a bright girl, good at music ( grade 4 in piano and cello). The class is she is is a lovely co ed class.
I did not realise that warwickshire had its own forum site and posted in Birmingham.
We dont have GS in our area. She will do well and stand a good chance in getting into a GS if we start preparing. I dont have any idea if it is really worth going to the GS ( there are couple of posts regarding bulling in KECH). I want her to have a well rounded education and would like her to have positive experience of her school rather than going to an academic hot house. I think she will do well wherever she goes. We can just about manage private school fees if it is going to make a difference and spare us as a family to go through the preparation for GS.
If I am sucessful in my Job interview (I will know by the end of this year) - the job will be based at Nuneaton. I would like to like some where closer to a good school and go to work. Again there are some posts explaining that the children start to school at 7.30!!.
I am probably naive about the competition in that part of the world regarding school admission.
I would really appreciate your thoughts regarding schools in warwickshire - especially schools in Rugby and other areas which are communtable.
I would also apreciate your advice regarding potential places to live as I have gathered that Nuneaton itself is not a great place to live. I would prefer to live in a area( obviously close to a good school- I like the chats we have during the school drops ) and would also hae other facilities like swimming, music lessons etc., I have a nearly 3 year old daughter as well so need to look into a good state or private school nearby.
I would also like to know regarding the fees at Rugby school( cant get this info from their website) and potential scholarships at Rugby school or Princethorpe( not heard of this school before but will check their website).The other area we are considering is Solihull /south of Birmingham
Ed's mum
Posts: 3310
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:47 am
Location: Warwickshire.

Re: moving to warwickshire

Post by Ed's mum »

Welcome to the Warks section of the forum!
Right, here's a bit of info to be getting on with. I haven't even attempted to answer all of your questions yet. I'll just focus on the area I know most about, which is Rugby School. If you're looking into year 7 entry, then you're looking at Marshall House at Rugby School. I have personal experience of Marshall and cannot fault it. Typically, they have between 11 and 17 pupils into Marshall each year. Most children join Rugby at 13 rather than 11. After Marshall most children then enter a day house - Southfield for girls or Town House for boys.
Marshall House - http://www.rugbyschool.net/houses/marshall.php?o=3
Here are some other bits of useful information. I think that within these links you may be given two different fees amounts. Assume that the highest is the correct and I will double check it for you later. For Marshall House fees, look for the amount which is called something like 'Junior House' (11-13). Most children who enter Marshall enter as scholars, so the fee would be reduced by 10%. Furthermore, there are bursaries which should be applied for asap in the autumn term that your daughter enters year 6. The bursar has thus far always been happy to provide a strong indication of what the bursary might be should your child be offered a place in the following January. They sit the entrance exams in the January of their year 6 year and you are contacted, usually 10 days later, by letter either offering a place or not. No long waiting!
If you do get the job and are moving I will let you know a little more about the tests if you decide that your daughter should apply. My children both thoroughly enjoyed test day and felt that they were allowed to show their potential: they test for potential rather than setting paper after paper to test their knowledge. The tests for general entry are computerised and the scholarship papers are more formal written papers.
I hope this helps, I know that I have answered only a fraction of what you want to know. There is already information on this forum regarding Rugby High School (Grammar school for gorls in Rugby) and a little on Princethorpe. There are others too in and around Rugby (but no other grammars within Rugby for your daughter, other than Ashlawn School which is not totally selective but has a selective stream).
Hopefully others will help to answer your questions for you too.

http://www.rugbyschool.net/admissions/f ... ug2010.pdf


http://www.rugbyschool.net/admissions/s ... ps.php?o=8

http://www.guidetoindependentschools.co ... e-CV22-5EH

http://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/schoo ... chool.html
Ed's mum
Posts: 3310
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:47 am
Location: Warwickshire.

Re: moving to warwickshire

Post by Ed's mum »

She will do well and stand a good chance in getting into a GS if we start preparing. I dont have any idea if it is really worth going to the GS ( there are couple of posts regarding bulling in KECH). I can't comment on this particularly, but I do think that, with a school like Rugby High School, it is 'worth' going to a GS. there are people on here better than I to comment on this school as I went there, but many moons ago!
I want her to have a well rounded education and would like her to have positive experience of her school rather than going to an academic hot house.I think that when a child is placed with children who have been selected in some way, there will be an element of competition between them which could lead to them hot-housing themselves a little bit. I think most schools will aim for a broad and balanced curriculum which is about enrichment rather than hot-housing though.
I think she will do well wherever she goes. We can just about manage private school fees if it is going to make a difference and spare us as a family to go through the preparation for GS.I feel certain that, if you choose wisely, any type of school which you choose will make a difference. The preparation for a school like Rugby is different to that of a Grammar but will not necessarily spare you completely. A little bit of preparation for how to handle the interview might be useful. Not what to say, but how to conduct oneself might be useful. I'm referring to eye contact, perhaps a handshake, waiting until told to sit down etc.However, the interviews are informal and a prepped child would be spotted a mile off.
If I am sucessful in my Job interview (I will know by the end of this year) - the job will be based at Nuneaton. I would like to like some where closer to a good school and go to work. Again there are some posts explaining that the children start to school at 7.30!!. Both my children start school at 8 and like to be there a little earlier to prepare for their lessons. If it's a good school a child will be fine getting there at that time; especially if the distance they are travelling to get there isn't too far. We only leave the house about 10/15 minutes beforehand. I think that starting at 8 but travelling a long way before would be more stressful as the day is long. Sometimes they finish at 5:15. When they enter the main school it really is full on. The day still starts at 8 and they don't finish until 6ish, and they are at school on Saturdays and Chapel on a Sunday morning. It's like being a boarder really but coming home to do prep and sleep. It will suit some but not others. My daughter adores the school (she started Marshall in September) and cannot wait to spend more time there.
clueless123
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2010 11:45 am

Re: moving to warwickshire

Post by clueless123 »

Thanks for your replies so far.
I still have not managed to get the information regarding the school fees for Rugby school.
I think my main problem is that I would be comparing whatever school we are considering with her current school. Three of her classmates have moved to different part of the country so I am sure that the children settle down more easily and it is the parent s who agonise over it.
Ed's mum
Posts: 3310
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:47 am
Location: Warwickshire.

Re: moving to warwickshire

Post by Ed's mum »

Regarding fees. Copied from my last link in my first post to you:
Fees: Boarding: £28,050; Day: £17,475 - £22,815; Juniors: £10,299 PA.
It looks about right. I think that this information is up-to-date but I will check this out further, but not today as I am out most of today now as I said when we exchanged PMs early this morning.
Hopefully there will be others who can fill you in more fully on some of the other schools in the area. I also have knowledge of the application process for Princethorpe College if this helps at all as my daughter sat the entrance exams and was offered a place there too, also Rugby High School.
Rugbymum
Posts: 349
Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2007 12:05 pm

Re: moving to warwickshire

Post by Rugbymum »

If you are set trying for a state grammar in Warwickshire please note that you would need to live within the priority circles.

As for the private sector in Warwickshire apart from Rugby and Princethorpe, we don't have any other secondary indies. In Coventry there is Bablake and King Henry VII.

Nuneaton is not far from Market Bosworth, where Dixie Grammar School, an independent school is - my friend has daughters there. There are quite a few other independent schools in Leicestershire though.
solimum
Posts: 1420
Joined: Wed May 09, 2007 3:09 pm
Location: Solihull, West Midlands

Re: moving to warwickshire

Post by solimum »

Schools in south Solihull / Knowle / Dorridge are comprehensive : several are highly regarded and have a lot of high-achieving children. Also a popular (ie expensive) area to live, but very accessible with motorway/ rail/ airport links (as long as you don't live close to the new HS2 route....) and Birmingham on the doorstep. However for my local comp for example priority is given within catchment to those attending feeder primaries so I presume you would need to have moved before year 6.

A number from this area do travel further afield to private schools (mostly Solihull School, also Warwick / Kings High and the KEs in Edgbaston) and also the KE grammars or Stratford grammars. I believe there is also a bus to Princethorpe too! There is a lot of movement between sectors for sixth form.Obviously these are longer journeys (green bus leaves Dorridge Station around 7:15? for KECH, though you can get there quicker by car or a rail/ bus combination) compared to walking to the local school
guest201
Posts: 484
Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2009 4:04 pm

Re: moving to warwickshire

Post by guest201 »

In the independant sector it is also worth considering Kings High (Warwick) and The Kingsley School (Leamington).
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: moving to warwickshire

Post by um »

Just to clarify (with respect) Solimum's statement about feeder Primaries, at a time in the past, Solihull operated this system but have been very clear on their recent admissions booklet that they do not do so now.

Priority for secondaries is given first to those in care/with extreme need, then to those living in the catchment area (if there are too many children in the catchment area, which has not happened for a few years now, priority will be given to siblings, then on grounds of distance within the catchment area), then priority will be given to siblings outside the catchment area, then to those outside the catchment area, depending on distance.
The catchments areas are indeed weird and wonderful, and the map in Solihull Connect (in the library) shows them all - they are not available on line or by post. For example, the house directly opposite Tudor Grange School entrance is not in the catchment area, but the village of Tidbury Green, about 4-5 miles away, is.

In 2009, for Tudor Grange (arguably the most popular Secondary), all those in the catchment area got in, all siblings got in, and all those outside the catchment area but within 1.2 miles of the school got in. Be aware though that from around 2003, the birth rate in Solihull has progressively increased, which will likely decrease these distances from 2013.
solimum
Posts: 1420
Joined: Wed May 09, 2007 3:09 pm
Location: Solihull, West Midlands

Re: moving to warwickshire

Post by solimum »

The complication is that the two most popular comps in Solihull (Arden & Tudor Grange) both converted to academies this October, and their admissions arrangements for 2011 are not listed on the Solihull website http://www.solihull.gov.uk/admissionarr ... s/2011.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

They claimed on "converting" that there would be no change to existing admission arrangements, in which case see the previous year's version:

http://www.solihull.gov.uk/Attachments/ ... ts2010.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

section 3:


Priority 1a Children in the care of a local authority (looked-after children)
Priority 1b Children whose exceptional circumstances can only be met by that particular school
Priority 2 Children who normally live in the catchment area of the school
Priority 3 Children who have an older brother or sister at the school at the same time
Priority 4 Children closest to the school, measured in a straight line from the child’s home

3.2 For priority group 2, if there are more children wanting places than there are places available, places will be offered to children living in the catchment area in the following order.
3.2.1 Children who have an older brother or sister at the school at the same time.
3.2.2 Children going to one of the linked primary schools at the time of the application.
3.2.3 Children living nearest the school, measured in a straight line from home to school.



But as with all admissions issues the only safe thing is to check, check and check again, preferably in writing! fortunately for my peace of mind I don't need to go through this process again (just UCAS one last time next year......)
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