Asking for time off school to do mock/look at Indy

[silverysea]

Our primary is very fussy about taking time off, but next week we have a busy afternoon to visit a very selective Indy followed immediately by a GS exam we are using as a mock-have to leave before lunch as it's quite far and I don't know the area well.

DC NOT going on to our excellent local comps is a very alien concept in our area-should I mention one and not the other-don't want fall out for v self-conscious DD!

[hermanmunster]

which one are you planning to not mention? If you go for the indie - they may well want references from primary and if you tell them now they can get used to the idea

[Guest55]

Neither absence could be authorised so you will have a difficult decision.

[silverysea]

Hmm well in any case she's going. I will just have to take the flak.

I don't know why I worry when so many of their friends go skiing etc when it's cheaper without turning a hair.

[silverysea]

Actually the GS exam is after school hours anyway. And they might be pleased if it is one of the best Indys in the country-she's "their" product after all. They send the odd GnT group off to Indys for workshops from time to time.


Really I'm just trying to interest her, I hate the comp for her, totally unsuitable unfortunately and I want to move DD1 too but she's "settled".

[ToadMum]

Does it make a difference that it is an indy you are going to see? DS2's primary quite happily marked him as being educated off-site when we went to see what all the fuss was about re a certain boys' GS in Chelmsford back in March. As there was still some snow on the roads - and to give DS2 the full flavour of the three-trains-or-a-bus-and-two-trains-each-way journey attending this school would involve (we are on a direct if rather tortuous bus route, but although this would get him there in the morning, it would make him wait for nearly two hours after school before bringing him home again ) - we even made a day of it.

I can safely say that the experience was indeed educational; the three-train outward journey having been a bit of an adventure, DS2 initially said that he would really like to go to KEGS, but by two-thirds of the way through the homeward leg, the realisation that this could be five days a week, 39 weeks a year for at least 5 years sank in, and he declared that his enthusiasm had waned

[Daogroupie]

We went to lots of Open days in the summer term of Y5 and did exams and interviews from first week in November to last week in Feb of Y6. Another student even took over my dds slot at her table. There was nothing the school could say because dd could easily keep up with the work as she was well beyond it. I just wrote on the forms that she was following the KS2 work at home so would not be missing anything. It was tempting to write about how much more work she would be doing at home compared to her disruptive classroom but I managed to resist. There were students in the class already taking two half days a week for tennis training and another dd rehearsing for the Xmas panto and missing a day a week. At least we were actually doing something educational. DG

[Okanagan]

We never had any problem with asking for time to visit a potential secondary school - it's covered by attendance code B which includes "attending taster days at other schools". I'd be surprised if they could/would not sanction this to be honest.

[mystery]

If the primary do not code b it, it is more of a problem to them than you. Enjoy!

[Amber]

I am a bit odd perhaps but I have always told the truth about absence, whether or not I expect it to be authorised. A number of reasons for this: firstly and most importantly I don't like encouraging children to lie, and I feel they need to learn that they have to take some responsibility for difficult decisions because life is full of hard choices ('phone in sick from work because you would rather do something else?); secondly you could always get 'caught out' if you are seen, or have an accident or something and thirdly (OK I am a bit weird ) I don't feel 'right inside' if I lie.

I think it is really none of the school's business which secondary schools you decide to look at or send a child to, and you should try not to worry what they will think of you or your child. However in this case I think all you need to do is to send a cover-all letter saying "Cressida will not be in school on Tuesday afternoon as we are visiting possible secondary schools. Thank you and goodnight'