Pate's Grammar School - Any opinions?

[tealrunner]

We are planning on moving back to the UK in 2015 when my eldest ds will be starting secondary school. As we do not have property there yet and plan to rent initially, we are a bit stuck as to how to get him in a good school without living in any catchment areas - yet.

Having been out of the UK for years I am totally ignorant of all the school stuff (am having sleepless nights 2 years in advance, ), but it appears that Pate's doesn't have a catchment area specification and so is a possibility. It also looks extremely academic (does it hothouse little stepford children or are the kids happy all rounders?) and probably has a large number of applicants (any knowledge of that?).

My ds is doing great at school, is in the extension classes for literacy and maths, but not off the charts. Is Pate's just for very high achievers?

And lastly, do you know of any other grammars/academies that don't have catchment areas?

Many thanks!

[stroudydad]

Hi there You will get many different opinions about Pates from many people (most of which are better informed than me) so I won't comment, but regarding the catchment areas, all the grammars in Gloucestershire (3 boys, 3 girls and pates) are superselectives and have no catchment areas. Hope is helps.

[tealrunner]

Thanks, stroudy, will check out the others some more.

[Guest55]

Are you looking beyond Gloucestershire?

[Mum66]

I can't remember the details, but some of the grammar schools do not offer testing abroad - best to check with each school you're considering as they can differ. If not, you may need to plan a trip to Gloucestershire to tie in with test day (13 Sept 2014 for Sept 2015 entry).

[tealrunner]

Thanks Mum66, Pates does offer testing abroad which is also a plus for us.

Am I right in that in doing the test via Pates we will also be eligible for the scores to be put forward for the other Gloucestershire grammars, i.e. it's all the same test? I'll be contacting the schools/LA after christmas to get all the info but was just wondering if you knew off hand.

Guest55 - tbh we potentially could relocate anywhere in the UK so if you have any suggestions for other non catchment requiring grammars, I'd love to hear them.

[Guest55]

Well, although they have catchments, a few Bucks GS are nearly always undersubscribed. This means applications will be successful from anywhere.

[NancyB]

Thanks Mum66, Pates does offer testing abroad which is also a plus for us.

Am I right in that in doing the test via Pates we will also be eligible for the scores to be put forward for the other Gloucestershire grammars, i.e. it's all the same test? I'll be contacting the schools/LA after christmas to get all the info but was just wondering if you knew off hand.

Guest55 - tbh we potentially could relocate anywhere in the UK so if you have any suggestions for other non catchment requiring grammars, I'd love to hear them.

The test results will be shared with whichever other selective Gloucestershire schools you tick on the application form. Usually people take the test at the school that is their top choice, but others take it at the most convenient. All the grammars allow the test to be sat overseas.

There is a short time between test results and having to state which school you wish to apply to. However, you will probably need a UK address by that stage (not necessarily in Gloucestershire) as out-of-county applications for any school in Gloucestershire are processed initially by the 'home' county then forwarded to Gloucestershire Education who do the school allocations. If your son gets a pass mark for one or more school, you'll not have much time to look round them if you leave it that late.

All the Grammars have a unique 'look and feel'. Pate's works well for bright children - but then so do all the others and whilst Pate's might have a few more very bright ones, all the schools have children just as bright!

If you end up moving here but your son doesn't pass the test, note that most of the non-grammars are also pretty good schools in the area.

Final tip. Get your son speaking & reading English like wot it is spoke and writeded by us. Do that now, not later. English spellings and phrasing.

[stroudydad]

Great advice there nancy, especially regarding the language..

[Mum66]

I had heard that this year STR did not do overseas testing. You should still check with the schools because with a new test, there may be changes.