Still undecided! Help please!

Eleven Plus (11+) in Medway

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jnadams2
Posts: 46
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:41 pm
Location: Gravesend Kent

Still undecided! Help please!

Post by jnadams2 »

My DD has passed the Kent and Medway 11+. We/she always believed that she would go to Gravesend Grammar School for Girls if she was assessed suitable. Her brother attends Gravesend Grammar School and is currently in Year 10. As she sat the Medway 11+ we sent her to the 'bridging the gap' morning at RGS, which she enjoyed. She passed the Kent test with good scores, enough (I think) to be offered a place at Gravesend and the same for RGS. Up until yesterday she was adamant that she wanted to go to Gravesend. Her reasons were:- liked the colour of the kilt! Lots of friends going there, could catch the bus with friends, be completely independent, older girls there that she knows etc., etc. Of course now we've moved the goal posts. Having visited RGS and loved the whole ethos of the school, the headteacher was very impressive, gave up lots of her time to answer our questions etc., and now our DD is saying she wants to go there. Her reasons are:- her best friend is almost 99% likely to go there and she felt having walked round the school yesterday during school hours that the girls, although working hard, looked happy and were very friendly. My concerns about sending her there are:- support network much smaller, distance from home which is 7 miles, compared with 2 something, therefore she would have to catch 2 buses to get all the way home, or I could collect her from the 1st bus stop. I'm concerned about her social life, where are her new friends likely to be living etc., but we do feel that RGS offers the right education for our DD, we are particularly interested in the International Baccalaureate as we feel this is the future.

Sorry for the ramble, but can anyone offer any advice please, seriously running out of time as scaf form has to be completed by Friday!
medwaymum
Posts: 827
Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2007 6:45 pm
Location: Medway & Kent

Post by medwaymum »

If you live in Gravesend and you did like the school then personally I would have gone for that...UNLESS you loved RGS so so so much that you could only see your daughter there and nowhere else. The journey time will be quite long and when she starts clubs it will be difficult to get home. As far as I know there are no school buses for after school clubs. My friends dd goes there and she has to pick her up on training/club nights.
Sometimes its easy to get 'blown away' with another option, the grass is greener and all that, and indeed if you didn't like Gravesend that I understand putting RGS first, however if you did like GGSG then you need to step back I feel and think practically.
This is only my ramble too - you are the best person to judge where your dd should be. Good luck, you have a lovely choice of two great schools. :)
Belinda
Posts: 1167
Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2007 10:57 pm

Post by Belinda »

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Last edited by Belinda on Thu Nov 01, 2012 12:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
fairwaydad
Posts: 10
Joined: Tue Oct 28, 2008 10:02 am
Location: Gravesend

Post by fairwaydad »

Hi again jnadams,
Seems things have changed somewhat from one of your previous posts...now your daughter likes RGS and wants to go there! At least you should be pleased by that in would have been harder sending to RGS if she only really wanted to go to GGSFG.

As we said before we were really disappointed with GGSFG at the Open evening (as we were last year when we went) but we know that shouldn't be the whole basis of your decision. GGSFG is a good school and they will get a very good education but we too share your belief that the IB is the way to go. For this reason, RGS and Dartford are our top contenders. We went to Dartford last night and were really impressed - more so than we expected. However, in the end it is still likely to be RGS for us as it has a certain "wow" factor.

We understand the transport implications for you which are similar to ours. It is a difficult decision and only you as a family can make it. Our daughter could currently walk to GGSFG in 20 mins which is clearly very attractive but in the end the school matters most. Travel issues will sort themselves out. In the first instance our DD will get the service bus that runs on school days from Lion Garage roundabout (will need to be dropped & collected from there). We realise that this may not work when she is involved in after school clubs but it is likely that other parents living in Gravesend area will be in same situation and there is the possibility of car sharing.

Good luck with your decision. We're off to Wilmington tomorrow for final school visit.
One Down
Posts: 114
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:28 am
Location: Kent

Post by One Down »

Hi,
I don't know anything about either school so I can't help there! However, since my DD1 started GS a year ago, I have been amazed how many times it has been necessary to pick her up for school, even sharing with a friend's mum - orthodontist, dentist, illness, half day for open day (three trips there and back), too much stuff to take on the bus, after school clubs, early/late school trip pickup/dropoffs, forgotten musical instruments (don't do this anymore!-cruel mum) etc etc.
This was something that never entered my head when we were seriously considering an equally good school six miles away. But I do frequently thank my lucky stars on each extra pickup that we chose the closer school, a twenty-minute round trip away.
My DD1's friend lives further away and has to be picked up at the bus stop every day. This had become a considerable chore for Mum and younger siblings, especially in the dark evenings and they are thinking about moving house. Also circumstances may change with work etc - will you be able to pick her up at the bus stop for seven years?
Just wanted to let you know the things we should have considered. Luckily we made the right choice and DD1 is v. happy and is home very early!
jnadams2
Posts: 46
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2008 1:41 pm
Location: Gravesend Kent

Post by jnadams2 »

Thankyou to all of you who have replied. I'm still undecided, I know GGSFG is a good school BUT RGS is better!! One thing that I forgot to mention in my earlier post is that we are hoping to move in the next couple of years and it is our hope to move to Higham. If this happens then the whole transport issue will be a lot lot easier!! Also DD is my youngest child so no younger siblings to worry about and I don't currently work (obviously I'm aware this could change in the next 7 years)!

I think we need to sit down as a family tonight and talk it all through once more, to ensure that we make the right decision that works for all.

Thankyou again.
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