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[Martin_1962]

Well if you live in an area with a dire secondary school, there are ways around it, we found out both local pay schools do bursaries for bright children, so we tried and succeeded.

Offered places in both, one offer was too low and we couldn't afford it the next was pretty reasonable

My daughter starts at a local grammar school in september and we only have to find a small portion of the fees

[maria]

Thats good news ,some good schools are hard to come by these days

[Markjay]

Good on ya' Martin, we have three girls and I know exactly how you feel...

[Vamps]

I really am pleased for you, I know exactly where you are coming from and I would do the same thing if I needed too, you do what you can for them.
However, but it is too late to start a rant, you should not have to do it, the system, schools today etc!!!
 

[maria]

Dont start me of on rants about schools

[albitz]

good for you martin.we have a few grammar schools in essex and they are excellent.my daughter went to one and although her dad (me) shovels concrete for a living,she is now a dealer(shares not drugs!)in the city.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Thats lucky...

This new government school choices farce gets right up my goat.....I havn't applied to our closest school because I know we wont get junior in so have apllied to a different one.

How can a school work out how many places it needs when it has no fixed catchment area!

[zippo]

Thats lucky...

This new government school choices farce gets right up my goat.....I havn't applied to our closest school because I know we wont get junior in so have apllied to a different one.

How can a school work out how many places it needs when it has no fixed catchment area!

[/highlight]

morning
we had it explained like this
first come first served
your child's achievement record
if your face fits at the interview

[Andy B]

......

morning
we had it explained like this
first come first served
........

.. but the risk you take is that if your 1st choice school isn't your catchment area school and knocks you back,  your catchment school is then full and won't take your child as they will say that if we weren't good enough to be 1st chioce we won't put ourselve out to take your child anyway. So, you end up, miles away, in the worst school of the borough that nobody in their right mind would have put as 1st or 2nd choice. In our case that worst school has now been closed (in name only) - open drug dealing on the street outside the gates, etc etc - and amalgamated with the next worse school. Thing is they still opperate in the same building, about 1/2 a mile apart under a new name.

[zippo]

......

morning
we had it explained like this
first come first served
........

.. but the risk you take is that if your 1st choice school isn't your catchment area school and knocks you back,  your catchment school is then full and won't take your child as they will say that if we weren't good enough to be 1st chioce we won't put ourselve out to take your child anyway. So, you end up, miles away, in the worst school of the borough that nobody in their right mind would have put as 1st or 2nd choice. In our case that worst school has now been closed (in name only) - open drug dealing on the street outside the gates, etc etc - and amalgamated with the next worse school. Thing is they still opperate in the same building, about 1/2 a mile apart under a new name.

[/highlight]
that sounds like for like what has happened to two of the local schools near me it couldn't be the same school could it ?

[Marks DTM Calib]

Thats lucky...

This new government school choices farce gets right up my goat.....I havn't applied to our closest school because I know we wont get junior in so have apllied to a different one.

How can a school work out how many places it needs when it has no fixed catchment area!

[/highlight]

morning
we had it explained like this
first come first served
your child's achievement record
if your face fits at the interview

Well they were stringing you porkys......as there is no first come first served setup (no apps are reviewed until after the application date and they are not dated on receipt), its based around criteria as the first (second, third etc) pass i.e. where do you live, whats your religion, do you visit the local church, do you have any other children at the school etc....

And the big pisser.....it all results in a shed load more admin staff which do nothing for a childs education......bloody useless Tony Blair....

For my little lad, I have not applied to our local (good) school because there is a high chance he WONT get in as we have no other children thier already, we dont go to the local church although we do loosely meet the religion criteria.....and most schools who are popular bin any applications where they are put as second choice straight away!

So first choice had to be the alternative school which is further away (although still pretty good) in order to ensure he does not end up miles away at a bad school....

[zippo]

Thats lucky...

This new government school choices farce gets right up my goat.....I havn't applied to our closest school because I know we wont get junior in so have apllied to a different one.

How can a school work out how many places it needs when it has no fixed catchment area!

[/highlight]

morning
we had it explained like this
first come first served
your child's achievement record
if your face fits at the interview

Well they were stringing you porkys......as there is no first come first served setup (no apps are reviewed until after the application date and they are not dated on receipt), its based around criteria as the first (second, third etc) pass i.e. where do you live, whats your religion, do you visit the local church, do you have any other children at the school etc....

And the big pisser.....it all results in a shed load more admin staff which do nothing for a childs education......bloody useless Tony Blair....

For my little lad, I have not applied to our local (good) school because there is a high chance he WONT get in as we have no other children thier already, we dont go to the local church although we do loosely meet the religion criteria.....and most schools who are popular bin any applications where they are put as second choice straight away!

So first choice had to be the alternative school which is further away (although still pretty good) in order to ensure he does not end up miles away at a bad school....

i was told that by a headmaster, who  said "i have the final say in who attends my school" ?.try for the school you want Mark we were knocked back with our first choice and had to appeal which involved a lot of letters and ultamitly a meeting with the education department but in the end we were successful

[TheBoy]

Although I agree education is utterly critical (and I was lucky to go to reasonable 1st and primaries), look at my family:

3 of my brothers went to a local comp, all have done well for themselves - eldest owns a couple of jewellery shops, 2nd eldest is Technical Director for a car engineering company after leaving McLaren last year, little bro makes a good living being a sparky for one of the big horseracing auction companies.

My sister and I went to so-called 'good' grammar schools.  She's never really managed to get decent, long term employment since leaving uni. Me, well, just look at what I'm doing.


I felt over pressured at secondary school - in fact the school only bothered with you if you wanted to go to Oxbridge.  This made me rebel a lot.

My brothers may have only gone to the local comp, but the teachers there appaeared to have a real passion.  My school had teachers who were geniuses (couldn't teach for sh!t though), but there was something distinctly lacking unless you were one of the clever people - I found they couldn't keep my interest.


I guess what I'm trying to say, is get them to the best school for the child, not necessarily the 'best'.  Even at a young age, the 'social' element around school is important imho.

[Kevin Wood]

Not having any kids I was completely ignorant of this and just wondered why there are so many chelsea tractors on the school run. Now I know.

All this "choice" nonsense that Labour have invented is a poor excuse for failing to provide a decent service. If every school, hospital, doctor's surgery, etc. was performing adequately it wouldn't matter which one you went to, and you'd be happy to just get the one who's catchment area you were in.

As it stands, I suspect if a school performs badly it's now a self sustaining situation because anyone who cares will avoid it. Meanwhile the government aren't at fault because "they gave you a choice".

 

Kevin

[Andy B]

..... do you have any other children at the school etc...........

 ... even this was changed by the time my daught wanted to go to high school. It was brought in to stop kids from neighbouring Manchester from taking up 'our' (not my choice of words) kids places. This left people like us with the possiblilty of children at different schools across the borough! That was till Mrs B got on the case!! She managed to get the rules changed back!!         after she'd put the case forward as to why our daughter would be going to the same school as our son. (where's 'I'm dead proud' smilie?  )