School fees

Jdubb

I do hope yr situation stays good as it looks. I heard stories about "feeder schools" and catchment areas but then I heard from parents with older children who lost out despite supposedly having those things. And the worst of all things the LEA have changed the rules this year, cudn't wait a year cud they! So now instead of getting multiple offers bak we are part of a "clearance house" system which means we apply to 6 schools but the offers go thru the LEA and they send you only one offer from the highest in your preferences and to be honest my first preference was the grammar school nearest and not really my preferred school, simply because I wanted her to actually stand a chance of getting in! The LEA's pathetic excuse for this system is to stop people hogging places whilst others may have no offers. I can understand the sentiment behind this, anxiety for your child can be almost unbearable, but if the LEA were sensible they'd say something along the lines of "unless we hear from you within the next three days we will assume you will accept your first choice" and automatically reassign places but of course that would be considered too fair and too much like hard work wudn't it!

Good luck to all of us!

Jdubb

Tks for that. I'm glad that your situation has worked for your son and I'll bet u had to battle for whatever you now have; I don't know anything about Asperger's but I'm sure the whole situation must have been, and may still be, very difficult. We don't have any special circumstances in fact every criteria for a school in our own area is against us - we live on the edge of the area, so we're not near anywhere, my daughter's an only child and she doesn't come from a broken home and I've not just died whereby charities look kindly upon such children! I thought just being bright was her key but apparently not. I s'pose I shudn't moan really but it seems in all areas these days people in the middle have to take second place to the rest! Silly me, I just assumed I cud get my daughter into a decent school preferably a community one - unfortunately the choices of good community schools in my area are zero and so I had to learn very quickly how to try and play the game - let u know if we're successful!

Jdubb

Savvy_Sue wrote:

Whether you need to take a test or not to get into an independent school depends on the school. In some cases you may need to take the test for assessment purposes, but there may not be a 'pass' mark: other things will be taken into account, like whether your forebears went there. But if the school is oversubscribed, then why would they not take the brightest? It's not just the quality of teaching that gets them their results!

Anyway, back to the original question. I would approach the school and explain that without a decent bursary your daughter is unlikely to be able to take up her place, and see what they say. You may have to explain why your situation is complicated. They may have some help which they don't advertise widely, or there may be something you hadn't considered: I know boys who've had music bursaries which their parents hadn't immediately thought of applying for.

http://www.isis.org.uk/ may be also be a good place to look, if you haven't already!

Tks for that. You're right about the differences, wat's wrong with a little consistency, the children all sit the same national exams the end of it all. We have applied for a bursary but that I'm told is likely to be minimal as my special circumstances aren't that special! U'd think they'd be happy to take and help a bright child they've offered a place to but it seems they'll end up taking a less bright child than mine but who can afford the fees possibly. Some I've spoken with "in-the-know" say these charities are rolling in it and they'd be happy to help support a bright child but apparently not!

Sarahsaver

it would really be moneysaving to send your child to the local state school, if more people (the chattering classes ???) did this the state school system would improve. How often do you hear people slag off the state system when they are not even involved in it. Where I live the oversubscribed schools (state) are single sex ones and faith schools, but their exam results are LOWER than the most successful mixed schools. My kids go to the nearest primary school, and they will go to the secondary school for which we live in the catchment area. We have more choice nowadays - supposedly, but in fact with this choice does not come greater freedom, or better quality.
There, rant over, but this is one of the things I feel strongest about. I know moneysaving is all relative, but seriously your child would learn more from a super duper holiday in the summer, and a nice big savings account to use when they go to uni. Keep your money for yourselves and use the schools you have already paid for in your council tax!;)

Jdubb

It's amazing at the difference in schools! My top tip is visit all schools u may consider sending yr child to in year 4 because other parents' opinions and the reality of seeing the children in school can be very different from perceptions - it certainly opened my eyes and changed my views on completely on the schools I thought I wud apply to and those that I actually applied to! I can't be certain that sending my daughter to any school will be the best for her but going with my instincts, knowing her and having to deal with the "system" we are left with very little choice regarding our schools.

Think I'll start looking for a rich man rather than a payment plan!

Jdubb

jellyhead wrote:

each school must be different. the grammar high school in my town gives free scholarship places but you have to buy the correect uniform yourself. i don't know if there's an exam but know several people who're not bright who've been there. their GCSE results are better than the comprehensive but not hugely different. they do tend to have pupils in the paper who've got an amazing amount of top grades in their exams but equally they have kids who don't get 5 at c or above. my cousin went there after getting a scholarship but his mum couldn't afford all the uniform and sports equipment. he hated it anyway, was desperate to go back to his comp lol!

It's amazing at the difference in schools! My top tip is visit all schools u may consider sending yr child to in year 4 because other parents' opinions and the reality of seeing the children in school can be very different from perceptions - it certainly opened my eyes and changed my views on completely on the schools I thought I wud apply to and those that I actually applied to! I can't be certain that sending my daughter to any school will be the best for her but going with my instincts, knowing her and having to deal with the "system" we are left with very little choice regarding our schools.

Think I'll start looking for a rich man rather than a payment plan!

tightgit_2

Jdubb - do they really get a place in your local Grammar school if they have a sibling there? If they do, that must be terrible, as how will they keep up if their not bright ? That certainly doesn't happen at my son's school. I wish it did as I have a younger son, who is not as bright as the elder one, so may not get in.