Good luck - 11 transfer Northern Ireland

snowJo

Johanna, have just been reading your posts. The nightmare continues for you and doesn't look like it'll be a speedy resolution. Really feel for you trying to sort out things now and hope that someone somewhere can assist you in finding a place for your child. I thought we were bad not getting our first 3 choices out of 4 but you situation is awful.

I've heard of so many families who haven't got their choice of place which is contrary to the statement by the new education minister who said MOST children have secured their first choice!!! I'd like to see his statistics because it's certainly not what I've been hearing.

Why did CR have to mess with the system and throw us all into the quandry we're now in.

cheesypuff

Johanna sorry you got news about Dunclug its a nitemare, hope you get sorted with one of the other two.
Found out today Glenlola's cut off this year was 96 as opposed to 90 last year so my DD hads no hope with 92, it really has gone up this year with most schools.:(

snowJo

Well, the new school orientation night is in 2 weeks. It will be interesting to hear what the headmaster has to say that evening and if he refers to the shambolic transfer procedure.

BTW - I always thought uniform at a high school would be cheaper than grammar, but it would seem not. £12 PE shirt, £27 rugby shirt, £30 tracksuit top, £20 tracksuit bottoms, £11 outdoor shorts, £11 indoor shorts, £25 hoody, £4-50 socks - all adding up to £140-50. That's only one each of the essentials in the sports department. Yet to add to that the blazer, shirts, trousers, tie, outdoor coat, shoes, rugby boots and all the other bits and bobs. No doubt he'll need some of it replaced within a week or two as it'll get lost or torn. Yikes, I think it's back to beans on toast for a while in order to pay for it all. Are the prices much the same with everyone else?

butterflymum

snowJo wrote: »

BTW - I always thought uniform at a high school would be cheaper than grammar, but it would seem not..Are the prices much the same with everyone else?

As MSE'rs, I imagine the very high cost of uniform/pe/games kits will not sit well with any of us, regardless of whether Grammar or Non Grammar. This is one area whereby I do feel all schools should review their policies, especially those who, despite the current recession, have in recent and/or current year, decided to move to branded/crested items for pe/games kits too, having already given parents little choice but to fork out for crested blazers.

Perhaps as parents we should rebel as one, but at the end of the day, this is unlikely to happen and we will all fork out as required. Most annoying, is the monopoly that some businesses seem to have in being the only one in a given area that offers the items for their local school catchments , so there is no competition on prices.

In respect of Blazers, cloth sew-on pocket badges should be offered as an alternative to an already crested Blazer, allowing parents to purchase, for example, a plain blazer in appropriate style/colour for the particular school, then add the crest themselves. This would allow them to choose a cheaper, albeit not necessarily inferior quality, blazer, and the savings enable them to replace the blazer more frequently as their child grows, moving the cloth crest on each time. After all, most children grow frequently throughout their time in senior school and forking out for a new blazer each new school year is not always possible.

How many of us who already have a child/children at senior school, buy a little on the large side to start for this very reason, yet still find that either our child has grown quicker than expected or the blazer has worn out quickly too- usually across shoulder/back area from carrying heavy rucksacks full of books and at elbows, from wearing blazer all day and it rubbing on desks). And how many of us hope that our child/children will not mind wearing a blazer that is obviously becoming too short in the sleeves/worn, for the final term before the school year ends? I imagine a good few. And parents just about to have their first child transfer will soon know the feeling.

..... continued at next post

butterflymum

.....contd

Also, the move by many schools to crested pe/games wear means we can no longer purchase plain sport tops, shorts, track bottoms etc., from a wide choice of sources and prices.

I appreciate some will say how lovely it is to see everyone looking the same when taking part in everyday sports/games/activities at school (ie not as part of a school team, where a team strip is a different consideration), but provided strict guidelines on style and colour are laid down and adhered to, even non-crested wear purchased in slightly differing styles from various retailers, can look smart and help retain a sense of belonging and group identity/appearance.

Again, given the rate children grow at, it would be easier on the pocket to replace non-crested wear more often, especially given too, that pe/games wear is, after all, used only a few times per week for short periods and more likely to be grown out of than worn done and in need of replacement.

snowJo

I must admit that I'm a tad worried as I have a very large 11 year old child. In fact he only turned 11 six weeks ago and is already 5'5" and wears size 9 shoes. When he arrives at his new school in September he will already be taller than half the main school!!! However, he still acts like an 11 year old and this can cause issues as people who don't know how old he is and expect him to behave a lot differently and with more maturity.

The worries never end do they. If it's not one thing it's another...........

Doggies

Johanna, keeping finger crossed for you that you get sorted with a school which is better than the one she got. Let us know how you get on.

Yes the uniform etc is ridiculous, the cost of it. I am a single parent and its going to be tough. Luckily we are getting a bit of help from my mum. The uniform is around £360 and the fees are £320. Ouch!!

facingthefuture

Doggies wrote: »

Johanna, keeping finger crossed for you that you get sorted with a school which is better than the one she got. Let us know how you get on.

Yes the uniform etc is ridiculous, the cost of it. I am a single parent and its going to be tough. Luckily we are getting a bit of help from my mum. The uniform is around £360 and the fees are £320. Ouch!!

Dear goodness Doggies, with the bag you are spending £700. Not everyone would have that sort of dosh available.

Doggies

I know, its crazy. I think part of the fee is maybe voluntary, if so I won't be paying the full amount. Its just too much.

Rach39

My son was over the moon to find he'd got his first choice Rathmore and so was I, especially when I found out their fees are only a voluntary £75 per year compared to the huge amounts being requested by Friends and Wallace his 2nd and 3rd choices!!!