Support thread for parents of chilldren sitting the transfer test in 2011

RikM

BallyclareMum4 wrote: »

RikM

You seem to have a good idea what you're talking about - wonder if you'd give your thoughts on my dilemma? DS got 96 which I know is very border line for a grammar school place - Ballyclare Secondary stipulate that you have them as first choice - not sure if it's a worthwhile risk to take?

I looked up the secondary's admission criteria - strictly they just say that they will give a preference to people who put them first. But in practice, if they are over-subscribed with first choices, then, yes, the chances are they won't take anything else.

The trouble is, 96 is not necessarily borderline. It will depend on the school and the applicants this year. If the secondary did not have that line on first preferences in it's criteria, then the answer would be a straight "list in order of choice, regardless". But with that there, you have a tougher choice: put the secondary first, or give up on it.

I suspect that a 96 would get into a grammar, especially if you were to put down two or three. But the secondary may be as good a choice as your second or third choice grammar. I know I would rather our son had gone to Carrick College, than one of the other grammars we were considering, but in the end it was, ah, academic. He's
now at Carrick Grammar, his first choice.

So, if you like the secondary, I think you have to put it first. Maybe then some grammars, if there is any doubt about getting into the secondary.
If, on the other hand, you really want a grammar, then you should list a few and may have to give up on the secondary.

But what is your son's preference?

Charliedevil

Dd sat both tests and got a c1 in GL and 91 in AQE! She expected more and is devistated she is insisting in still putting Victoria as first preference as they accepted 91 last year! However may is a long way off and I don't want to build her dreams up to get knocked back again! The local secondary school is the girls model which is an excellent school. She is easily led astray and I would worry about her there. Any suggestions?

BallyclareMum4

RikM wrote: »

I looked up the secondary's admission criteria - strictly they just say that they will give a preference to people who put them first. But in practice, if they are over-subscribed with first choices, then, yes, the chances are they won't take anything else.

The trouble is, 96 is not necessarily borderline. It will depend on the school and the applicants this year. If the secondary did not have that line on first preferences in it's criteria, then the answer would be a straight "list in order of choice, regardless". But with that there, you have a tougher choice: put the secondary first, or give up on it.

I suspect that a 96 would get into a grammar, especially if you were to put down two or three. But the secondary may be as good a choice as your second or third choice grammar. I know I would rather our son had gone to Carrick College, than one of the other grammars we were considering, but in the end it was, ah, academic. He's
now at Carrick Grammar, his first choice.

So, if you like the secondary, I think you have to put it first. Maybe then some grammars, if there is any doubt about getting into the secondary.
If, on the other hand, you really want a grammar, then you should list a few and may have to give up on the secondary.

But what is your son's preference?

Thanks for reply. Son just wants to please us and doesn't seem to have a preference as we've always told him it doesn't matter which school he goes to, it's what he does when he gets there that counts. It's just so difficult not knowing what to do in his best interest (as it is for everyone else.)
Glad your son got his first choice - hope he's happy and content.

flymetothemoon_2

Charliedevil wrote: »

Dd sat both tests and got a c1 in GL and 91 in AQE! She expected more and is devistated she is insisting in still putting Victoria as first preference as they accepted 91 last year! However may is a long way off and I don't want to build her dreams up to get knocked back again! The local secondary school is the girls model which is an excellent school. She is easily led astray and I would worry about her there. Any suggestions?

Charliedevil
I know both schools and would choose Victoria without hesitation. Victoria's lowest score in 2010 was 88 and last year it was published as 91 however I know my friend's daughter got in last year with 90 (and no special circumstances). I would urge you to go for Victoria if that's what your daughter wants - you have nothing to lose and it is a fantastic school. Good luck.

flymetothemoon_2

Ballyclaremum4

I totally understand your predicament and wouldn't like to be in your shoes. It is so unfortaunate that Ballyclare Secondary is over subscribed. If you get to the Info Evening in Ballycalre High tomorrow night, it would be interesting to hear what they are predicting for this year. Perhaps you could post it on here and let us know? Thanks in advance.

Pmum

Charliedevil wrote: »

Dd sat both tests and got a c1 in GL and 91 in AQE! She expected more and is devistated she is insisting in still putting Victoria as first preference as they accepted 91 last year! However may is a long way off and I don't want to build her dreams up to get knocked back again! The local secondary school is the girls model which is an excellent school. She is easily led astray and I would worry about her there. Any suggestions?

Charliedevil,

I remember last year someone saying that Victoria were able to tell parents which percentile rank their daughter's score was on for both the GL and AQE. Maybe they would do this again this year and it might give you a slightly better idea where you are?

Once again, you have nothing to lose by putting the Grammar school first so long as you can get your daughter not to have her heart completly set on it.

Having been through this 3 of the previous 4 years I would completly endorse what others have said about sticking to your list of preferences no matter what the score. I'm not sure if this has changed too but in the past you could put down as many choices as you wished even though there were only 5 spaces on the form.

I would also advise everyone to go through each school's criteria very carefully and make sure you put down all the information they ask for.

I really feel for those who are caught in the "have to put the secondary school down first" trap. I hope the meeting at Ballyclare gives you some of the answers you need.

Ball_Boy

Ballyclaremum4. We also live in Ballyclare. The situation with the secondary really is a Catch 22. With a score of 96, have you considered Larne Grammar? Last year they had better A level results than Ballyclare High School but the AQE cut-off score was considerably lower. There is a bus leaving Ballyclare at 8.15 in the morning and I've seen kids catching it in Larne Grammar uniform. It's only 15 mins away, so maybe worth getting in touch.

gsurgenor

Hi, my daughter scored a 104 in the AQE and 231 in the GL exam, both of which I'm very peased with, however I'm not sure they are good enough to put her two Grammar choices (Antrim Grammar and Ballymena Academy) and then risk not getting into Slemish, which is highly over subscribed, can any explain how the schools clear applications. Is there a chance she would get into none of her 3 choices and if so what then? I saw someone mention that Ballyclare High were having an open eveing tonight and that they may give info on the spread of results across the grades this year, that information would be very useful but I can't make it this evening, if anyone is there could they post up anything that might be useful?

Thanks

beccasmum

Just to let everyone know, I just spoke to AQE and this year's top score was 123 and not that many got over 120 so there is hope for lower scores. Hope this helps calm some nerves.

BallyclareMum4

flymetothemoon wrote: »

Ballyclaremum4

I totally understand your predicament and wouldn't like to be in your shoes. It is so unfortaunate that Ballyclare Secondary is over subscribed. If you get to the Info Evening in Ballycalre High tomorrow night, it would be interesting to hear what they are predicting for this year. Perhaps you could post it on here and let us know? Thanks in advance.

Will definitely share any info I find out tonight. I'm guessing Ballyclare Secondary is over subscribed because it's a good school, so we are fortunate in that respect.