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

flymetothemoon_2

norvern wrote: »

Thankyou Pmum

I rang Inst. this morning and my son's mark falls into quintile 4. They said he would have got in last year but they said the banding has changed a little this year, so the cut off for the 4th band is 99!
From my understanding of this - it may be difficult to find a grammar school place if he is comfortably in the 4th band with a score of 97.

I phoned AQE and they said it was still a good score (whatever that means!) and I should apply for which ever school my son wants to go too - but I feel his score rules him out straight away of the Lisburn and many of the Belfast grammars.. I feel a bit disheartened by the whole process to be honest

Norvern

Quite honestly, I think your son will sail into Inst with a score of 97, it is a very good score and would get him into other grammars also.
In 2010 Quintile 4 scores were from 88 - 97 and last yr Q4 scores were from 88 - 98. Your son's score is therefore likely to be near the top of Q4 so he should be home and dry. Just go for it!

Best of luck

flymetothemoon_2

Dear all

According to todays Belfast Telegraph, tomorrows paper will carry an article entitled " What schools require for entry".

Just thought this might be of interest to some as it sounds like it might include the scores accepted by all schools last year.

flymetothemoon_2

Ex-Spendaholic wrote: »

BallyclareMum, if I was in your position, I would apply for Ballyclare Grammar (or High or whatever it is called) and then list the other grammars within travelling distance and see what happens. You have Carrick Grammar, Larne Grammar, Belfast High, BRA, Antrim Grammar and probably others which are probably reachable at a push.

No way would I put my child in the position that I had chosen Ballyclare Secondary first (due to their methods) and they got placed there whilst kids in their peer group with less marks ended up in grammars. At the end of the day we put our kids in for the AQE tests as we want them to have a Grammar education.

Just my opinion.

Ballyclaremum4

I agree with ex-spendaholic's views above. You are actually within reasonable travelling distance of most, if not all the grammars he has mentioned and your son is clearly good enough for grammar. I live near Glengormley and we have no local grammar. If we did, I dread to think what the cut-off would be as the surrounding area is so densely populated. However, as we have no grammar, loads of kids gets buses to and from several schools everyday including Ballyclare High, Belfast High, BRA, Methody, Inst, Campbell College, St Malachys, Fortwilliam, Victoria College and the list goes on......... In fact the closest grammar to us is Belfast High and it is 4.5 miles away. So the hundreds of kids around this area don't have the luxury of a local grammar, I wish they did. So, what I'd do is put Ballyclare High as 1st choice and then list other grammars followed by secondaries. I sincerely hope you get Ballyclare High but the more I think about it, if this were my child, I'd go for a grammar and forget about a few miles of travel on a bus that most kids seem to enjoy! I know how nerve racking all of this but I'm an optimist, stick to what you really want- Ballyclare High.

molly68

Hi Ballyclare mum,

I went to the meeting in Ballyclare High. It did seem that the information given wasn't anything we'd heard before. I think last year they made a few predictions and were as shocked as everyone else when the grade boundarys went up so much!! I suppose this left them with a few upset parents.
I think after much deliberation I'm going to apply for all the local grammar schools within a reasonable distance and hope that this is enough....my ds is very chilled out about the process and is just excited to be starting high school...where ever that may be. good luck with your applications

BallyclareMum4

flymetothemoon wrote: »

Ballyclaremum4

I agree with ex-spendaholic's views above. You are actually within reasonable travelling distance of most, if not all the grammars he has mentioned and your son is clearly good enough for grammar. I live near Glengormley and we have no local grammar. If we did, I dread to think what the cut-off would be as the surrounding area is so densely populated. However, as we have no grammar, loads of kids gets buses to and from several schools everyday including Ballyclare High, Belfast High, BRA, Methody, Inst, Campbell College, St Malachys, Fortwilliam, Victoria College and the list goes on......... In fact the closest grammar to us is Belfast High and it is 4.5 miles away. So the hundreds of kids around this area don't have the luxury of a local grammar, I wish they did. So, what I'd do is put Ballyclare High as 1st choice and then list other grammars followed by secondaries. I sincerely hope you get Ballyclare High but the more I think about it, if this were my child, I'd go for a grammar and forget about a few miles of travel on a bus that most kids seem to enjoy! I know how nerve racking all of this but I'm an optimist, stick to what you really want- Ballyclare High.

Have definitely come round to this way of thinking and i appreciate all the advice that has brought this clarity. Thanks and best wishes.

BallyclareMum4

molly68 wrote: »

Hi Ballyclare mum,

I went to the meeting in Ballyclare High. It did seem that the information given wasn't anything we'd heard before. I think last year they made a few predictions and were as shocked as everyone else when the grade boundarys went up so much!! I suppose this left them with a few upset parents.
I think after much deliberation I'm going to apply for all the local grammar schools within a reasonable distance and hope that this is enough....my ds is very chilled out about the process and is just excited to be starting high school...where ever that may be. good luck with your applications

Thanks, this is the decision we've finally arrived at. I hope your son gets the school he wants and is very happy there.
Wouldn't it be lovely if we're all back here in a couple of months celebrating placements!
Best wishes.

Ex-Spendaholic

I cant see what the Telegraph are going to tell anyone that the school prospectus doesnt already. Again, I'm going to sit on my soapbox and preach that people should put schools in order of preference and not be swayed by past cut off points.

I am really looking forward to being part of this process again in 2 years time (not) :mad: The reality for us is that child 2 is possibly going to need a higher score than child 1 to get into the same school but I will be practicing what I preach and not be swayed by past scores. :rotfl:

What really gets me is that this shambles of a system has now become accepted. There is never any talk about sorting it all out. In East Belfast it used to be all very clear in the old system. If you got an A you could go to Grosvenor, if you got a B you would probably get into Wellington etc etc. Now in this new system, a childs score may fly you into any school one year and not the next. :eek:

BallyclareMum4

Ex-Spendaholic wrote: »

I cant see what the Telegraph are going to tell anyone that the school prospectus doesnt already. Again, I'm going to sit on my soapbox and preach that people should put schools in order of preference and not be swayed by past cut off points.

I am really looking forward to being part of this process again in 2 years time (not) :mad: The reality for us is that child 2 is possibly going to need a higher score than child 1 to get into the same school but I will be practicing what I preach and not be swayed by past scores. :rotfl:

What really gets me is that this shambles of a system has now become accepted. There is never any talk about sorting it all out. In East Belfast it used to be all very clear in the old system. If you got an A you could go to Grosvenor, if you got a B you would probably get into Wellington etc etc. Now in this new system, a childs score may fly you into any school one year and not the next. :eek:

We have three pre-schoolers - I wonder if this mess will be sorted out by the time they're leaving primary school? Hate to be a pessimist, but quite frankly, I doubt it!

PortableNuke

BallyclareMum4 wrote: »

Thanks and well done to your son :-)

Thank you. I hope things work out well for your son too. With any luck he'll get accepted by the High, but if not I hope he enjoys whichever school he attends.

PortableNuke

RikM wrote: »

Hopefully the transfer test will change (for the better) before child number 2 has to take it. Luckily, plenty of time for that...

I hope so too. My DD will be taking the tests in two years time and I'm not looking forward to the whole rollercoaster of anxiety again.