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

Flower-power22

cck wrote: »

I am really saddened by a lot of the posts on here especially the ones suggesting that parents should just list all the Grammars nearby in the hope of getting into one!!!!! What is that about??
What is so good about a Grammar school? the name?
Parents need to pick a school that suits their child NOT their ego. If you child is only scraping into a Grammar then maybe they would be better served at a non- selective school, then they would possibly shine rather than possibly getting left behind at a Grammar.

My daughter done very well in both the GL and the AQE ( 99 and B1 ). However i know my daughter is not a driven child and would possibly get eaten up in a competitive Grammar setting. We have a Grammar school less than half a mile from my house that she could easily get in to, but i'm sending her 20 miles away to Slemish College where i am sure she will be nurtured and encouraged to achieve what she is capable of.

I hope everyones kids get to the school that they feel is best for them.

Rant over!!

Don't count your chickens before they hatch. My dd applied to slemish last year. We ticked all the boxes of a place - oldest child, feeder primary, letter of surname well up the list etc and she never got a place. You won't be sure until you get the letter. Its a hard time for them going into the unknown. I know my dd would have been devistated to be sent 20 mile to go to school. Her frinds would have been a long way away, something you might want to consider.

cck_3

Flymetothemoon,
In 2009 one of the "excellent" grammars accepted the following,
55 A grades, 10 B1's, 11 B2's 20 C1's and 7 C2's
This is a school that turned away A grades 20 years ago!!
Over the last three years this school has Been well below the N Ireland average for A level results

Quoting from the recent inspection report which is available online
"The quality of teaching ranged from very good to inadequate"
"lessons were over directed and the pupils remained passive"
"a majority of teachers raised Issues in relation to the ineffective communication across the staff at all levels"

I would class this as a "sub standard" grammar school, and in reality is grammar in name only.

Mollykins

The commuting issue is very child dependent. The minimum bus journey from here would be 20 minutes so 30 minutes in the train doesn't seem so bad but opens up all sorts of other schools to look at. When I drop ds at his morning train I pass kids waiting at bus stops for the local schools so his day isn't really any longer. We went near and a bit farther and let dd say where she wanted to go. And she has chosen the school ds is at which I would not have predicted. And it's not to be with him. That's a positive disadvantage in her opinion. I loved the bus to school for half an hour. Highlight of my day! I see learning to get around on public transport as a great educational benefit of not being within walking distance of your post primary school. The friends being from all over is a bit of a pain and will be more so with dd than ds as she is very sociable.

BallyclareMum4

flymetothemoon wrote: »

CCK
Don't know why you're so sad - just because people have advised Ballyclaremum4 to list all the nearby (excellent) grammars. If some of them were sub standard I would understand but that is not the case. Perhaps you have taken this out of context - it was only about the specific situation in Ballyclare. Even though Ballyclaremum lives close to the very good Ballyclare Secondary (which, unfortunately is highly oversubscribed every yr and hence her dilemna) it is clear that she wanted her son in the grammar school. I disagree with your comment that kids who scrape into grammars may have been served better at a non-selective school. It is a fact that many such kids leap ahead of their peers. Having the interest in studying and learning is what's really important for a grammar -the kids do need to be academically inclined. If a child doesn't really have that drive, a grammar is not the place for them. I also think most parents are painfully aware of doing what's best for their child as this forum clearly shows. There are also some parents (like myself) who have no good secondaries in their area and to put their bright and studious kids into such a school would be a real disservice to them. Finally, I don't think any of us would put ours kids through AQE or GL (let alone both) unless we thought they were grammar school material

That's my rant over :beer:

If by 'the grammar' you mean Ballyclare grammar you are very much mistaken. I would very much prefer Antrim or Larne because I believe they are child driven as opposed to results driven. Unfortunately, if we do not first apply to Ballyclare we wont be eligible for free transport, which is necessarily a consideration for us as a single income family. My quest for a grammar school place isn't just about academia,the environmental conditions re issues such as discipline are a huge factor for us.
Until 4 years ago I taught in a FE college, the vast majority of my students had few, if any GCSE'S and although most were from secondary schools, some came from grammar schools - the difference in behavior was immeasurable. I'm not suggesting all secondary school kids are the same, I know many wonderful teenagers who attend secondary schools and many arrogant grammar school brats, but my son is very niave and sensitive and i believe he would benefit from a much more disciplened environment.
Im certain i'll get much abuse for this sentiment, I don't mean to offend and i apologise if i have.

I would be very grateful for any advice on Secondary school in my locality, because if Ballyclare secondary isn't our first choice I am at a loss to know where else to consider. Thanks in advance to anyone who is able to offer any suggestions.

flymetothemoon_2

Aaaahhh cck

You seem so anti-grammar that I don't get why you put your child through FIVE (Grammar School) entrance tests when you could have settled for 2 (to keep them on their toes) or none? I do understand that some kids just want to have a go at the transfer test no matter what their chances but even these kids would only go through 1 system or the other - not both.

You've clearly done some research but any school or workplace can hit bad patches through poor leadership and/or communication and a quick turnaround can happen. Also, the change of intake (although still not bad) can and has happened to many schools in NI. On the flip side, some schools which are now taking in mostly As would not have been rated 20 years ago -demographics - c'est la vie!

cck_3

flymetothemoon wrote: »

Aaaahhh cck

You seem so anti-grammar that I don't get why you put your child through FIVE (Grammar School) entrance tests when you could have settled for 2 (to keep them on their toes) or none? I do understand that some kids just want to have a go at the transfer test no matter what their chances but even these kids would only go through 1 system or the other - not both.

You've clearly done some research but any school or workplace can hit bad patches through poor leadership and/or communication and a quick turnaround can happen. Also, the change of intake (although still not bad) can and has happened to many schools in NI. On the flip side, some schools which are now taking in mostly As would not have been rated 20 years ago -demographics - c'est la vie!

Definitley not anti-Grammar!! i went to one myself!!.
What i am anti, is this "any Grammar is better than a secondary" school of thought that seems to have spiralled in recent years!!.

As for putting my child through FIVE tests, she was already entered for all of them by the time i had visited all the schools and realised that the two best schools were Slemish and Ulidia, both not requiring you to sit the test. If i had been impressed by the local Grammar i would send her there in a heartbeat.

The travel issue is a problem where i'm from, there are three buses going to Ballymena alone, then there is the buses for "down the shore" and trains to Carrick and buses to Belfast. A lot of kids have to cope with the 30 - 40 mins travel time every morning and afternoon, which is unfortunate but they soon get used to it.

RikM

Grammars were originally focussed on the academic track kids, the ones who were likely to be aiming for university.
But over the last few decades, a non-university education seems to have been devalued. To the point where a "degree" is required for many more jobs than seems reasonable.

I nearly choked, when I saw the previous govts aim of getting 50% of school leavers into university. Given the way stats work, they were basically saying "we want to dump even kids of below average intelligence onto universities". Setting up an educational system like that is going to fail an awful lot of people.

What is wrong with following a non-university track?

confused_mummy_3

I just received by sons aqe test raw marks that he got in his actual tests not standardised. The scores this year must of been extremely high. I cannot imagine that an october birthday would disadvantage as child that much. As a percentage of the two highest marked tests he got 86% with an standardised score of 102.

kazza1000

confused_mummy wrote: »

I just received by sons aqe test raw marks that he got in his actual tests not standardised. The scores this year must of been extremely high. I cannot imagine that an october birthday would disadvantage as child that much. As a percentage of the two highest marked tests he got 86% with an standardised score of 102.

Hi, just wondering, how did you get the raw score? Did you phone AQE?

Many thanks, Kazza

Pmum

confusedmum,

Are you sure the scores they have given you are percentages?

I would find it strange that they would translate the scores into percentages and then apply further statistical analysis to them?

Could they just have given you scores but not specified what they are out of?