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

caz100

Pmum wrote: »

I suppose all parents are trying to get the best education they can for their child?

Should someone be disadvantaged because of where their house happens to be?

None of this is easy but while we have some schools that perform very significantly below that of other schools we will continue to have some schools which are more popular than others.

If every school in the province was as good as our best ones we could get shot of all this nonsense altogether.

Even then some might be more popular for other reasons.

They do have to find some way of deciding who gets and doesn't get the places. I don't know of a completely fair "test" or set of criteria to allow that to happen.

I can totally understand that it is unfair, I'm just not sure that "fair" exists.[/QUOTE
well I for one can honestly say I would not put my child on a bus every morning to and from school to attend a grammar if their was a grammar in closer proximity to where I live. I don't honestly believe that grammars are failing everyone or providing any different standard of education than they did 20 years ago. I now just believe they are taking in a more varied range of children with differing academic abilities. This is why the oversubscribed schools that accept only a grades are achieving better!

Pmum

Obviously I don't know anything at all about the specific schools involved in your area.

Why do you think parents from further away have put your local school at the top of their list?

caz100

I think they have because it is ranked no 1 grammar school in n.i and have been told that because of this "publicity" they are getting applicants from everywhere!!! How is this fair on our local children if the competition for places is increasing every year! I am very proud of what my dd achieved but any other year she would have sailed in and now has lost out marginally Due to the significant increase in applicants from surrounding towns/cities that have their own grammar schools!

leftieM

St Mary's Magherafelt? A top school. It does very well at GCSE and A-level although I believe they might do what a lot of grammars do and weed out the less fantastic to take in new, higher achieving, pupils at A-level.
Which leads me to mention that your daughter will have another shot at the school if she has good GCSEs. She may still go to the school she wants. Focus on getting her through KS3 and 4 and think again. It's a good time to move on as the classes all mix up then anyway.

flymetothemoon_2

caz100 wrote: »

I think they have because it is ranked no 1 grammar school in n.i and have been told that because of this "publicity" they are getting applicants from everywhere!!! How is this fair on our local children if the competition for places is increasing every year! I am very proud of what my dd achieved but any other year she would have sailed in and now has lost out marginally Due to the significant increase in applicants from surrounding towns/cities that have their own grammar schools!

Caz100
This situation is so unfortunate for you. Personally, I would not consider sending my child to a grammar school that is miles away if there was one closer to home that they could get in to. In my case, my child does have to get a bus to a grammar school that is 6 miles away because all the schools in our area are secondary schools and lots of kids therefore travel to various grammars 5 or more miles away. But I must say, if we had a local grammar, that's where my child would be. I also sympathise with your point about publicity. From what I gather, schools that have had a 'new build' also attract a lot more applicants! And this year, that super video made by Friends School (which was widely publicised) has clearly had the effect of attracting many more applicants than usual leaving people with really high scores rejected. Perhaps it is time that grammars thought about introducing criteria to give more consideration to high performing kids living closer to their school rather than rejecting the local child in favour of one who lives really far away but perhaps has 1 more point. This is particularly detrimental in rural areas or anywhere where there is only 1 grammar within miles.

Charliedevil

As I'm sure you are aware from my previous posts my daughter has been accepted to Victoria college on an aqe score of 91 or gl c1 which is by some of your children's scores a lot lower! Her teachers assured me she was capable of the work, had I not had this reassurance I would not have applied to vcb! Overall the school does not rank in the top schools in n.i but does however achieve 92% pass rate at gcse compared to our local secondary's rate of 24%!! I have given her a chance to prove her place and if by the end of her first year if she is not performing I wil remove her to the secondary! No point in paying high fees to end up in the 8% of failing students at the school! That aside, if a child is focused and smart they will achieve their potential no matter which school they attend!
When I myself attended hunterhouse we were only allowed to sit gcse exams that they thought we would achieve a c or higher because of the league tables! I know that some grammars still practice this procedure! So going on this as a reason to place your child in a school may not be such a viable choice. I was told to pick her school according to her interests! As Victoria is a stem school I thought it a suitable school as she is very into science and excels at maths!

Pmum

It really isn't easy is it?

Would you feel any better missing out on a place because you were 10m further from the school than the final child accepted? That does happen. I have known children whose nextdoor neighbour has got a place at a school while they have missed out because that school used "distance" as a criteria. I have also known twins who applied to the same school and only one was offered a place because that was the school's final available spot.

There really isn't a "fair" system. At least not one that I am aware of.

I really hope you find a solution. Do you have any idea of where your dd would be on a waiting list?

caz100

Hi pmum, I have been feeling pretty awful about the whole thing since last Tuesday. Checked the criteria and nowhere does it mention distance but I can't help but feel very upset that my child who has done fantastic in the test, a very respectable a grade cannot get into her local grammar? How is the system fair?! I think I may have felt better if she missed out by 10 marks but one mark and fourth on the waiting list, I feel she was robbed of a place that she had def deserved had these outsiders applied to their local grammars. especially living 5-10 mins away!

caz100

What makes it worse is that bullies from her primary school that I had to removE her from in p6 is going to the school with (much lesser grades )that she has been accepted to also. Her friend from her new school got a few extra marks so she got in to her first choice which makes my daughter extra fearful and me much more angry about the whole situation.:(

stephenni1971

Caz,

At this stage surely you would be better putting your efforts into the new school your daughter has been accepted at instead of fighting against what would seem from the information you have given to be a reasonable decision based on the criteria of the school.

My son missed by one point from his first choice but he and I accepted that and he is now feeling very very positive about things -

Your child was not 'robbed' by 'outsiders' the criteria applied to everyone and although it isn't what you had hoped for - thats how the system works so let it go, move on, and enjoy the next seven years! WOnt be long before your DD forgets all about this with n=her new class and friends.