Aylesbury High School (AHS), any thoughts......?

DropZoneOne I was there 30 years ago too! Would agree with everything you said. I was an academic high achiever. In retrospect I have issues with single sex schools and have deliberately avoided for my own children but if it's something you're happy with then obviously that's a personal decision!

Excuse me - I don't think I said that that was MY assessment of the girls at AHS. It is a comment I've received from someone. I'm merely asking if other people found the same problem or is it just blown out of proportion by my friend (which knowing her is not outside the realms of possibilities).

And I never said that the boys at AGS were not good enough. I just said that my son has struggled with it (he has Aspergers so is very set in his ways) - his form has actually been banned from their form room before the start of the school day due to behaviour.

I was under the mistaken impression that this was a place to ask people for personal experiences. We were suprised at my friend's comments, so I'm asking here. If this is not the general experience of people then fantastic.

I find it hilarious that boys don’t work at AGS either! What judgemental children you have when a grammar isn’t good enough and neither are the children at the schools. I have two friends who had 2 sons each who went to Oxford and Cambridge from AGS. I guess they didn’t work and just sailed in!

Are you for real? So what other options do you have?? SHF and AHS are the only Grammars in Aylesbury. Would you prefer a secondary modern? Probably not. You could go Private of course but I think your summary of the girls at AHS is frankly ridiculous.

The vast majority of DDs friends (15) went to AHS. A few might be interested in hair and make up but this is inevitable in a large school. The results tell you that girls do work! There is also outstanding teaching. It’s a happy school with many highly educated parents.

There will be a few over coached ones who are sick of education though and will do the minimum. They are not a majority. It’s a large school and takes all sorts of personalities. We knew girls who went there who were very studious and serious. Others were a bit more frivolous. So be it.

My neighbours boys went to SHF and loved it. If you don’t have the funds to go Private, you are being ultra picky. Everyone I knew was delighted to have a girl there and SHF too. If you don’t like those awful girls, get saving!

We found out today that DD has a place there. It was her first choice and DS is already at AGS. However I was talking to someone the other day who has a daughter in Year 7 and she said that they regret it. Her daughter complains that the girls don't want to work and are only concerned about their hair etc. I know the lack of desire to work has frustrated my son at AGS. Both of them went to a small school where if pupils were given a task to do, they did it. Wondering if we made the right choice. DD really didn't like SHF

You cannot assume other schools would not have had the same consequences though. Mental health issues are not just found in grammar schools.

Both my daughters went to AHS and did very well academically but in my opinion the pastoral care was lacking. My elder left to go to SHFGS for A levels - she had approached teachers to say she was unhappy, she was offered counselling, that we were not told about, at no time did the school contact us to discuss things - my younger daughter suffered from severe anorexia so left to do A levels elsewhere. While it does suit many girls with the benefit of hindsight we made a dreadful decision, we would have been better living in a non selective county.

Thanks GRW for your reply.

Sorry, I should have said I live in Bucks too I have had one DC go through the "old" 11+ and I have got another DC to take it this September so you got me a bit more worried!
It makes me very that people out of county push up the pass mark and then don't even take up a place but that is a whole other thread

Thanks again.

I know someone currently at AHS. She puts a tremendous amount of pressure on herself and works solidly from 6am until 10pm. Its ridiculous. She is predicted all A grades but is terrified of letting that slip.

Her friends have run out of patience for her as she never makes any time to hang out with them.

I have asked her whether her teachers are aware of how hard she is working and how anxious she is and it seems that they are not, despite the fact that she has dropped extra-curricular activities (some school-based) to make more time for school work.

I find it concerning that no one there has identified that she has a problem. She can't possibly keep working and stressing as much as she is without it surely leading to burning out or having some sort of breakdown.

Having said that, this is just one pupil. She tells me that although everyone there works hard most do give themselves a break as well.

It sounds as though the quality of the teaching (academically speaking) is pretty good.

The 11 plus in Bucks has changed since my DD took it, and I think it is harder now. It used to be just verbal reasoning but now includes non verbal reasoning and Maths as well. There are increasing numbers of out of County often privately educated kids sitting the test, which serves to push up the standard required to score the pass mark of 121.
Certainly in Aylesbury Vale the pass rate for kids from state primaries has gone down since the new test came in. I think it was 19% last year. Lots of kids in the Aylesbury Grammar schools travel from as far away as Milton Keynes.
In South Bucks and the Chilterns there is a higher local pass rate and therefore the schools there have fewer places for kids who don't live in Bucks. Places in Bucks are allocated on distance rather than 11 plus score, so all kids who live in catchment and score 121 in the test should get a grammar school place for year 7 start.

GRW

Do you mind me asking why you think your DD wouldn't get through under the "new" 11+ exam please?

CookieDoughKid

As I always say to people who are thinking about moving to Bucks because of schools. DON'T DO IT! Sorry for shouting but seriously if you have got a local and outstanding comp that your DD is guaranteed to get into you would be (IMHO) crazy! I know you said it "lacks in a few areas" but no school is perfect-private, grammar, state (I know grammar is state but you know what I mean) Don't underestimate the stress that surrounds the 11+. It's a nightmare. It's obviously up to you though so good luck with whatever you decide.

I'm another former AHS pupil! Quite a few years ago now though. I was very much middle of the middle academically and got on fine and was happy there, though had a few friends who found it quite tough keeping up academically and don't share my mainly positive memories. Music and drama were always of a very high standard, so it's good to hear that that continues. Regarding sport, I was absolutely hopeless at it but never felt like I stood out for my incompetence and lack of interest, whereas at some other schools there was far more pressure to be hale and hearty and brilliant at games (Malory Towers, for instance! ) There were many many sporting opportunities for those who wanted it, though.

Thanks GRW. I didn't realise a music centre was next door. That is awesome! I think it's definitely worth a try for us, appreciate the feedback. Superhelpful.

I didn't move to Bucks specifically for AHS, but live in catchment and was glad my DD had the opportunity to go there. The 11+ has changed since she took it, and I am not sure she would get in now. I know a few bright kids recently who were tutored and expected to pass but didn't. There aren't many private Secondary schools in Bucks. I have known some go to Pipers Corner or Berkhampsted School if they didn't get through the 11+.
The girls at AHS can have paid for music lessons during school time at Aylesbury Music Centre which is next door to the school. There are after school bands and orchestra there too with kids from other local schools.
AHS has a good reputation for team sports, and drama productions. My DD enjoyed trampolining when she was in the 6th form. Good luck with your plans to move to Bucks.

Hello - I'm considering Aylesbury High and considering moving to Bucks. I've a local outstanding state comp though (Girl's) on my door step so it's a hard call. However, my comp lacks in a few areas and we don't feel it's the right fit for us so willing to move to Bucks and obviously stay in Bucks. My dd is top of the top table at our state primary. I'm after an academic school which also has a decent enrichment program - like choir/orchestra etc and decent range of sports. Could you kindly tell me what Aylesbury High is like in addition to their academic? What's their drama and arts like? Do their girls sit graded exams for music, for example? And knowing what you know now about the school - would you have moved specifically for it? [We would have a private school as a backup so the Uppers isn't such a concern for us but we can't really afford x2 sets of private school fees, so considering Grammar). Thanks so much!

Current parent with two DDs in year 9 and 12 !

Best decision i made sending them there, both girls wanted to go to Sir Henry Floyd's because neither wanted single sex.

However, both are doing very well and have many friends from different backgrounds as posted up-thread . The school has girls whose parents are doctors and accountants as well as cleaners !

Aylesbury High School has helped both my girls achieve their potential . DD1 over achieved at GCSE with 7A* grades despite only 'scraping' in to the high school with a score of 123 .

DD2 is relieved that i chose the high school for her, rather than her choice of SHF.

Jesus, that sent a shudder down my spine.

I hated that school. None of my friends enjoyed it and we all couldn't wait to leave the place. I'm sure some liked it but certainly none of my sisters look back on the place fondly either.

I'm sure it's ok now. Sorry for the negativity, OP.

The problem in Aylesbury is that all three secondary moderns there are RI or worse. They are not slightly less academic. The secondary moderns in Aylesbury Vale as an area are better if you live in catchment for a good one. For Waddesdon, this is vanishingly small!

There are several schools in Aylesbury now (in the old Quarrendon school area and one or two others) that still get next to no 11 plus passes! From what I have observed these children mostly go to SHF when they do pass. It is nearer and caters for children like them. Personally I think they are wrong to just look at SHF but it is difficult to shift perceptions about not fitting in elsewhere. The grammar started to do outreach a few years ago to raise aspirations. Not about choosing them, but about wanting to get to a grammar. It is a sad fact that few parents in the poorer areas can afford tutoring and their children are at a serious disadvantage when compared to more well off children. It makes me cross!

I think you've got your answer there then. You really didn't feel the love for SHF and only have some niggling doubts about AHS, then that's the one for you. If your DD is averagely competitive and averagely resilient she should be fine. The only thing I would really caution about is where she will fall academically in the cohort. If she's the sort who will scrape in with a lot of tutoring please think again... I went to grammar school and still live in GS area and saw both then and now how tough it can be for kids at the bottom of the pile. Often it's better to be the biggest fish in a slightly less academic pond and swap at 16 to GS sixth form than flounder at the bottom of the GS system for 5 years, unhappy.
But if you've think that's not an issue, go for AHS and I'm sure your DD will have 7 lovely years there :-)

Wow, that was my high school! But I'm going back 30 years since I started. Certainly didn't feel competitive back then, although it may just have gone right over my head! I joined from a primary school that would probably be classed as underperforming by today's standards, only 2 out of the year 'passed' the 11+, most of my friends went to Quarrendon and I was devasted not to be going with them!

Most of the intake seemed to be from surrounding village schools, there was quite a mixture of people, income brackets and ability. One of my friends lived in a pretty standard semi in Wendover, another had a huge house in the country with stables and owned a horse.

I certainly wasn't competitive, I was pretty standard academically and rubbish at sports etc. But I did pretty well and was never made to feel that I wasn't good enough - I was the third year of GCSEs, so grading expectations were a bit of unknown. Most went onto do A-levels, a few did leave to go to college at that point instead. There was an expectation that you would go onto university, and limited support if you wanted to do something vocational instead (my Maths teacher was visibly shocked when I said I wanted to be a Holiday Rep not go to Uni to study Maths!).

I didn't even get to look round the school, my Mum made the decision that was where I was going. I was a very shy child and she believed the single-sex education would help me come out of my shell. She was right, and I made some really great friends, but girls can be incredibly bitchy and if you got on the wrong side of the alpha girl you were in trouble. Not sure whether this would be tempered in a mixed school, or whether that's just teenagers for you.

SHF is an excellent school but is different from the High or the Grammar. You have to remember that these schools have an identical catchment area so you have to ask who chooses which school and why? The very upwardly mobile just don't choose the Floyd but may have to accept it on appeal. Where I live, hardly anyone chooses it as first choice. If you look at other areas within the catchment, it is a different story. The children I know who went to SHF loved it. They were the right fit and possibly would have been less happy elsewhere. They were more creative and less fitting into pigeon holes! I think these schools do offer choice to parents - they are different. Many parents with awful schools and no choice would grab a place at SHF in an instant!