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Original poster

When to take my DS to open day or evening?

32 replies

SwanseaMan666 · 10/07/2021 20:06

My DS is going to be in Year 5 this September. Is it recommended in Wales (Swansea BTW) to go to open days/evenings at this stage?

My DS is in his final days of Year 4 BTW.

When should I take my DS to a secondary school with me (open day/evening)?

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Original poster
SwanseaMan666 · 19/07/2021 20:09

@PatriciaHolm

www.olchfa.org.uk/admissions

Olcfa did a Virtual Open Evening last year. Who knows what they will be able to do this year?

They do also say visits are encouraged, but again that will depend on Covid regulations easing up of course.

Probably no restrictions by the time open days arrive. Also I'm not able to send email
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Original poster
SwanseaMan666 · 11/07/2021 21:14

@TomNookk

Olchfa does transition days for the year five and six and then open evening for the year six. he’s only just going into year five i would just forget about it and relax and wait until the time comes
I think the transition days for Year 5 are in summer. Approximately a year time
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Original poster
SwanseaMan666 · 11/07/2021 17:41

Only kidding, I'll do it soon.

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Original poster
SwanseaMan666 · 11/07/2021 17:40

Why?

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Original poster
SwanseaMan666 · 11/07/2021 17:40

D'oh!

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EduCated · 11/07/2021 17:25

May I suggest that if you are wanting to know about one particular school and their specific arrangements, you may be better off emailing the school directly to ask?

Original poster
SwanseaMan666 · 11/07/2021 17:21

Are there Year 5 ones although not mentioned?

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Original poster
SwanseaMan666 · 11/07/2021 15:05

@TomNookk Also, is it Year 6 only or can Year 5 students come (although not mentioned on the website)?
I think you are a student in Olchfa.

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Original poster
SwanseaMan666 · 11/07/2021 15:03

@TomNookk What do you mean by Olchfa Transition Day for Year 5?

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Mumdiva99 · 11/07/2021 14:36

I went in y5 to narrow down area to move to. Took Ds in y6.

They are very busy with people so the less people that can go the better.

TomNookk · 11/07/2021 14:36

the primary school will handle it

TomNookk · 11/07/2021 14:35

Olchfa does transition days for the year five and six and then open evening for the year six. he’s only just going into year five i would just forget about it and relax and wait until the time comes

UserAtLarge · 11/07/2021 14:32

I think it depends a lot how much genuine choice you have.
Although the schools round here wouldn't turn you away if you turned up with a Year 5 child, the whole open day set up is geared around Year 6 students.
But we're in an area where pretty much everyone goes to their catchment school and it's pretty hard to get in anywhere else except for the couple of unpopular schools.

PatriciaHolm · 11/07/2021 14:22

www.olchfa.org.uk/admissions

Olcfa did a Virtual Open Evening last year. Who knows what they will be able to do this year?

They do also say visits are encouraged, but again that will depend on Covid regulations easing up of course.

EduCated · 11/07/2021 14:20

By and large it’s up to each school as to how they organise their open evenings (I.e. just for Year 6, or for anyone who wants to turn up).

Just googling the school you mentioned has brought up information from last year about a virtual open evening for Year 6 - that May be different, because COVID. You’ll need to check each school.

I’ve never heard of taster days for Year 5 (or Year 6, other than transition ones), but again you’ll need to check with each school.

Ultimately it’s up to you if you want to take your kid in Y5.

Original poster
SwanseaMan666 · 11/07/2021 12:36

When do Wales usually do open days for secondary school? That's the main question.
Could it be Year 6? Year 5?

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Original poster
SwanseaMan666 · 11/07/2021 12:25

It's not them, it's it. I mean by the Year 5 ones.

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Original poster
SwanseaMan666 · 11/07/2021 12:24

By the way, does Olchfa School encourage Year 5 open days/evenings and does it even do them?

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SometimesIFeedTheSparrows · 11/07/2021 11:46

We went in year 5 as the open evenings were at the beginning October and the application was due in end of Oct (yr6) and felt that having to make a decision in a couple of weeks was a bit much.

OnTheBenchOfDoom · 11/07/2021 11:20

We did year 5 as we were weighing up options between 2 schools one of which was a feeder school so a guaranteed entry. It gave us time to talk about it to Ds and for the non-feeder school ask lot of questions about transitions.

Gives you a feel for the place without the pressure of making a decision quite quickly especially if you are looking at several schools. It also meant we had made our decision early so when the admissions process opened up in August we got it done.

EssexCat · 11/07/2021 11:12

I would.

Mainly as it something happens that means you can’t make the Y6 ones at least you’ve had a look.

I’d probably go, have a reasonably quick look round and a chat rather than making it a massive deal. Just so you can start getting an idea.

Original poster
SwanseaMan666 · 11/07/2021 11:10

@pocketcalculatoroperator

If Wales works the same as England, then applications close around end of October. So lots of people just do Open Days in the Sept/Oct of Y6, then decide. But as the PP said, if you've got lots of options (and particularly if you're deciding whether to enter for 11+), then going in Y5 can start to narrow things down. We did go to one in Y4, but only because it did its open day in the summer, and we were making 11+ decisions, and summer of Y5 felt like too long to wait.
So should I take my DS at the start of Year 5?
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Original poster
SwanseaMan666 · 11/07/2021 11:07

Does Olchfa do Year 5 open evenings or days or even a taster day in the summer?

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pocketcalculatoroperator · 11/07/2021 10:14

Good point. Some secondaries offer more specific 'Year 6 only' sessions in October which seem intended more for that purpose.

TeenMinusTests · 11/07/2021 10:08

For DD1 (England) I went to the 2 options in our town in y5 to get the lie of the land, and then we took DD1 along to see our preferred school (which happened to be our catchment) in y6.

Our DDs were not mature enough to make the decision themselves. If they had absolutely hated our preferred school we would have thought again, but otherwise by y6 we were on a 'sell and transition prep' mission not a 'choose' mission.

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