Essex 11+ 2012 - Anyone else doing it?

[piggywigwig]

I was wondering if there's any other MN'ers on the countdown to the 22nd September?
How's everyone feeling? How's everyone's DC's feeling? Does anyone want a hand-holding session, support and even a rant?
I'd love to hear from fellow Essex parents

[letseatgrandma]

DS got SHSB-I've just accepted the place, he's very pleased!

Well done to everyone who got the school they wanted and good luck with the waiting list, Couthymows/appeal.

xxx

[breward]

Congratulations to your DS Letseatgrandma.

Do you have to accept a place? I thought you only got in touch with the council if you are declining a place. Maybe things are different between Essex and Southend councils.

My son is 2 points from the cut-off for KEGS. Last year the KEGS and CCHS waiting lists moved by 4 points between March and August. I know 3 girls who got places in the first week of July at CCHS.... so it could be a long wait for us.

Personally I'm delighted with the place at SHSB. It's a fabulous school and my favourite by a mile. However, we are in walking distance of KEGS and that is what appeals to my DS (as well as an extra half hour in bed each morning!!)

Have you had a pack from SHSB yet? I know girls at CCHS and ColCHS who have got their's.

Well done again...I'm not buying a green blazer just yet tho!

[letseatgrandma]

We are Southend LEA and the email said you need to accept the place or you lose it!

I'm really pleased with SHSB-it will take DS about three minutes to walk there with no roads to cross; that extra time in bed in the mornings was a very important factor for him!

We haven't had a pack from SHSB yet-I wonder if that will come now we've accepted the place?

How does your DS feel about it all?

[breward]

Ds is 4th on w/l for kegs! Really pleased.
Would have been happy if it was 5th or 50th because waiting in the teens must be agony and shsb is a great school if the waiting list does not move this year!

Ds came round to the idea of shsb, especially as his best friend also got shsb. Now really does not mind.

Wish me luck for the wait and I'll keep updating with news as and when it comes.

[Kenlee]

Wow ....you think thats bad....ha ha you have to try Hong Kong....500 applicants for each place. Academic acheiviment is placed on a back foot. Why because all applicants get 90 to 100% in their exams. Then they are selected on the special abilities. Arts each student need to be able to demostrate with certificates (i.e. primary grade ballet from the Royal school of ballet) or painting (again need to see you awards). Then we have Music my daughter only studied to grade 5. In HK they are at grade 8 or above. Sports need to be able to have medals.

So passing an exam is not that bad. My daughter is now going to an independent boarding in the UK as she was not selected to a band 1 school in HK.

The message im trying to get across is hard work is necessary. I failed aa I didnt push my daughter hard enough in music.

[piggywigwig]

kenlee
It's all about degrees of expectation, though isn't it, rather than "my cat's bigger than your cat"? Every society and culture has different expectations and demands on their children. We all still have to be able to look at ourselves in the mirror, when it comes to how hard we choose to push our children (as a society or individuals) ..and perhaps in the years to come, mop up the damage, bask in the reflected glory...or perhaps, merely be happy

[MrsBartlet]

That is great news breward! DS is at Kegs. He had a friend who was lower down the waiting list than that last year and he was offered a place within a few weeks. Fingers-crossed for you.

[MerryCouthyMows]

Pissed off. DS1 is 18th on the waiting list for CRGS, but there were 11 late applicants (you can ask for that info).

So in other words, on March 1st, on offer day, he was 7th on the waiting list, but 11 people that didn't get into KEGS have put CRGS down as a late application since offer day and jumped ahead of him.

If they wanted CRGS as a choice, why didn't they put it on their application form in the first place?!

He's 51st on list OOC for KEGS, which I knew he would be.

Am compiling an appeal based on his academic evidence and how ill he was (strep throat meant he had to sit the alternate sitting, but he STILL had strep throat then badly too, AND he had tummy pains that I put down to nerves on the day...which turned out to be appendicitis, he had an appendectomy just 2.5 days after the alternate test!!)

Shit that he gets really seriously ill at the time of the test and is unable to show his true potential.

You can see exactly where his painkillers wore off, too. (I had the VR remarked back at the time we got the results). He got 100% in the first 7 sections, 50% in the next section, and absolutely zero in the last few sections. So it clearly shows where his painkillers wore off.

It just seems wrong to me that a DC expected to achieve lvl 6 SATS, working on lvl 5b/5a in English, and lvl 8 in Maths, doesn't have a place in a Grammar school because he was seriously ill at the time of the test and couldn't show his true potential.

[MrsBartlet]

MerryCouthyMows - that is awful. Late applicants really shouldn't be allowed. It is so unfair to people who have done their applications correctly and followed the rules. I think the admissions people need to close that particular loophole. Wishing you all the best for your appeal.

[piggywigwig]

MerryCouthyMows
"So in other words, on March 1st, on offer day, he was 7th on the waiting list, but 11 people that didn't get into KEGS have put CRGS down as a late application since offer day and jumped ahead of him."

So sorry to hear about your son but keep your chin up and keep plugging away.
Can I ask who told you about the fact that others came in after March 1st and displaced your son?

Kenlee
"The message im trying to get across is hard work is necessary."

With respect, I firmly believe that all the parents on this thread know that hard work is necessary, especially as many have applied to a superselectives Those who have experienced the 11+ , especially in the UK, know that hard work is often not enough in itself, you need a lot of luck and nerves of steel on the day. Talking of "luck", who knows how the introduction and amendments in catchment area have effected results this year?

[breward]

Cowthy, I know of many children on the kegs waiting list (1st choice) who are also on the CRGS list (2nd choice) at a lower position.
Eg, 9th on kegs and 13th on CRGS.
This ds is likely to get kegs so he will not feature in the end on the CRGS list. You may find your son moves up the list quite quickly. Fingers crossed that you don't have to appeal, but your grounds are certainly strong and stand an excellent chance. You just don't need the extra stress that going to appeal brings with all that you are going through at the moment.

I feel this is going to be more of a marathon than a sprint. Keep strong.xxx

When do waiting lists start to move?

[MrsBartlet]

breward - not sure when they start to move but ds's friend who wasn't as high up the waiting list as your ds was offered by the end of March last year.

[breward]

The catchment changes have already thrown up some strange results. My ds's school usually gets girls into WHSG every year. This year, none. They all got CCHS ( but on their scores would have done in previous years too) or nothing. Lots of girls in the 320-335 were told they would have grammar places have the local, excellent, comp. A neighbour's dd has WHSG as she got 338 but is high up on the w/l for CCHS. With WHSG 337 cut off and CCHS 339 cut off there can be very few Chelmsford 12.5 mile catchment children with WHSG places. WHSG could end up as a southend/outer London mixed school only with very few children from wickford, SWF, Galleywood, Basildon, Brentwood etc. any more.

Also the ability range could be vast with a huge number of children this year (90 o/c pupils) scoring between 340-365.

I think many of the London children will go private and so the w/l will probably move massively this year. Usually about 24 places but quite possibly 40 plus places this year... We'll wait and see!

[breward]

Thank you, Mrsbarlet. Great news. 2 lists this year, could be a longer wait.

[breward]

Sorry-Bartlet not Barlet!

[MerryCouthyMows]

I asked as a FOI request.

[piggywigwig]

MerryCouthyMows
In the info they provided to you, do they differentiate between those who

1. Definitely only put KEGS and no other on the CAF and now want to add CRGS
   

1. Those who put KEGS 1st with a local secondary 2nd, 3rd etc
   

3. Those who put KEGS 1st and CRGS 2nd on their CAF preference and so now have got CRGS and those who,

1. For whatever reason, ie moving house etc have CRGS as a choice?
   

I have no idea how it works if you move at any point between 31st October 2012 and 1st March and need to change your preferences - do they wait until after 1st or 8th March and then officially put you in the waiting list queue?

It would seem a little unfair if CRGS waiting list places are allotted to those who only put KEGS as a choice on their CAF or my option 2 above. However, I have no idea how it works, other than if you fail to achieve your 1st choice selective school but fulfill the criteria for your 2nd choice, then you'll be offered the 2nd choice, so tehcnically, those with CRGS as a 2nd choice can displace those who placed it as 1st. I could be wrong.

[breward]

Couthy, did you phone up this Friday to see if CRGS list has moved? My DS is still at the same place. The Kegs list hasn't moved but CCHS has moved by 4 places. It is still early days.

[MerryCouthyMows]

No, I didn't manage to ring on Friday - I'm going to ring on Monday. Is your DS lower on the waiting list than my DS? My DS1 was 18th on the waiting list on 8th March.

[MerryCouthyMows]

Piggywig - no, they didn't differentiate, unfortunately. If I want that, I'll have to wait for them to reply in writing, but that can take up to 40 days.

[breward]

He is not on the CRGS list. He is only on the kegs list at number 4. The list has not moved even though the decline date for essex school places was 15.3.13. I know others have said they are declining CRGS, so just wondered if that list has moved and by how many places?

Southend schools lists move on 22.3.13. We have a shsb place but kegs is local.

[MerryCouthyMows]

Ah, my DS is waaaay below yours for KEGS. I'll let you know Monday on here if there is any movement on the CRGS list.

[breward]

Couthy- Can you find out if the KEGS out of catchment list has moved too? Just curious really as the list usually moves by about 20 places, but maybe only the out of catchment list will move this year.

Does anyone know any in catchment boys who will be declining a kegs place in favour of an indie?

[MerryCouthyMows]

I can ask - all I can do is tell you if my DS has gone up the KEGS OOC waiting list though!

[MerryCouthyMows]

DS1 is still number 18 on the waiting list for CRGS, and number 51 on the OOC waiting list for KEGS, so there has been NO movement.

I didn't expect there to be any movement for KEGS tbh, because I know that they are already one over PAN because admissions made a fluff up with someone else's application and gave them CRGS when they were IC for KEGS.

Because of this, KEGS were made to take one extra pupil, so for there to be any movement on the waiting list, TWO pupils have to turn down KEGS. Only then will they start offering places to the waiting list.

I'm surprised that there hasn't been any movement on the CRGS waiting list though - because I KNOW that one person who was offered CRGS is turning the place down to go to Ipswich school, plus the person who was offered CRGS mistakenly that is now at KEGS, there should have been at least 2 places movement on that list.

I'm assuming that Admissions haven't yet processed the refusal forms, hence no movement. Will try again on Friday...