ALL NEW; WHITGIFT/TRINITY/DULWICH/ALLEYNS 10+/11+ 2016

[MrsPatmore]

Thought I'd go ahead and start. Found the old threads really interesting and would welcome ongoing input from those who've been through the whole process.
Ds in Year 5 and we are looking at a mixture of grammar schools and indies for 11+ Whitgift recommended this year - we've been told there is a drive to raise academic standards. We're going to the Open afternoon on 10th Nov.

My DS has always managed with two - the heavy duty navy and white ones - we didn't bother with the nylon-effect gym ones. They are not supposed to have to wear white shorts for rugby anymore though, so don't know if the heavy cotton ones still form part of the list?
They don't have to have a school jumper - any plain grey or black V-neck is acceptable too.

The blazers are black aren't they? We've always had black trousers anyway.

As an aside, have a pair of the heavy white shorts in a 28" waist and one or two school ties going spare if anyone wants them.

Hi soup I could do with a spare tie if you've got one going as I failed miserably to make it to the secondhand uniform sale due to a severe hangover and will no doubt need a backup.

The shorts are confusing. As far as I and Hewitts could work out the official requirement for September is 2 x the heavy duty Canterbury ones in Navy and 1 x the white nylon ones for P.E. I think.

Do you all know what forms your boys will be in? anyone in P? :)

Well, I have spare ties because I failed to send them in for the second hand uniform sale :o In theory I have 4 of them but so far there is only one :) PM me and I can stick it in the post to you.

As far as I understand it, they need navy Canterbury shorts for Games and white shorts for PE. These can be thin nylon ones or the heavy Canterbury ones.

A few years ago they needed white Canterbury shorts for competition rugby but this proved to be a bad idea as you couldn't get the damn mud out ( the 28" ones I have are inexplicably still white)

You had me worried there, as I've just bought black trousers for Trinity! So I just checked the uniform list that we were sent in the recent welcome pack, and it definitely says "Trousers - dark grey or black". Phew.

I haven't even started thinking about sports kit yet...but at least we are well on the way to having a full quota of stationery-related items, as DS1 is a bit obsessed, and has insisted that we buy everything on the "recommended equipment" list

I'm (rather sadly) quite excited about the new boys/parents morning this Saturday!

I don't think it's sad to be excited Bo - it's the next step in your DS's life - and it's a big step. I found it very helpful and reassuring.
And black trousers are very definitely OK

Help please Trinity parents - please tell me which Opro Mouthguard to get for Sept First Form - do I have to get the custom fit ones? or can i get an "off the shelf" one and if so, which one? Thanks

Off the shelf is fine. I bought Opro boil and bite ones (platinum to start with and then cheaper as they got lost!)

DS's orthodontist said I was absolutely not to get the custom fit ones.

Really, soupdragon - why was that? I've put off buying one of the opro guards so far, so would be delighted to know if I could buy a cheaper one and not feel guilty about it(!)

we are getting down to really trivial levels of detail now but which type of locker padlock would you recommend? (yes I am bored at work :) )

Mouthguards: because their teeth are still moving and their jaws are growing. He was passionate about it!!

Padlocks: not too big or they won't fit! Something where the body excluding the ring bit is about 3.5 cm tall and not too chunky. This is not an exact measurement :o I think my DSs preferred a combination lock as they kept forgetting or losing the keys. I think they may have had to get the porters to use bolt cutters to remove the lock on more than one occasion! Once from round the strap of their bag

Seeing as all you existing Trinity parents have been so helpful, could I ask one more question that I forgot to ask on Saturday?!

DS1 will be getting the school bus to school, but I'll be picking him up (by car) after school until he's a bit older and can go by public transport (he'll only just have turned 10 when he starts).

How does that work? - do I need to find a side road somewhere to park up in, and if so, is that a nightmare? Or can you drive into the school car park? (Am guessing probably not). Any advice gratefully received!!

You can park in the school carpark but do need to get there early (I used to get there before 3:30 straight from the primary school runs), or late. However, they are about to start building work which will involve losing a chunk of the carpark so space would be at a premium.

It can be tricky to find space in side roads - I used Green Court Gardens, Whitethorn Gardens and Upfield but they do have parking restrictions.

By carpark, I mean the section to the right of the teeny roundabout as you go in through the school gates - the paved area outside the boys entrance is usually available for pick ups, the narrow strip down the the kitchen area (top tip - reverse down this and into a space!) and the bigger section outside the 6th form centre and swimming pool. I believe the small area down to the Addiscombe Road gate is going to be available whilst building work is carried out.

Thank you SoupDragon. Unfortunately I probably won't be able to get there until about 4pm due to finishing time/distance from DS2 primary school. I guess that probably means we'll have to find somewhere in a side road or move house to within walking distance

Although, maybe if I'm getting there c4pm he could be ready & waiting for me outside the boys entrance and could just jump in the car as I drive through(?)

Mine rarely put in an appearance before 4pm :)

There is a section near the 6th form centre that has a long barrier above a slope and some benches - it's where they wait for the bus home. That might give you the best chance of a drive by pick up.

The first couple of weeks are very very busy in the carpark. Once he is confident, he could wait in the library doing homework until, say, 4:30 when it will all be empty outside. I assume JBugs can go to the library after school anyway.

You'll probably find he grows in confidence incredibly quickly.

For the first few days they usually have some of the ground staff on traffic duty which helps.
I have never had to park outside school, apart from one evening concert involving the whole of the J-bugs and first form. I often do numerous circuits of the car park!!
As Soup says, the impact of the building works are as yet unknown.

Were you at Trinity during the building works for the 6th form centre?

That blocked off the entire 2 rows closest to the building IIRC.

No - they'd just finished that as we started
I suppose the music block is more round the corner than the 6th form centre so might not be quite so chaotic (hopefully)?

I think I parked off site for DS1's first week and then it all calmed down. It was less stressful for me to have already decided where I would park. DS1 couldn't have cared less :o

It was mostly the mobile buildings for the site office that took up the space.

Thanks seeline and soupdragon - this is all very helpful. I'm going to do a recce after school sometime this week to give me an idea of how busy it is (and then double it to estimate what it'll be like come September).

By the sounds of it, then, my plan will be to find a road to park off-site to start with, and then try driving round and round the school car parks after a couple of weeks. I'm sure I am far more stressed by it than DS1 will be

There's a special event on Friday afternoon Bo so I would stay well clear that day!!