Grammar schools and where to move to in UK

[Thegirlisnotright]

Where is a nice area to live with free grammar schools? Quite simply we could move anywhere, but know nothing about most of the UK 😂

I went to a grammar school in NI, and the brightest girl in my year failed her 11+ and attended the school anyway as a fee-paying boarder. She did very well. Another of my friends wasn't allowed to study art at A-level because the school wanted her to apply to Oxbridge. She did her A-levels but didn't apply to any university. She took a year to work while doing her art exam and went on to apply to art college which is what she wanted to do but wasn't allowed to by the school. She is now a successful graphic designer.

There are fairly big cultural differences between NI and England and Wales, and the school systems dont really translate. Kent in England has a very similar system, and does pretty badly in rankings of results.

Okay Talkin, the rule doesn't apply in Hampshire, but it's generally a reasonable rule of thumb across much of the UK. It doesn't apply here either but this is a really rural area where the schools have vast catchments and none is rated good inside 15 miles of my door.

It does not apply in Wiltshire, it does not apply in Surrey or Sussex , it does not apply in Oxfordshire, it does not apply in much of the country

My house price is suppressed because I live in the catchment of one of the worst 200 schools in the country
but my kids went to the next comp along so the house price variance does not matter.

I was going to say berks or bucks, loads of outstanding grammar there but your not going to get family house with that much money

Lancaster is a good city to live, excellent single sex grammar schools but also some good comprehensives too. You'll get a lot of house for you money, either in the city, or nearby the coast or countryside - lots of nice villages close by. Not to mention less than an hour from the Lake District. Regular trains to London/Glasgow and Manchester airport.

I love the assumption that if you move to a grammar school area your child will automatically get a place. Don't take the risk, as they could have an off day or other children will be tutored to within an inch of their life. Simply pick a nice place to live. Shock, horror, the majority of children survive without.

Another Lancaster vote. I would send my boys there in a heartbeat, if only we didn't live across the country!

And there is my other problem

I went to single sex schools and am utterly certain that my kids benefited from being at mixed

My dd goes to a single sex school and has benefitted hugely. Research shows girls do better in single sex schools.

OCSockOrphanage but it's generally a reasonable rule of thumb across much of the UK.

www.thesun.co.uk/money/4506568/how-house-prices-near-top-state-schools-have-jumped-39-in-the-last-5-years/

It's good that we have choices, i.e. grammar or comp, mixed or single sex, etc. And for some, a choice within each category such as sporty versus arty etc. Far better than the old days where you went to your closest - end of. Allows for the "best fit" for the child.

Kazzy
Thing is that parents are often the worst judge of what kids need

DH and DD both do tutoring
their overwhelming problem is aligning parental aspirations with child ability

A good friend is a Skills counsellor at a massive school - she bars parents from sessions as they are more often the problem than the solution

I disagree. In my experience the more involved and interested parents are with their dc's education the better they do.

I think this snobbery towards parents who are involved and push their dc to the best of their ability is why some sections of society in this country under perform.

Other countries expect parental,involvement and aspiration.

Ironing
I'm an interested parent
but I'm not deluded

The "dropout" / exclusion rates from selective schools are shocking (St Olaves got caught, everybody does it)

I expect both my kids to go to top200 Unis - one is already there, the other has me watching his every move
BUT
I accept that certain goals are unrealistic and will just cause stress

many parents do not make that leap

IroningMountain

www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/teenage-mental-health-crisis-rates-of-depression-have-soared-in-the-past-25-years-a6894676.html

It is worth noting the comment in the link - Research by the mental-health charity Young Minds has found that exams are a significant trigger for mental illness in young people. Under pressure to get the best possible results, schools are inclined to give teenagers the impression that they have only one shot at tests that will determine the rest of their lives (even though this is not true).

Personally I think some "parents who are involved and push their dc to the best of their ability" are playing a part in this too, not just the schools.

Out of interest, how does a parent know what the limit is for "thier dc's ability" and at what point should they will stop pushing?

mumtrying
Absolutely

My kid is bright so they should be in the top sets
Whoops
they are in a school of 300 per year and I know nothing about the other 299
so I know nothing about which set they should be in

Hartford in Cheshire - no grammars but access to 3/4 excellent comprehensives, fabulous 6th form college and great links to Manchester and Liverpool

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-41310350#

Hmm exam pressure not exactly top of the list here.

Half of problems occur before 14 i.e. before significant exams,often in poorer families which is hardly surprising. Poorer families often have children who do less well thus less likely to have pushy parents.

I'd put money on social media being the biggest problem.

Ta1kinPeece slightly off topic, but what are your views on Symonds v BP these days.

IroningMountain - Hmm exam pressure not exactly top of the list here.

As I'm not a mental health expert, I'll bow to your superior knowledge and I'm sure youre right and Young Minds have it wrong and exam pressure is not a significant trigger for mental illness in young people.

The Wirral. Close to Liverpool, Chester and Manchester. Some lovely areas and the sea!

But mental illness is at epidemic levels,pushy parents aren't.

Some parents are pushy to the extent they make their dc miserable,some couldn't give a shit and some simply push their kids quite reasonably to the best of their ability.

The vast majority of parents do know what is best for their dc as they know them best, far better than somebody who teaches them a couple of hours each week.

sticker
I stand by my long standing view of horses for courses

• sciences and maths : symonds is a power house : ffs they have 800 kids doing Maths per year which is bigger than most Uni departments

• humanities / english : I would point any pupil towards Barton

they have the more holistic approach

on the lighter subjects -
BP is much much better for media / arts / creative
PS is still much stronger on ES and EFL and classics

but they are so different in "feel"
DD never even applied to BP - she knew she hated it
DS applied but hated the interview
various of their friends felt exactly the same about PS

I genuinely feel very lucky to live in a part of the country where i can be so fussy
(without even bringing in Tauntons, Brock, City, Alton, Eastleigh, QM, Sparholt and all the others my kids could have accessed from here)

even if my local secondary is still "yob central" [grin}

I see that Kent has already been mentioned a couple of times. I'm in Tunbridge Wells and DD went to the local grammar - she did a few sat papers beforehand but no preparation otherwise and definitely no tutoring. Aside from the grammars, the comprehensive local schools are pretty good too - Bennett, St Gregory's and Uplands (the last is a bus journey away). House wise you might struggle unless you are further out. Central TW, a two bedroomed spacious flat is about £350k. Further out,,e.g. Langton Green, you are outside the catchment area but there are 40 Governor places a year (this is TWGGS) which go to out-of-area pupils.

Past papers not sat papers!