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 😂

Ironing
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
I think I'm a reasonable parent
BUT
having been through school does not make me a teacher

Pedagogy and child psychology are not required when creating children
but they are for teaching them ....

I doubt parental pressure is the cause of mental health problems.
Neglect ir violence. and leaving kids to read bullshit on the internet. social media bullying. plus thinking everyone should have the looks and money of the Hadid's.
But parental interest in doing well is not the problem.

Was going to say Tunbridge Wells but don't think you'll get much there it's a mini London in terms of price... How about Tonbridge?

lobster
Kent is fully grammar - it therefore by definition ha no "comps"

and please could you explain what a "governor" place is ?

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

I take it your don't live in an 11 plus area.

Interesting you see researched carried out by The government-funded study of over 10,000 young people more credible than research carried out by a mental-health charity.

somebody who teaches them a couple of hours each week.

OK so your DCs are secondary school. I know DCs who are doing 2-3 hours of maths/reading/writing and various test papers every day after school from the age of 5/6. Of course it's quite right they should be doing this, it will help them reach their academic potential.

ktown
I doubt parental pressure is the cause of mental health problems.
Ha ferking ha
I can name three suicides of people I was at school with all related to excessive parental pressure
Martin D , Lorraine P, Mary N
pushed to do what did not fit with their brains
all dead before they were 25

But there are hardly any grammar schools,certainly not enough to lay the blame for the poor mental health epidemic in young children.

I'd have thought the vast maj of exam pressures are from children with disinterested parents arriving unprepared to the realisation real ife is just round the corner and they are about to sit several life changing exams at 16 having not done nearly enough preparation.

ironing
Once you account for the proportion of kids whose parents think they have a chance at superselectives in London
(popn 10m as against 48k in the rest of england)
or religious schools
(another 5m or so)
or the grammar counties
(another 5m or so)
a significant proportion of UK teens face that stress

AND
things like DD had :
sitting an exam that appeared on her Cert saying it was worth nothing
are textbook ways to screw with people's brains

There are 167 000 children in grammar schools not 5 million.

London school children don't speak for all UK children.

Ta1kinPeece
Not everyone in Kent takes - or wants to take - the 11 plus and there are plenty of state schools which are non-selective and don't look at academic aptitude. I thought that made them comprehensive? Apologies if I'm wrong.
Governor places are given to pupils who score highly in the 11 plus but are out of the catchment area (varies year to year but usually about 1.5 miles). I'd never heard of such places until DD started at TWGGS eight years ago.

Another recommendation for Trafford. Your budget wouldn't buy what you want in Hale or probably Altrincham but it would in Timperley.

Do your homework and get a house in the catchment of Wellington School which is highly sought-after for DC who don't get into Grammars.

From Timperley the Grammars are Altrincham Boys and Altrincham Girls, both single sex; Sale Grammar which is mixed and Loretto and Saint Ambrose which are single sex Catholic Grammars.

You'd be near the airport and just a tram ride away from Manchester.

I’ll always big up NI to others, and there seems to be way less anxiety surrounding the 11+ as it’s very much the norm and there’s not the same culture of hothousing. There are also excellent secondary options and non-selective schools. If you’re considering prep options for primary they are also much much more affordable here.

There are only 2 million kids in secondary education across the country and only 6% in private education. Many private schools aren't super selective.

Yes or Ashton in Sale also very good secondary modern school.

Trafford isn't pressurised like some on these threads. I don't know anyone tutoring here to such an extent.

An hour a week in year 5 and a couple of mock exams and only if the child wants to try for the grammar. That's all that is needed.

We also live in a grammar school town and have a dreadful divide partly as the most well regarded comprehensive is a church school and hard to get into.
But it fits the house price criterion. We're in the NW.

Ironing
How many kids try for Ttiffin : I thought it was around 30 to one - that is certatinly their PR

Lobster
A comprehensive school takes a comprehensive intake - all abilities.
Where the "top" 25% have gone to the grammar - the top two sets in certain subjects - the school that takes the rest cannot in a million years be deemed "comprehensive

and yes, kids can opt out of going to the top set school

"Governor places" - I'm still confused by that.
The whole point of the 11+ is that it takes the brightest who take the test
but you say 40 kids per year in one school are actually admitted at the "discretion" of governors
where does that fit into any variant of the Admissions code

Yes busyboysmum Ashton on Mersey school is also great.

Try Warwickshire. Grammars in Stratford on Avon, Alcester and Rugby. Good comps too and reasonable house prices.

IroningMountain - I'd have thought the vast maj of exam pressures are from children with disinterested parents

Do you think the vast majority of DCs who are in bottom groups/getting extra support at school aspire to achieving A* at GCSEs?

These are the Grammar School areas.

www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/11plus/viewforum.php?f=64

There were 600 applications for 21 academically selective places at my DCs school last year (not sure how many applied for the 21 music places). More than 2,000 DCs sit the test for QE Barnet each year. When you look at how many DCs sit the tests for Grammar schools, the number of aspirational DCs is many, many times higher than the number of places allocated.

I would imagine there are a fair few top performing comps. that have parents who are "pushing" their DCs to achieve academically too, btw.

Rugby... The exam is for south Warwickshire, Rugby and Birmingham but the advantage here is the other comps are pretty good. DD did her 11+ on Wednesday and our 2nd choice comp is small and Outstanding.

Oh ok the vast maj of kids are vying for the miniscule number of grammar and private places even though most are nowhere near a grammar school or in any way able to pay private fees. If you say so.

Governor places are not catchment bound, but given to those scoring the most highly in the Kent test.

Like how all the SSs work round here. Perfectly normal part of admissions code.

TheCraicDealer - I’ll always big up NI to others, and there seems to be way less anxiety surrounding the 11+

I know nothing about NI grammars but would OP need to attend church to get access to the highest performing schools?

secondary
Governor places are not catchment bound, but given to those scoring the most highly in the Kent test.
I am genuinely confuddled ....

I thought that in each area, the Grammar school filled itself with the kids who came top in the test
how can cross catchment offers fit into that?

how do the 40 local kids excluded from the grammar feel about it?

Ta1kinPeece
This is from memory .... the 11plus has three papers with a maximum score of 120 on each. The combined pass mark is 320 but no paper can score less than (I think) 106. Therefore the maximum score is 360. The governors are able to be effectively super selective with a certain number of places and can give these to the higher-scoring pupils who are out of catchment.

Scores I am quoting relate to DD's year of entry - eight years ago. I am pretty sure that the system is the same but marks may have changed.