Group hug to all year 6s and their parents waiting for the post.

[tigermoth]

Hope everyone gets offered a school they and their children are happy with - comp, grammar, whatever.

I don't feel very confident, myself, but hope ds is ok with the news. Good luck and a hug to everyone else.

[noddyholder]

Just had the letter and ds has got in to our 1st choice I am over the moon but a bit worried about all the other boys as some of them live quite far from the school it is so stressful.Dp has phoned me 3 times already but post was late so will have to tell him tonight

[Lucycat]

How stressful for you all! We don't have the 11+ up here (Labour run council for donkey's years!) so we just go our local secondary school, which fortunately is very good. I wasn't even aware tbh that many areas still DID have the 11+! Is it common, and do people still really talk about sink schools?!

[Freckle]

Not sure that the word "sink" is terribly PC anymore, but writing "condemned by OFSTED" takes longer .

There are a number of authorities which have retained the 11+, mainly due to parental pressure.

Noddyholder, so pleased for you that your son got his chosen school. Stress city indeed.

[Lucycat]

How do the parents whose children don't manage to get into their ideal school feel? can they appeal or do they try and afford independent school? Does this create a them and us mentality in the town?

Sorry for all the nosey questions but it's all very alien for me and I'm intrigued!

[Marina]

or "in special measures" come to that. Well done to your ds Freckle and you too Noddyholder.You're Kent I guess Freckle, like Tigermoth I live in an underperforming London borough but closer to the boundary of a borough that has the 11+ and several good grammar and comprehensive schools. So this will be us in four years' time

[Freckle]

There is an appeal process if you are unhappy with the school you have been allocated, but I have no idea how successful appeals are.

[Lucycat]

Just read your 11+ thread post Freckle! What a clever boy!! Special tea tonight then is it? Chocolate cake for mum too, for 'breeding' such a talented lad!

[tiptop]

Freckle and noddyholder - Many congratulations to your ds's. I'm very pleased for you!

wordgirl - I hope your appeal is successful.

tigermoth - I'll cross my fingers for you, too. Good luck!

[Potty1]

We are waiting for the letter too. Not too worried though as ds2 is at the school already.

Well done to little Freckle

[hopefulmover]

Not sure how many grammar schools are left but the one dd will be going to takes pupils from a very wide area. The other schools around here are not failing schools. We looked around lots of schools but the atmosphere at the grammar seemed best suited to our child. I suspect one of the other local schools may even "add more value" but dd just didn't like it/ want to go there because it was spread out where the grammar is smaller and more compact.

[MABS]

fab Noddy - really pleased xx

[kid]

didn't receive the letter today, at least another day to wait

[tigermoth]

he did it! got our first choice school as well!!! I still cannot believe take it in - I only heard and hour and a half ago!

Congrats, noddyholder, freckle, threadkilling strawberry and hopefulmover and anyone else I have forgotten.

Your thought process matched mine exactly, freckle - I was deliberatelyi expecting bad news so I could cope with it.

Looking at my sons' results I was right - the non verbal reasoning test was his lowest score - he got 20 points lower in it than the other tests - it was a hard one for him!

DS2 (age 5) on hearing the news told me he too wants a new school to go to - 'and if I don't have one by Tuesday I'll be very bad'. Heis being very quiet about it all. He needs a lots of attention and a great big treat.

[tigermoth]

kid, hope that letter comes tomorrow - lots of luck and hugs to all those out there who are still waiting.

[roisin]

Congratulations Everybody - celebrations all round!

Kid - so sorry you're having to wait another day

[firestorm]

congratulations tigermoth! & well done to your ds. it must be such a huge weight off your shoulders.

[MunchedTooManyMarsLady]

Congratulations all. Good luck to those who need to appeal. Well done to the children that got the schools of their choice. I was in your shoes last year and will be in them again next year. Our Y6s are away on school journey so there's not a lot of celebrating or crying going on at our school currently. They went on Monday.

[Janh]

tigermoth, I am really really pleased for you and DS1, you have been through such a lot with him in earlier years and it's brilliant that he's set fair now for his secondary school career! Bravo!

Dunno what you're going to do about DS2 next Tuesday though!

kid, I'm very sorry you didn't get your letter today, nightmare, hope it comes tomorrow and that it's good news

[Freckle]

So thrilled to hear this, Tigermoth. When you didn't post earlier, I thought it must be because you'd had bad news. Eek.

DH asked me whether I'd found out what DS1's 11+ scores were and I said that, as long as he has been offered the school we all wanted, I didn't give two hoots what his exam results were.

As an aside, DH has just read over my shoulder and asked what DH means. He then thought about it and concluded that it meant Darling Husband. Went away a little subdued when I said that, actually, it meant D*H**d . Teach him to read my postings.

[tigermoth]

good luck to all those getting letters today!

Freckle, although the letter arrived at lunchtime, popped home and told me by phone) we had agreed with ds not to open it till he was there, so after dh left work and ds left school, they opened it together. I was at work and they phoned me up! quite glad I wasn't there in person in a way, as I was so tense about the whole thing.

Janh, thanks! yes it is a relief and ds had to work hard to do this, so I am very proud of him. ds2 had good old strop ablout not having a new school as well. I don't think I can stand the trauma of choosing any more schools for years and years! Luckily, I had an unopened christmas present put by for ds2 and we gave it to him - an micomachines army set. He needed lots of adult help from dh in setting it up, so hopefully got his share of attention too - he went to bed a happier boy, anyway.

[Freckle]

I don't think I could have been restrained enough not to open the letter when it was sitting there! Fortunately, we hadn't agreed to wait, so I just ripped it open. It was really nice of the school to let me tell him myself rather than pass on a message.

[Marina]

Ah, good old Micromachines Tigermoth (we have that very set skulking in the wardrobe for when ds' first baby tooth finally wobbles out...)
CONGRATULATIONS! I don't think I have read a post on here for oooh, at least a week, that has made me so happy . I know how hard you have worked to support ds1 through all this and I know he will just flourish at his new school.
From the prospect of being on the SN Register at a "failing" Primary to this in just five years...he has done so well. Oh, I am really chuffed for him and all of you (ds2 will get over it )!