Sawston or Linton Village College - Year 10 entry

[LProsser]

Hi my friend is moving to the area in the summer from abroad with a DD who will be the right age for year 10. The DD speaks good English but has never been to an English school. I have heard that Linton VC follows a 3 year GCSE course starting in Yr. 9 so wondering if Sawston does the same and if this is going to be a problem as she would normally be arriving in time for the start of GCSEs by arriving for Yr. 10.

Several years since my DS was at one of these VCs. Your friend needs to be in contact with both schools as soon as possible to see if there are likely to be places for Y10 and for options. I should think both schools stream for some core subjects so school will need to have evidence of the daughter's levels in Maths and English and possibly in science.

Hi, they have had some initial contact with the admissions office but can't get offered a place until they are here and not yet clear if there will be any in year 10 of course. But I heard about the 3 years taken over the GCSE courses at Linton VC so I was a bit concerned that it could be the same in a lot of schools in Cambridge area and it might be hard for her to catch up. I think the options won't be a massive issue. No idea about streaming - she currently goes to an international/American school in South America so different system and may have learned different things but she seems to be quite clever. Any thoughts from anyone who has experienced such a transfer to the UK state system very welcome!

Current year 9 at Sawston have started GCSE course for science. Have started on maths too. English is more skills than starting on the texts themselves

Thanks Lovewalking do you think it's just the top sets that have already started or everyone? If it's everyone that's a bit worrying but I suppose she will have to catch up somehow if she doesn't arrive until September.

I think it's all sets. I would think that there would be time to catch up though.

Are you sure about Linton? Children in yr 9 there are still picking their options, as far as I know. I think it's the current year 8s who will be doing 3-year GCSEs.

I've just quizzed DD on this, as she has lots of friends at both schools. She thinks it may only be for the three core areas of maths, science and English, i.e. the subjects everybody needs to take. Year 8 haven't picked their options yet for year 9 (I think this applies to both schools mentioned).

However, your friends probably don't want to take the word of a random 12-yr-old from the Internet and will need to get on the school websites for a good rummage into their policies.

Sorry should have been clearer. Have only started GCSE courses for maths and science. Options choices being made now

Thanks very much all. Another friend's son is at Linton in Year 9 which is how I heard about the 3 year GCSE course but it may just be some subjects as you say - haven't quizzed the boy personally. Nothing that I can see on the school website for Sawston.

Mine is at Sawston, not at this stage yet but is aware that all streams start science GCSEs at year 9. Maths operated very different levels so even if it is theoretically GCSE at year 9, I think there would be a place for anyone to slot in.

Be aware that Linton is oversubscribed and you may struggle to get a place there. Sawston tends to have places due to large year sizes (and possibly your child will be assigned there anyway even if you live in Linton).

I think Sawston might be an easier school for somebody from abroad to settle into, Linton Village and school seem more insular to me. People moving into the area tend to pick Sawston I think (we did) but this is just the view of somebody who moved here and picked Sawston over Linton! Of course neither area is as diverse and dynamic as somewhere like London.

If you live in the Linton catchment area, it would be difficult to get to Sawston VC (no buses unless you go into Cambridge and back out to Sawston) and vice versa. If she lives in the right catchment area for the village college she goes to, there are school buses.

Last year Linton was undersubscribed and Sawston was full, so it does vary!

Thanks. I think they want to live in Sawston if they can find a house to rent there at the right time (June/July). It's fairly random whether there is a place at any particular school for year 10 I suppose. Which other villages would there be school buses to Sawston from?

Stapleford (or easy cycle route), Shelford, Whittlesford, Duxford, possibly Ickleton.

Babraham is in catchment but they'd have to walk.

...but Sawston kids we know also come in from Fowlmere, Abingtons, Trumpington and central Cambridge, and probably elsewhere -- they just wouldn't get the free bus travel.

And Linton, come to think of it!

When we were moving to Sawston we checked with the school and they told us that if we moved to Sawston, they would find a place for our daughter.

In any case, she started last year in year 7, and there are about 20 or 30 kids less in the year than the maximum number they had been publishing, and the intake included a number of kids who applied from out of catchment (some, well out of catchment). Although, I can't imagine how they could have fit another class! I suspect the definition of full is more flexible than it would be at a smaller school.

As Tinga mentioned the kids come in from all sorts of places. There are many, many privately arranged buses although when we enquired about buses before moving here we couldn't get any information from either the school or the council, or generally looking on the web (I concluded there weren't any other than the scheduled normal buses, and fortunately we found somewhere in Sawston anyway). If they know the buses exist they can push harder for information. The rural villages are very isolated however, it will be difficult for the kids to do activities unless the parents are on hand to pick them up, so it's worth sticking to Sawston or at least somewhere on the number 7 bus route (up through Shelford and Trumpington).

Hi SG! I think they have physical space for an 8-form intake but some years only have 7 forms and are staffed accordingly.

Current year 9 at Sawston is 7 form so Tinga is correct. There have been new joiners too so I don't think there would be a problem getting into year 10 next year unless there's a sudden influx.

I agree about living somewhere on the bus routes. There is a lot of extra curricular stuff - that's one of the things that makes it a good school - a lot going on. I agree about fitting in from elsewhere too. Sawston even at primary school level has kids from a number of different countries.