Wirral Grammar or Upton Hall

[Bati]

just after some opinions on these two schools
my daughter is in yr 5 at the moment and we are considering these 2 grammar schools. She sits the 11+ this september so hopefully she will pass for both schools
So far i have visited wirral grammar and looked at their website. i have looked at upton hall website and will be visiting their on the 13th july. I am inpressed with both so far
does anyone have any children at these schools and what do you think - are your daughters really happy there

I am in the same situation! DS1 is in year 7 at the boys and has done really well. I love Upton but we are nearer Wirral. However everyone I know who has a daughter at Upton loves it

Its so hard knowing what to do for the best
dd is catholic so if she passess we have a good chance of getting in but it is 14 miles away and no school bus and getting there for 8.30 is gonna be hard. I would most probably have to get her there early so i can get back to drop the other kids to their schools in time
Wirral grammar is 9.5 miles away, there is a school bus from here however they admit on distance from the school so i imagine we will be pushing it to get in
any tips on best products to use to help with 11+ practice

My two have both had tutors - I stress only to learn techniques as both are bright. (I'm not pushy, honest!) We're only a mile from Wirral so DD could walk, as DS1 does with his mates, so I don't think I'll persuade her to go to Upton!

Where are you , to be so far away? Would west Kirby not be nearer?

west kirby is even further away (18 miles)
we live in ellesmere port -quite a few kids go from here but there is alot more kids entering this yr due to finding out the results before you apply
This worries me as i have got it into my head more sitting means more passing so puts dd further down the list to get in (thats if she passess)

All you can do is do both and see. At upton,they said if they passed, they were pretty much guaranteed a place. What is your local option?

3monkeys.
Firstly the test that is done by Upton and done by Wirral are slightly different, so it is not unknown for someone to meet the pass mark for one school and not the other. The pass mark however for both is the same (236).
If your child reach the pass mark then there is an admission criteria, which is in effect siblings and then distance for Wirral. Upton is different as it is a catholic school and they give priority to baptised catholic girls in score order, followed by girls who are not baptised catholic again in score order. Pupils with the same score will be ranked by distance from the school.
So if you are right about the numbers taking the test, you will potentially be further down the lists for Upton Hall but not for Wirral as it is solely on distance not score. For information the furthest distance for Wirral Girls in 2011 was 5.31 miles, the actual distance for sept 2012 I don't know but that will be released in the admissions policy book in september.
I would also look carefully at the other alternates which are not grammar schools which for where you live would seem to be Whitby and Neston.

Oh no only 5.31 miles going by that she has no chance of getting in so upton hall would be our best chance (she is catholic)
i really want her to go to a grammar school, she is very bright her grades at the moment are 5a's so she would flurish at a grammar school. Dont get me wrong she will most probably do well were ever she goes but i think she would enjoy a grammar better

Yep, I realise that Admission. we are very lucky for Wirral, we are less than a mile away so if DD passes, we should be fine. But at the open evening for Upton last week, they said on past years experiences, everyone who passed got offered a place, whether they were baptised Catholic or not. And if they are oversubscribed, they go by the mark you get, rather than distance

i have just remembered a girl got in to wirral grammar from my dd school last yr. so more than the 5.31 miles. she has a brother at the boys grammar so not sure if its counted a sibling or not down to it being the boys not the girls

It's not, sadly for us!

so the distance for last yr is definatly more than 5.31 miles [smiles]

just had a thought when they do the 11+ are they given paper to work their answers out on, are the aloud to write the working out on the question paper, or are they not aloud to write anything down

Bati,
There is no cross over between boys and girls grammar schools as far as siblings are concerned on the admission criteria. The figure of 5.31 miles is the official quoted distance for the last pupil offered a place, but I know that this is not necessarily the furthest distance because there were successful appeals for the school last year.
I have absolutely no idea what happens in the tests and can only suggest that you talk directly to the school about you questions.

thankyou

Would you have a chance of Birkenhead High as well from Ellesmere Port?

I dont know anything about Birkenhead high, is it a grammar school

My friend lives in Ellesmere Port and has sent her DCs to Christleton High School. Not a selective or private school, but good reputation. Her eldest got in off the waiting list approx 4 weeks after offers made and youngest as a sibling. She says there are a few from Ellesmere Port there. Her eldest sat exam for Wirral Girls Grammar and got very high marks but didn't get in due to distance.

the school TB refers to is Birkenhead high school academy, which is an ex private school that became a public academy. It is has an enormously complicated admission criteria which you need a degree to be able to understand. It is not a grammar school in the real definition of the word.

dont think i will bother with Birkenhead high
My daughter went to the Queens in chester yr 5 activities day yesterday and both myself and my daughter were unimpressed - we thought it would be alot better than it was especially seen as its a private school
we are due to be shown around the Upton hall school next friday. I took her application form for the entrance exam this morning and was very impressed by the what i seen. Hopefully the rest will be just as good

just spent this morning at wirral grammar with my daughter. while there i asked the head what are chances of getting in with us living in ellesmere port. She said this yr the distance went to 9 miles (so my daughter wouldn't of made it) however the yr before was 22 miles
so it really is questionable if we will get in on distance

Bati, I think that the problem for you is that it is all about distance from Wirral grammar and Upton Hall and the reality is that the furthest distance does vary significantly from one year group to the next.
You will know before the cut off date whether your child has achieved the required mark to be considered for a grammar school place. Under the equal preference scheme that operates for all admissions, you need to carefully consider what your options are, so you maximise your chances of getting a place. It would seem obvious that assuming your child reaches the required standard that you put down Wirral or Upton Hall as first preference as that it what you really want.
Logic would then dictate that you put down a community school as third preference that you are likely to get offered a place at as the fall back position. If you are in catchment for Whitby that would be a sensible preference. If you are in catchment for University of Chester Ellesmere Port Academy then you will probably not be to enamored with the idea as that as a preference. That leaves you with putting down either Whitby or Neston as an out of catchment preference with a reasonable chance of getting a place at. Both schools have the same PAN of 270 but Neston has historically taken from a greater distance on out of catchment pupils, so they are probably the safest bet as the third preference in those circumstances.
What you do about your second preference is your choice, either the second grammar school (assuming you get the required mark) or the two local community schools in the order you want them.

our catchment is whitby. we are catholic so we also have the catholic high. I have 2 children at the catholic high now so most probably put catholic high down as 3rd choice and 1st choice if she is unsucessful with the 11+

Hi..just out of intrest I was wondering how you got on with results and what choice did you make? I have similar issues this year and would appreciate your views..thankyou.

Hi
Dd sat both upton hall and wirral 11+ exams and passed them both
We looked at upton hall, wirral grammar and west kirby grammar
We really liked wirral grammar and upton hall and wasnt sure which to put down as 1st preference.
In the end we put wirral grammar as 1st, this was because there is a school bus around the corner dd could get. There is no local school bus for upton hall close by. I would either have to drive her there and back everyday, which would be very costly and not ideal with 3 other children, or we could drive her to the nearest school bus which leaves at 7.30 am so we would have to leave our house 7.10am
The other reason for putting wirral grammar 1st was future friendships - there is quite a few children from our area who go to wirral grammar but not to upton hall. So we thought meeting up after school with friends would be easier
In the end we put wirral 1st but was aware we might not get in down to distance
2nd preference was upton hall - we are catholic so we should be offered upton if dd didnt get wirral
3rd preference was west kirby - didnt think she would get this school as was pretty sure we would be offered upton
Dd got wirral grammar