Best place to live in Kent for Grammar school

[vik2017]

Hi,
This is my first question on this board....
and I wanted to know which is the best place to live in Kent and falls into Grammar catchment area and also if my son dont get to the Grammar at least will go to a very good comprehensive school.
Any suggestion will be appreciated even suggest to move to another place considering we both work in London.

Many thanks in advance...
Viki

I do realise that many people who really don't understand education at all believe that 'grammars get better raw results;' means 'grammars get better results for each individual pupil than that pupil would achieve in a comprehensive school in a fully comprehensive system'. Just because lots of people think something doesn't make it true....

Another way to look at the "grammars get better results" is to compare them set by set with a Comp....

A grammar only takes kids who get good SATs at 4 or 3
A comp takes kids to get all ranges of SATs 4 3 2 1 0

The Grammar kids who got SAT 4's get A* and A (9 and 8)
Those who got SAT 3's get a mixture of B A and a few A* (9 8 7)

At the Comp the kids who got 4 and 3 get the same grades as the Grammar kids
but a few who got 2 and 3 do better as they were late developers
and those who got low SATs get lower GCSEs

The school has had little impact other than picking who comes in the door

Alton / Petersfield area good for secondary schools and train to London. It's not just about exam results it's best to be somewhere where you have a wide choice of schools in first place then.ypu can pick.the best school for your child at that time.

@Ta1kinPeece : What I said has relevant point first, grammars do take selective students so it means most of them are there to study not to disturb the class. Second thing put me off the comp is, their catchment area I mean, if any comp which is really good then there will be loads want to go there for which you have to get to as near as possible to the school to get in....
Just another observation in the top list of students going to oxbridge has indi on the top and then grammar.....no comp. I know coz it is the list of top schools but still it is bit relevant....sorry for me being bit with the high hope..

@vik2017 you won't see many Hampshire comps on that list as they don't have sixth forms
All schools have behavioural problems. Some worse than others.
My experience of entry to my.comp of choice was not that competitive..i was on the waiting list but there was a lot of movement..independent schools are very popular in this part of hants
Even if you managed to get your son into your top grammar it really really isn't a golden ticket to Oxbridge.
And Oxbridge isn't a golden ticket to success in any case. That's down to.the individual child the academic grounding at secondary level is a small part of what will make them a successful adult. Universities are awash with young people with mental health issues at present for example

Schools are not everything , particularly if you can opt for private if you don’t get a school you are happy with be it Grammar or high school or comp . Kent is a lovely place to live , close enough to London , close to the continent and lots of us live here very happily . Nobody knows when their child is pre school how things will turn out and there is little point in planning your life around a lot of maybes .

@Ta1kinPeece, I completely understand your point and I would not contest on that but you would agree that your fellow students does matter when it come to performace and that's difference in grammar and comp I mean students who are performing in comp may be more bright even though could not pass the grammar test but despite of all abilities surroundings, they are performing well but there are more chances of disruptive students in comp than grammar. Life is already not so easy so why take risk of comp (that's my view). I dont know which school will be best for my DS but at least I can lay a base for him to start with and end of the day it is DS to decide whether he liked it or not...same as you can take horse to water but cannot make him drink so I am just trying my best to help DS...

top list of students going to oxbridge has indi on the top and then grammar.....no comp

Really?

[wonders whether op is a troll]

I think Kent is the Texas of England. Certainly if you took the anti 11+ posters , you would be forgiven for thinking so to.

Whereas Texas is renowned for the injection and its cohort . Similarly Kent is also supposed to discriminate against the underprivileged just like Texas !

I think the posters argue for comprehensive schools with as much vigor as the anti death penalty advocates do in Texas.

mountford100 Do you think it would be a good idea for Op to move to the Wirral?

grammars do take selective students so it means most of them are there to study not to disturb the class
I'd love to know what makes you think there are no discipline problems in selective schools.
And what makes you think that heavily tutored ex prep school kids are doing other than accepting parental pressure.

University Entry in Hampshire
Symonds does OK www.psc.ac.uk/achievements/destinations.php
41% of Symonds students (so around 800 kids a year) go to RG and Oxbridge Unis

@mountford that is one of the craziest anologies I've ever read on mumsnet..drama much?

I get what you’re saying op.

And I’ll hold my hands up and say one of the appealing things about my DCs grammar schools is their peer groups. It makes everything easier.

Anyone that says any different is in denial.

@Floralnomad: you are right but truth is we always go around maybes...as I said earlier I dont see comps as second grade schools just grammar or indi can provide better opportunity or support...again nothing definite but we go with the majority
@Smellylittleorange : I may contest on that because good uni does matter. I know there are lots uni dropouts which are on top but if we compare the percentage then this figure is quite low so for average people like us, good education is quite important...

But then you may as well go private rather than risk the classroom lack of discipline by not getting into.your grammar of choice if it bothers you that much..

I know teachers who work in Grammars and non Grammars in Kent , and some who have worked in both very recently and yes there is the odd discipline problem in the Grammars , but it is occasional and stamped out quickly whereas in the non Grammars there are persistent trouble makers ( much like on the recent Educating Manchester programme) . As I pointed out many posts ago from my understanding when a teacher rings home from a Grammar , the parents are generally supportive and interested and this is not always the case in the non Grammars .

Yes good unis matter I didn't say that they didn't. BUT I did say it is not a golden ticket to success. There are other factors that are not academic.

@MumTryingHerBest: [wonders whether op is a troll]
Please elaborate what you are trying to say??? better to be clear in what you are trying to say as everyone else...and about what I said
image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Education/documents/2007/09/20/100topoxbridge.pdf

Well if you were asked a VR question what goes with Rose you would answer Garden . Cue Rose of Texas + Garden of England....

vik2017 grammar or indi can provide better opportunity or support

You don't know what they provide, you've not been to any. All you know is what a few strangers on the internet are telling you.

because good uni does matter.

Yes but that good uni will depend on what your DC wants to study. What degree have you chosen for your DC?

Floralnomad I know two teachers working in Bucks Grammars. They roll their eyes every time I send them links to thread like this.

vik
All that list shows is that some selective schools are obsessed with Oxbridge.

You do get disruptive pupils in grammar schools, though, vik2017, and some of the grammars are significantly less good at dealing with those pupils than a good comprehensive, thus allowing them to be more disruptive to other pupils than needs be. It really is foolish to assume that a grammar school will only have well behaved students and will be better at managing the less well behaved students than a comprehensive school. I went to a grammar school, my dss are at a comprehensive school, and I have not found the behaviour they experience at their school to be any different from the adolescent behaviour I experienced at my grammar school. My children love their school and are proud to be part of it - they want to work hard and do well and to contribute to the life of the school, they respect their teachers, enjoy their lessons and have high aspirations, and have never once complained of disruptive pupils ruining lessons. They are both also at the top end of the ability spectrum and having gone to Oxford myself and been really happy there, I would be delighted if one or both of them set their sights on this, too (it would be an excuse to go back regularly!). I do not think I am robbing them of the chance to achieve this by sending them to a school in which they are both thriving and happy, located in a part of the world I love to live in. And whatever their futures, I know they are enjoying their childhood.

@Smellylittleorange: But then you may as well go private ......not getting into.your grammar of choice if it bothers you that much
Again, you are missing my point, I started this topic as I thought about moveing to Kent and as have no idea about Kent and its grammars, I wanted to know from different people so I would know if it is a good idea or not and my whole point was about DS. I never said any bad thing about comp because majority of population go there, I just expressed my views and wanted to avoid certain things hence put grammar on top and then indi and then comp but that was just my priorities and it may be different from lots of people...that's it

I cant imagine the teachers at Becky High having to deal with 14 year old girl that has ran out of the class after swearing at the teacher. This is because she is hungry and tied and unable to pick up her young sister from the infants !

The girl also has responsibility to feed her 5 year old sister at home however there is very little food Mother by the way works 10 hours to make ends meet and doesn't get home to 7.

Beaconsfield High School is the 'wealthiest' state school in the UK.