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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Schools in Kent?

12 replies

jennifersofia · 30/08/2009 00:12

Question - if you have more than one child, and there is the grammar system, what happens if you have one child who gets into the grammar and another (or others) who don't? Does the child that doesn't get in have to go to a local comp (possibly not very good because the top has been creamed off by the grammar)?

Asking because we are thinking of moving, but am nervous of the above scenario happening!

OP posts:

Quattrocento · 30/08/2009 00:14

Yes, that's a possible scenario.

Not much help really. I guess you need to work out realistically what might happen and make contingency plans.

seeker · 31/08/2009 07:20

You can only go to grammar school if you pass the Kent test or get in on appeal. There are lots of families where one did and one didn't - I know a case of twins where one did and one didn't!

It's worth looking at the options, though, because it doesn't necessarily follow that the other schools are not very good - do you know where you are thinking of moving to?

eandh · 31/08/2009 07:33

Yes that is what happens my brother didnt pass and went to normal secondary school and I did pass so went to girls grammar. I got the bus to school every day and my brother walked to his school (was about 10mins from home).

TBH I really didnt want to the grammar but my parents agreed that if I hated it after a year they would consider other options (they were very insistent that I should go and have the opportunities that the school could provide) ,however, I loved it and stayed on to complete my A Levels and would love my dd's to go to a grammar school too.

elvislives · 31/08/2009 07:34

We are in Kent. One of ours didn't take the 11+ and went to a high school (not comprehensive btw). We chose the school we thought would suit him and he was very happy there. He got good GCSEs then joined his brothers at the grammar for A levels.

Also - depending where you go - a lot of the grammars are single sex, so if you have a boy and a girl they go to different schools anyway. It's no big deal.

seeker · 31/08/2009 07:56

Thank you elvislives - for once I forgot to make the point that non grammar schools in grammar areas are not comprehensives. Glad you said it!

liahgen · 31/08/2009 08:01

My eldest Dc dd1 didn't pass her 11+ so goes to High school

ds2 did pass and starts at the boys grammar next week

DD has the option of joining for 6th form if she gets good enough grades. (not looking likely at yr 10 TBH)

As elvis says, no big deal.

Original poster

jennifersofia · 01/09/2009 21:53

Gosh, I posted this and then went away and forgot about it.
Thanks for all the comments, I have found them somewhat reassuring. Thanks too for the correction re: non-grammars not being comps. Didn't know that.
At this stage in the game we are vaguely poking around this county and that, trying to decide which area we would like to be in. Just didn't want to rule Kent out necessarily.

OP posts:

seeker · 02/09/2009 16:49

You can't have true comprehensives in a grammar school area because the "top" 23% (ish) are creamed off the the grammar. So the high schools are operating without the "top" 23% of pupils and parents. A comprehensive school caters for all abilities. A High school can therefore actually have fantastic exam results and be a wonderful school, but look crap in the league tables simply because it doesn't have a large population of A and A* candidates to bump its statistics up.

LottaRump · 02/09/2009 16:54

what is the difference between a comprehensive and high school?

seeker · 02/09/2009 16:57

Non grammar schools are often called High Schools in grammar school areas because a comprehensive school by definition has all abilities - and in a grammar school area 23% are creamed off before they start secondary school.

MoreSpamThanGlam · 20/09/2009 19:37

I feel sorry for comps. I also have to say I am quite happy with my daughter,s school. We border Bexley/Bromley and as she was middle of the road, I didnt put her in for the Kent/11+ tests.

She is now flying at a local comp because she was the big fish in a little pond, which has done wonders for her confidence. Something I think would be lacking if she had got in to a grammar school.

primarymum · 20/09/2009 20:46

Just to confuse matters, in my area the boys grammar school is "The Grammar", the girls grammar school is "The High", the girls secondary school is "The Technology College" and the boys secondary school is "The boys school"!

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