.............CH 4...........ADMISSION IMPOSSIBLE..................9.00......................

[RTKangaMummy]

Channel 4 Wednesdays 23 and 30 August at 9pm

Each year in September many parents embark on a hugely stressful journey to get their kids into the school of their choice. Around half a million primary leavers need to be allocated a secondary school place and all over the country there is a battle being fought for spots at the most oversubscribed schools. Admission Impossible follows the stories of six families from across the country as they navigate their way through the admissions system, striving to secure the perfect place for their child.

In Surrey determined businessman Mr Shah is rigorously preparing his son Mehdin for a series of grammar and private school examinations. With private tutoring and parental expectation, the pressure is on Mehdin to score highly in the exams for the top six schools in the area. In Bradford, Helen Troman and Hannah Weston are competing against hundreds of other children for a place at highly regarded city academy Dixons. Meanwhile Eileen Stockley, a single mum from Norfolk, is desperately trying to move her gifted son Alex from his state primary to a private prep school, but with a very low income her chances are slim.

.

The single mother had two school age children. There are programmes out there that offer after school care for working parents. She could have spent efforts coordinating those and getting more work. Can still get tax credits and housing benefit whilst working.

there is a little boy round the corner and he has just told my son that he is not going to the crap school that my son is at and that he is going to a posh school several miles away. how do we create a sense of community with parents who tell their children this crap.

southeastra, that wasn't the wee boy who will be featured next week, is it?

should read the mother of the gift boy who want money from blair ....focus her efforts..

ex pat i'm sure you didnt meant to btu that that sounded a bit meanacing ....

ope you are aware, that mehd's mother is apparently an MNer, whoever you are.

who ever you are - was that aimed at my comments or the person who suggested ian huntly?

mumm brain on .. cant spell or cut and paste for toffee must have gone to a crap school....why am i laughing ... i forgot, i did go to a crap school

'ex pat i'm sure you didnt meant to btu that that sounded a bit meanacing .... '

oh, please!

i've been on here too long and my hide's a bit rough.

Expat I asked you a question on the other admission impossible thread, if you answer I won't argue honest

i know - i like reading your comments even when they are comments that sometimes I dont agree with. I have a lot of respect for people who are talk passionately about things.

The little asian boy was bullied by his father If he needed all that tuition he wasn't clever enough those are the cold facts.His dad won't be there in the classroom(though i wouldn't put it past him)and then he will slip behind.And what was all that c**p about him climbing the ladder???????What ladder?People like him are usually in for a huge shock when their kids grow up and blame their stint in the priory on pushy parents.There was no love coming from that man only pressure

I answered you, seb. Don't have any real experience of the system up here yet, though, b/c the DDs are still so young - 3 and 8 month old baby.

My primary objection to the bloke was that he put incredible pressure on a ten year old (3 hours per night for Chrissakes? for a ten year old? - I think that's a heavy schedule for an adult) and appeared to be giving his son the impression that the sky would fall on his head if he didn't pass this exam. And also the impression that he would be worthless and useless (and unloved?) if he didn't get a grammar education. That's not reasonable ambition, that's bonkers. And yes, the boy's disappointment when he was told he'd only get 15 - heartbreaking. No of course it's not on a par with Ian Huntley, but it certainly isn't the sort of parenting I'd want my children to experience from their father (if they were ever to experience any parenting from him at all. )

Anyone ever lived in Japan?

Believe it or not, this type of training and pressure is viewed as normal in some cultures - by both pupils and parents.

We had an exchange student from Yokahama live w/us in 1987. Yes, 20 years on, we are all still good friends and in close touch and my parents have been to see her in Japan no less than 6 times, she's been the US countless times and I've seen her in Edinburgh 3 times in 4 years.

She was educated in a similar fashion. That's just how it is. Her father worked in Tokyo and kept a flat there, but the family lived in Yokahama for the SOLE reason that the schools were better there.

Maybe I don't agree and see it as bad, but far be it from me to label everyone who takes part in such a viewpoint as abusive, brain-washing, manipulative, obsessed, etc.

Yes but I remember reading 20 years ago that the rate of teenage suicide was higher in Japan than anywhere else in the world! (I wonder if that's still true?)

I know it's the norm in many cultures, I would just hate for it to become the norm here.

Japan has the suicides, true. But we've got the yob culture.

I doubt it will ever be the norm here, but overwhelming emphasis is put on education as a means to succeed in some cultures.

And tbh, I'd rather see that than more people just giving it a swerve entirely and not giving a toss if their kid even goes to school.

I think there must be a happy medium.That little boy didn't seem to want to do it and it had been his life for 2 years.The man was completely mad,did you see him standing outside the school checking out how the better(?)people dressed and how their kids walked several paces behind them!

But I don't think it needs to be an either/ or.

When I was at school, the fashion was that kids would learn to read by osmosis and you didn't need to teach them (a teacher actually said to a friend of mine "it's not my job to teach your son to read and write" ). So when a generation of illiterates ermerged, Blair's lot introduced targets and Gradgrind. I cannot understand why common sense and moderation can't prevail in this. It doesn't need to be one way or the other, there is a healthy balance which I think most parents want and go for. That kind of parent doesn't make such good telly though.

noddyholder - 'If he needed all that tuition he wasn't clever enough those are the cold facts'

I completely agree with you, if he needs that much tuition for was it 2 years, 3 hours a night and weekends(??)to pass the exams he isn't clever enough to go IMO. He will struggle during the lessons, but then I presume his Dad will pay for private tuition and do his homework for/with him every night for the next 5 years.

The little boy who won the scholarship shows that if children are really bright, they don't need extensive tuition and hot housing to pass entrance exams. Looked like all he had were a few books from Woolies and his Mum and sister testing his spelling every now and then.

expatinscotland, fyi talk nicely to pupil placement if you want to send yours to a different school. I am now feeling a bit red in the face that I chose not to send my dts to either of the local primary schools but one in another town.

Well pupil placement offered us nursery places there a couple of years ago because there was no room at the local schools. I just wanted them to continue at the school where they were settled and had friends, bonus that it is a better school with a better mix of pupils. Now I can worry that everyone will think I'm like some of these parents on the show! Ah stuff 'em dts are happy so there!

And if the woman couldn't find the extra money for that school I bet she will get a shock when she finds out most of these places insist on certain shades for the uniform. Basically shades that you can't get in M&S, Woolies, ASDA etc. but in the super-expensive shops.

next weeks show has her knocking on tony blairs door - what does she expect him to do write her a cheque. i agree she should at least try and pay most of it herself. did you hear her son when being interviewed by new school saying - my mums owns a pub - yeah right! its like oh poor me - why should my sons suffer because i cant afford to pay for his education err.do what most of us do and send them to and support the local primary to make it better.

i wish they had aired the other one about getting children into good primary schools - amazing as to the lengths some people will go to...

I may have this wrong, but if this woman went to work for more hours than she already does, wouldn't tax credits take that from what they already give her and just bring her wages up to a certain level. If I was in her position I wuold probably go down the route she is as more working hours would probably cost more in childcare not leaving her much more to put towards the cost of the school

Exactly. She earns £400 pm. No one can live on that amount, so she is clearly in receipt of Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. If she earns more money, she loses tax credit. There's no point in her taking on another job, losing tax credits and possibly incurring more childcare costs.

Don't forget part 2 is on tonight

Oh I nearly forgot, thanks

Argh, it clashes with The Teen Tamer on channel 5. Will have to find a video quick. All still in boxes from my house move!

ijoiuhguiyfuyg