Hi Ice (and Gopher too),

If you can't get a place at your nearest school you will be offered somewhere else which should be nearby. There are ways that you can appeal if you feel your child is in the wrong school. No guarantees, though, and it depends how much effort you put in.

More important is that your child's first (infant & primary) school is a feeder school to a good secondary school. Your child is normally automatically offered a place at age 10.

Gopher's point about arts or PE being soft subjects is valid.

As an example, here's a link to my daughter's school website. Specialises in maths and sciences. We don't get much choice here, though. The next nearest school is 15 miles away! Should be easy to find some info about the area you're going, I think.

If you could move your family in early July and let your son visit his new school it'll be easier for him in September (and give him several weeks of summer holiday to get used to the UK!) You could also find local pre-schools (informal early years education) and let him meet some of his classmates.

A "true" grammar school is essentially top of the tables. However, acceptance is usually based on passing a number of entry exams, past performance, interviews etc. in order to ensure that they get the best students. In my borough, there is *one* grammar school, versus 19 others, comprising comprehensives, academies, etc..


There are other types of school, but the distinctions are mostly due to the way they are funded and or run, as opposed to their potential output. If you take a gander at Wikipedia HERE, and just browse around, then you ought to get a gist of the fundamentals.

"Specialist arts colleges" aren't necessarily *that* bad (ironically, the only grammar school I referred to earlier is one), but I have a special loathing for "specialist sports colleges".

Don't discount the local faith schools, lots of parents fall over themselves to get kids into Catholic and Anglican-run schools (regardless of their own faith) because the standard of teaching and adherence to a moral code are desirable. They are usually better resourced, and have greater involvement with parents.

I am seriously offended that the notion that a school that focuses on arts is in any way crappy!!!

I am a graduate of an arts creative education and I have a degree in the Hisotyr of Art and Design from an institution that dates back to when Cambridge was crap!, and I am very very VERY proud of it.

Basicly it comes down to this,.. (I work in a school as my day job BTW). In order to get some funding in a particular area a school may apply for specialist status. The thing is that this caught on and now what must be well over 90% of schools are 'specialist' in one area or another. It doesnt mean they are any better in that area simply that there are 'funds' and new 'money pots' that can be accessed when used for that area. For example a Business and Enterprise school may get extra money to hold special business days, extra funding for business classes etc... (In schools funding is everything and everything is a budget of a budget to a budget)

However the biggest thing here is that everyone is assuming you get a choice, for the most part you dont. Were you live you will fall into a certain catchmeant and if you want your child to go to a normal comp then they will end up at whichever one's catchment area you live in, with some people able to apply for two schools to to there home being in two catchment areas. You can appeal these sometimes but given the amount of people that have this idea its basicly a big lucky dip.

...PS once you get beyond 16 specialist stuff is the dogs bollocks. I was taught by practising artists and designers, given some brilliant insight into the world of advertising and marketing by a few tutors and generally given a massive advantage over anyone doing simply A Levels which seem so closed to anything outside the wirtten guidelines its scary to think how lost the students must be thinking when going for job/uni interviews.

Whoops, stepped in it again. My apologies mate, didn't mean to offend! Mind you though, you went further and got this at degree level, which isn't quite the same as secondary education...

...come to think of it, I think that my secondary school turned into a specialist arts college when I was half-way through my A-Levels. Didn't help me worth a damn because I was doing the sciences, which might explain my bitterness... plus there was what happened at my first university...

The point about choice is quite pertinent though; For me it wasn't too bad since you get a lot of schools in a small space in London, but where you're going to end up, the school density might be rather restricted. Which, in a way, might make your life more easy.

Well Madaboutsims...

(as Gopher says, stepped in it again!)

From your post it seems you got your arts education at a higher level than secondary school.

As a parent, I'm keen to get my kids sorted with basic academic stuff. Given the choice (which I'm not) between evenly performing arts and science / maths specialists, it's a no-brainer for me. YMMV, of course.

There is a long-held perception that an arts education is soft. It's been that way for a while and isn't helped by the some of the degrees on offer today.

Happy you got what you wanted and are where you want to be!

Cheers.

well the perception is wrong, as I said it doesnt mean they are any better at the specialist area (at GCSE level schools) simply that it gives the school a little extra budget,... its up to the SOD and SLT as to how that money is spent however :/

The toruble is these days kids are taught not maths or science etc but rather how to pass a maths exam, how to pass a science exam. Its quite different to how i was taught and no doubt you were in which you were taught the subject areas and then the exam was on these. Its a bit confusing but it is one of the biggest complaint I get from teachers, that they now have to teach how to pass exams instead of teaching kids how to apply the knowledge learnt in class to an exam.

Hi Lewis,

I understand there are changes afoot in the GCSE system that aim to make some subjects more credible, particularly in respect of coursework.

Being taught a subject and tested on your understanding seems the sensible way. I can understand teachers' frustration with the current system.

Seeing the year-on-year improvements in exam results really does help. Kids today are no cleverer than at any time in the past and as I understand it would many would struggle when faced with the old style 'O' level papers such as I sat many years ago - mainly down to modern teaching (within the govt. requirements).

Cheers!

Hey guys! Just filled up my Overseas Nurses Programme application form, so things are looking up! I hear they want us in by January or February 2010.

Catchment - Assuming I would like my son in a particular school, do I apply him in there first then look for a place in the catchment area? The reason behind is if we don't get him in that school, then we can at least choose a different house closer to whatever school he does get into. If not, do schools require us to stay at the catchment area for a certain amount of time before considering my son for admission?

The rest - Again, I got lost somewhere in the conversation. Sorry about that but it's just not making sense to me.

Hi Ice, the conversation did go OT!

While you have some time, contact the schools you are interested in directly (by email) and ask them about admissions - obviously explain your circumstance and take it from there. They will already have an idea of places/numbers for next September's starters. Once in country you can arrange visits for yourself. You will probably talk to the area's Local Education Authority, too. They must have come across people in the same boat as yourself.

Regarding catchment areas - having a home in the area is a big part of getting a school place, but it's not a guarantee. Likewise, applying to a school outside of your neighbourhood is allowed, too. Our Govt. likes to give you choice (or the illusion of it, anyway). Not very sure if length of time at an address is a factor. I don't think it is.

Another thing - children can and do swap schools.