UK State Boarding Schools

roar!

i've sent my application yesterday, 2012 yr10 to three schools, one sku has replied, she asked me to fill the application form, and my name will be on the waiting list.
I'll have a chance in case a student drop off. do u think it's impossible for a student to drop off suddently?!
After i submit the application form, what i have to do? will they offer me an interview?
Thx.
PS i had asked the agent for helping me to apply Wymondham but she said it's totally full.. is that real? I think Wymondham is a good school i wanna apply it..

Tommy

roar! 發表於 12-4-14 14:32
i've sent my application yesterday, 2012 yr10 to three schools, one sku has replied, she asked me to ...

Year 10 boarding places in the high ranking state boarding schools are rare, especially your application is relatively late.  However, nothing is impossible.  In and out would happen in every school for various reasons.  Yet, the waiting list could be very long.

Agents are not reliable because they earn very little from the state schools.  Placing students to state boarding schools is not their major revenue.  They will not fight for your real benefit.  They just do what they think easier.  That is to refer the "less subscribed" schools to you.

If there are some target schools in your mind, you can give them a follow-up email, find a good reason to call the school Registrar, update them with the achievement of your child, etc.  Maybe it could help.  

Bear in mind, exceptions and unexpected outcomes happen from time to time.  Be prepared.

Tommy

HKdevil

my two girls are going to Wymondham and they applied last August already.

Wymondham requires written tests on english and maths and face to face interview with principal. I know few had been turned down too, so yes it is not easy to get in. Competition is keen.

HKdevil

回復 chakwong 的帖子

my two girls got offers, one for year 9 and one for 6th form. what about your son?

Tommy

I very much appreciate albertpapa and HKdevil's contribution to this topic, especially the introduction to Wymondham College.

In October last year, I pulled out from a dispute occurred in 教育廣場and使用意見.  Then, I moved to here and behaved as a CD ROM.  I found this topic very useful and interesting, much more useful than participating in the dispute.  I started to consider sending my elder son to UK for studies.  By following albertpapa and HKdevil's footprints, I did an extensive search for UK state boarding schools.  After doing the research, we targeted Wymondham as our realistic first choice.

However, we started too late that we missed the application deadline of most of the state boarding schools.  Besides, Year 10 boarding places are very rare in the decent state boarding schools.  I sent out many enquiries and applications.  Except those beyond FT ranking 1000, all the feedback was negative.  Without surprise, Wymondham rejected my son as well.

Nevertheless, we kept on doing follow-up work.  At that time, I met another EK father, Fate, in here.  Many thanks to Fate's encouragement, he says “There is always an Exception in everything in Life.”  It is so true.  Right after that, something exceptional did happen.  

After a series of surprises, over-expectation, unexpected outcomes, disappointment, depressed and then surprises again........Finally, my son will join Wymondham in Year 9 next month.  Yes, he will depart for Wymondham early next month.

Again, many thanks for three lovely fathers, albertpapa, HKdevil and Fate.

abertpapa, I've sent a PM to you, if you have a chance to come back here and willing to keep contact with me, please kindly check the PM.

Tommy

HKdevil

回復 Tommy 的帖子

wah, well done Tommy, how did you do that? and why does your son start next month? My two girls start in Sept. I thought your son is applying year 10, so now why year 9?

odelia_ho

Hi Tommy,
I want to know too, how could you do it?  I asked this school for a place of Year 10 (start this Sept) for my daughter last month and was replied that they are full.  They recommanded to apply 6 Form later.  No admissions could be applied.  Very disappointed.

HKdevil

They do not normally accept year 10 since it is the start of GCSE courses, i think it is this reason that Tommy's son need to study year 9 instead.

That is why i send my girls to year 9 and 6th form. I am going to do that with my son too.

Tommy

有家長留言或PM我問如何找到呢間學校。其實無咩花巧，我只係做了一些基本動作，係一般香港家長幫小朋友揾學校時都會做的動作。我無經Agent，無交portfolio無範文無相片，一家人分工合作，我負責揾資料，太太負責發電郵去學校查詢。

由於我們錯過了deadline，而且是申請較少學位的Year 10，因此大部份學校都回覆無學位，又或說小兒年紀太大，建議兩年後才入讀第十二班。一輪功夫之後，其實已經心中有數，大概感覺到邊間學校係完全無機會，邊間有少少機會，邊間感覺良好，邊間沒有feel。我曾經煞有介事地列表加權重去計算那一間學校最適合小兒，但其實都係嘥氣，適合與唔適合係好難量化，最後都係靠直覺作判斷。

找到心儀對象之後，即使已經被拒絕或暫時沒學位，但簡簡單單寫封信去follow-up也無不可，做左係未必有用，但唔做就肯定無我份。呢封信我選擇透過郵局寄出而唔係發電郵，因為學校可能已經發了無數個拒絕申請的電郵，也可能收過無數的跟進電郵，如果有一封真實的信件執在手，當機會來到的時候，學校或許會較容易撿出我的申請。

信中我清楚交代了孩子過去的學習經歷，現在的期望和將來的抱負。我特別針對孩子的弱項作了一些解說，堂然都要提交相關的証明，期望扭轉學校對他的睇法。總之，就是幫學校製造一個理由，給孩子一個機會；就是要讓學校相信這個孩子正在改變，將來可能是一個不一樣的人。

然後就無咩野可以做，只能被動地等，等待突如其來的機會。

Tommy

HKdevil

Well done tommy. We do our part as parents the rest leaves to God. That was how i got my son a place in his present primary school too. I wrote the principal five letters altogether and eventually he phoned me personally to accept my son.

odelia_ho

回復 HKdevil 的帖子

Thank you for HKdevil and Tommy's sharing.  They are useful.

hksar1997man

I have some friends going abroad for study, but they are good.

odelia_ho

回復 odelia_ho 的帖子

Thank you, Tommy

My daughter had a Skype interviewed with school principal yesterday.
Waiting for the result.

CPU1995

http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary

Try the above link to see comments from UK parents on UK schools.

Tommy

回復 odelia_ho 的帖子

Very good.  Hope to hear more good news soon.  Do you mean she interviewed with Wymondham or another school?

odelia_ho

回復 CPU1995 的帖子

Thank you CPU1995!

odelia_ho

回復 Tommy 的帖子

Hi Tommy,
Oh, not Wymondham, she attended Steyning Gammar School's interview.  My friend's daughter is studying there
and she gives good comments on the school.

1g2bmum

Tommy,
多謝你無私的分享，看到你們多努力爭取成功得到學位，我倒覺得自己是否得來容易，所以不珍惜呢？想請教一下如果Gordon 和wymondham都收你們仔仔或囡囡，你們仍都是選wymondham呢？要考慮什麼因素呢？
有哥哥姐姐讀緊，是否一定收弟妹呢？

Tommy

odelia_ho 發表於 12-5-4 10:07
回復 Tommy 的帖子

Hi Tommy,

Hi Odelia,

Steyning is a good school.  Similar to most of other decent state boarding school, they should have strict policy to enroll student in the correct academic year for their date of birth.  I applied it for my boy in December last year.  I had submitted only the name and the date of birth of my son, then they politely replied their entry years were 9 and 12, and were unable to consider my boy for a place in Year 10.

Your daugther is in the "correct" age, she should have good chance.  Good luck.


Tommy

Tommy

1g2bmum 發表於 12-5-5 00:05
Tommy,
多謝你無私的分享，看到你們多努力爭取成功得到學位，我倒覺得自己是否得來容易，所以不珍惜呢？想 ...

其實，我只分享了上半部，後來學校意外地出現了一個學位，小兒是被考慮的其中一位申請者，經過篩選後，學校基本上選中了小兒，我們獲邀到學校進行面試，但又一次出乎意料之外，面試後我們卻被拒絕了。總之有很多意外，又有很多驚喜，孩子一日未踏入課室上堂，我都未敢高興。

各有前因，您們的「得來容易」是因為您們早有準備和多年來的功夫，我跌跌碰碰才弄到個學位是因為我們準備不足和能力所限。

在選校的初期，我們看學校成績、排名、學校的網頁和ofsted report。純粹看最近一年的排名，Gordon's較佳；但往後看多一年又好像互相對掉了，所以睇排名要睇多幾年。至於ofsted report，兩間學校都幾乎全取outstanding，不相伯仲。網頁就兩間學校都認真製作，但Wymondham有較多資料和學生分享，而且更新得非常頻密。

其實單單看這些資料很難分辨兩校的分別。學校位處的地區是另一個我會慎重考慮的因素，例如與親戚或監護人的距離，我初期希望選一間較近親戚的學校以方便照應，但後來我排除了這個因素，始終欠債還錢容易，但人情債卻不容易還得清、況且相見好同住難……

我決定送小兒出國的其中一個原因，是希望他能在一個寧靜的環境和廣闊的空間裡，不受干擾地專注學習和思考，因此學校最好位於市郊，但又不要太鄉下。無論如何，實地觀察最重要，與學生、老師、職員面對面直接溝通，那個感覺才最直接和準確。您買層百幾萬樓都會睇幾次樓，更何況是關乎子女終身的投資？

我沒去過Gordon's，所以我不會選擇，但如果有幸獲配學位，我會先飛去了解了解才決定。

孩子今晚要飛了，要準備晚餐和打點他的行李，希望他以後在英國的日子一切順利。


Tommy