bawdy-nan

Thanks so much Yak. I'll take a proper look at those websites. He's extremely keen to continue; I think it's because after so many years of determined practice it is starting to sound like music! I love the sound of the oboe (now!) and I would like to help him to continue. At first glance it looks like there may be some finance options that might make it a bit more possible ...

My son, who is 10, plays the oboe at school. It's been a tough ride but he's persevered and is now doing ok. He's only just now preparing to take his grade 2 exam. We've been extremely lucky to have had access to lessons in school and, more importantly, access to an instrument. He'd like to continue once he leaves primary school and we could probably find a way of paying for lessons if he didn't get any kind of scholarship support at secondary school somehow but our main problem is the instrument itself, which we have to return once he leaves primary. When my daughter left primary we were, with a bit of research, able to find a cheap but ok clarinet that her granny bought for her (under ?120) and she has lessons at her secondary school for free. Looking around I see that the cheapest student oboes are around ?800 and more likely ?1200. Because it is a "rare" and unloved instrument there isn't really much of a second hand market. This puts the purchase, even with any of the VAT reduction schemes way, way, way beyond our means. I suppose, if we'd really thought it through we might have resisted the school's decision to have him play the oboe over one of the more popular (cheaper) instruments but we didn't. My question then is, does anyone know what, if any instrument it makes sense to transfer to from learning to play an oboe - eg - is the transition to clarinet a sensible one? Or is the playing (blowing?) technique so different that it makes it confusing and more difficult and it would be worth looking at something entirely different - recorder / guitar / whatever... Anyone with any advice?

rch Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- In 2011, > 10% of the DCC population of 36,535 was over 65 > and 21% were under 15. According to the data car ownership increases up to the age of 60 and then declines so your observation about the age of residents is an argument against the likelihood of their owning cars, in fact.. > And this isn't the Netherlands, it's London - > which is based around a medieval street layout. > Or, in Dulwich's case, farm tracks. Hardly suitable for cars then, eh? We need creative layers of > alternatives. Totally agree with this and also your previous observation about the dearth of useful public transport serving Dulwich which makes shorter journeys for those less sprightly hard to contemplate without a car if they have access to one, I suppose the point that I've been trying to make is that when car owners are a minority then the emphasis shouldn't automatically be placed on prioritising their convenience in terms of borough wide spend.

That's an odd observation to make. Do you lie on your census form as an illegal act of civil disobedience? Yet another way to get at those pesky planners of public services...? The tfl data also draws on vehicle registration data from DVLA to calculate quantities of vehicles registered in the borough. spider69 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > 2011 census. Worthless. Who tells the truth.

The stats are from the report linked to in one of the posts above: http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Health_Impact_of_Cars_in_London-Sept_2015_Final.pdf and are set out more fully here: https://tfl.gov.uk/cdn/static/cms/documents/technical-note-12-how-many-cars-are-there-in-london.pdf 43% of HOUSEHOLDS in Southwark have access to a car. Or, there's always the census data from 2011 http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rft-table-ks404ew.xls if you go to the percentages tab and search for Southwark you will see that, according to that data, 58.4% of households in Southwark do not have access to a car or van. So, yes, I suppose they do ask people.

You could try contacting the school directly: Ms V Turner, Director of Sport, Health & Recreation at: [email protected] Honestly, I was in your shoes and my advice to my then self would have been to see the scholarships and the application process as a way of finding out about the school and as something that is a "good thing" if you get in but not as a way of guaranteeing a place. Getting a "scholarship" doesn't guarantee a place but it is a good thing to have if you do get a place so worth trying for: free music lessons, free coaching, all kinds of activities and trips, and guaranteed way of meeting new people and making new friends.

But "we" the "general public" are not, in the main, drivers of cars Zebedee Tring Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > James, I've amended my post and have answered > your question. Satisfied?. > > I think that I'm doing more to save the world than > the trendies who boast about how much they recycle > their rubbish and ride their bikes but who then > fly off on holiday annually to the USA or Kenya > and kid themselves about how wonderful they are. > > You seem to have forgotten that it is we, the > general public, who hold you politicians to > account and not vice versa.

There's already lots of inconvenience in the current system and situation so making changes just shifts who is inconvenienced. 57% of Southwark households don't have access to a car (an even higher percentage don't drive - once you factor in the under 17's). So why should the main focus for travelling be on people trying to travel by car? In any case getting people out of cars for shorter journeys wherever possible benefits those people who need to use their cars or other vehicles for whatever reason. I'd point especially to "rush hour" when the traffic is absolutely awful. If you look at the same pressure points out of school term they're much better - which would suggest that a good deal of the traffic is caused by people driving their children to school. It would be much better for the drivers that have no other option, for the children, for public transport users and everyone else if better (more healthy) ways of travelling were found so that parents and children felt confident about eschewing cars and bicyles for shorter journeys are ideal.

It would be a good experiment to do these closures all at the same time to see what the effect would be. One by one and they're likely to be opposed on the grounds that it pushes traffic elsewhere but if they are all restricted and traffic is pushed to main routes that might be worth it and worth a look, although it would likely have a detrimental knock on effect on public transport (bus routes). Zebedee Tring Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The chaos if they closed Townley, Calton, Court > Lane and Melbourne Grove would be beyond belief. > Wulfhund, you are clearly living in an > unrealistic, idealistic dreamworld if this is your > approach and you are doing a disservice to the > main body of reasonable cyclists.

and also interesting stats on households with access to cars - only 43% in Southwark so car owners absolutely the minority nunhead_man Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > wulfhound Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > So I'm afraid a lot of the people on this > thread > > need to take a look in the mirror, and think > about > > what their priorities really are. TfL want to > > spend somewhere in the region of ?3 MILLION on > the > > Quietway.. the question is, do people want to > > spend it on useless build-outs and fancy > paving, > > or on an actual, real step-change for cycling > in > > the area? > > > Agreed - and those who drive using petrol and > diesel should choke on this ............ > > http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Healt > h_Impact_of_Cars_in_London-Sept_2015_Final.pdf

Wulfhound - I agree with you and would like to see better, safer provision for cycling and pedestrains and happily eschew my car for local journeys wherever possible but this instance is an example of change being made without looking at the overall picture. I reckon (not sure, of course) that banning a right turn would have had a detrimental impact on other junctions locally, not least the ghastly morning mess in Dulwich Village (where, incidentally there was a traffic observation this morning). Are you hopeful about the broader quietway planning? I mean, do you think that looking at the bigger picture might help?

At the assessments they do loads of fitness tests, games (to test team work, ability to follow instructions) and skills tests for those very reasons. I don't think (but may be wrong) that you get assessed JUST on the sport you flag up as your specialism.

If you're going to an open day they have the full route lists there

The year 7s look tiny and year 6's even smaller but by the end of the year, if not sooner, they'll be itching to move on from primary - even as it can seem daunting (for them and for you!) When I looked round schools (my daughter is in yr 8) I felt the opposite to you hoonaloona - I felt that the local schools all seemed really good and, even if I did have a preference, any one of them would have been fine. They seemed proud of the school and the pupils and, with some justification: locally the results are good. My experience has been very positive. My daughter was the only one from her primary to transfer to her secondary and she was very sad about that and nervous. The school couldn't have been kinder and more encouraging and she's settled well, making new friends and keeping in touch with old friends from primary. She quite quite quickly found her feet but the school were very supportive in the first few months especially around increased homework load etc. One thing to note is that secondaries (most of them?) mitigate their vastness by dividing the children into school halves or thirds. All their classes will be in that half or third so that they are quite quickly able to get a sense of who is who and not feel too lost. Good luck!

I think some local primary schools have these

It's tricky isn't it because of the change of rules last year about only "first attempts" being counted in the tables some schools chose to publish "best attempt" results. According to the schools websites (no idea how they're working these figures out or whether they'll match the official stats) figures on children gaining 5x GCSEs at A-C (including English and Maths) Harris Crystal Palace ??? Charter 79% Kingsdale 78% Sydenham Girls ??% Harris Boys East Dulwich 64% Prendergast Hilly Fields ?? Deptford Green ?? Aske's New Cross (Haberdasher) ??% Bonus Pastor ?? Harris Girls 73% Last year: Harris Crystal Palace 77% Charter 77% Kingsdale 76% Sydenham Girls 71% Harris Boys East Dulwich 70% Prendergast Hilly Fields 70% Deptford Green 70% Aske's New Cross (Haberdasher) 70% Bonus Pastor 67%

stopped testing beforehand - they now sit for it once at the school [EDIT - ACTUALLY I THINK THEY SIT A TEST ONCE THEY HAVE AN OFFER OF A PLACE IN MARCH OR SOMETIME THEREAFTER] (at least did last year) - but tbh I think if you're in top sets for Maths you get the (v excellent) trips and they seem pretty good at helping each student to progress link here http://www.kingsdalefoundationschool.org.uk/page79/page81/

Good luck - I hope she enjoys the day and gets a place (if she's sporty and mathsy I's say it would suit her very well)

If you think your child might go to kingsdale and is interested in sport or music then I'd apply. The sport day especially is very good fun. Def worth a go I'd say- a music "scholarship" at whatever level means lessons and group activities and the provision is great. Sport is good there too and there's loads of opportunities to play even without a scholarship. Maths scholarship means regular attendance at Maths/science orientated outside events at universities. You don't have to be brilliant - someone who's keen is likely to be involved somehow. Not sure it's worth relying on for a place however. Also, if your child doesn't make the scholarship tests or doesn't "perform" on the day but shows enthusiasm /talent once at the school there's loads of opportunities to get involved: sport, music, Maths, art and humanities. Mine has Maths, sport and music (didn't do well, she felt, at the test and got a lower level scholarship which got upped when there). And, yes, you can have a few of them. Do pm for any more info...

Very heartening to read the warm, inclusive language of the vision pages - bravo!

thank you

where is the new website - can't see a link from the Charter site

oh - sorry, I'll stop in a minute. An absolute cupboard veggie classic for us is baked burritos: small tin of refried beans will do for 4 of these. In a plain tortilla wrap plop a spoon of refried beans (the spicy ones are nice or get plain and mix in a little garlic paste and a chopped spring onion), add halves of a cherry tomato and pieces of pickled jalapeno pepper slices (3 of each is what we like - obvs no chillies for a a baby) in an alternating line, add a tablespoon of grated cheese (or not), roll up, tucking in the ends and place in a baking dish. Bake for 20 mins and serve with salad and tsatsiki (grated cucumber and natural yoghurt witha bit of garlic, lemon juice and oive oil if you fancy it). Basically, you can put almost anything inside.

Another idea is to make a big batch of rataouille and then use it as the basis for lots of other things: cook in olive oil 1 x onion and couple of cloves of chopped, crushed garlic (or more if you like it), when soft add 2 x peppers sliced and, say, 5 chopped courgettes (aubergine too if you want / have it) - cook a little, add 2 x tins of chopped tomatoes, add a bay leaf (you can tie it to a little bunch of thyme or rosemary too if you have it) cover and cook slowly for an hour or so. Take lid off and let it reduce a little until it's thick and glossy. You can freeze this in portions (make double the quantity) and it can be the base for all kinds of things: - pasta sauce - top with cheese and / or stir in a tablespoon of pesto - pasta sauce #2 - add some sliced mushrooms and top with cheese - use as a topping for a baked potato - add a tin of butter beans put in a baking tin/dish and top with breadcrumbs mixed with cheese and bake in the oven for 35 mins or so - cook another chopped onion, stick of celery and a diced carrot til softened, add the ratatouille mix and a handful of tiny pasta shapes, and/or small tin of lentils or mixed beans, thin with stock or water for a lovely minestrone soup - use as the basis for a chili non carne - add mushrooms, red kidney beans (and aduki beans if you want), and a chili spice mix (paprika, cumin, dried oregano or marjoram and cayenne pepper or leave the cayenne out if its for you and your baby - you can add some tabasco to your separately) - serve with rice and salad , and other bits: grated cheese or avocado guacamole or sour cream or plain yoghurt or tortilla chips or salsa or a any of these in combination

also - good recipe books at the library - worth a browse for ideas