bornagain

Hmmm? I wouldn't rule out ANY school at Year 7 for what subject(s) a child may or may not be able to do at sixth form! I would be more concerned about things in the near future, not something that may happen in 5 years time (and you can move to a different sixth form if you are not happy). ETA as a mother of two girls, I would not put the entire blame on a school and it's culture for the lack of girls going on to do science. The general zeitgeist for the uk as a whole tends to big up the arts rather than sciences. Have you listened to Life Scientific on Radio 4? There should be more programmes like that - really inspirational!

No there are no examinations to be taken before being selected for Charter, not even banding tests. The only criteria after the usual looked after children, siblings etc is the distance to school. Or are you talking about local comps in general?

If you look at the roads opposite (west) and south of the school, there are many large expensive houses. There are few houses to the back (east) of the school as they are mainly playing fields. To the north are the council estates into Camberwell. If you want to be really pedantic, the density of occupation is greater to the north as people tend to live in smaller houses/flats.

Bawdy-nan, yes the school is all about 'success' - for children of all abilities. The support they give to students who are not of the top level academically is impressive.

??? - it's true that there are children from ED, DV and HH at Charter but there are many also from council estates - Dog Kennel Hill, Champion Hill estates being the largest. Its catchment to the north of the school is mainly council. In fact those that live closest I think live in council accommodation. Given its location, its intake is as diverse as you can get in London (and prob nationwide). I'm always impressed at how relatively harmonious the school is as it could be a potential powder keg of class and race.

"Went to Charter yesterday and was impressed with facilities and what it offers. Results are 100% this year but looking at more detail it's probably a quarter or less with A's and majority with C's or B's. What is that in comparision with the local grammars I wonder?" You would expect the grammars to have better results than a comp as their cohort is selected. You need to compare the results of the top set of Charter and other comprehensives with grammar results.

As EDmummy says most if not all secondary schools have a G&T programme (although it may not be called that). I don't think your child will automatically get into it though. The schools assess the children with CATs test at the start of Year 7 and based on these results the children will be selected for G&T programme. I think also they are picked for particular abilities eg maths, literacy, sport etc rather than a blanket G&T for everything. You could try him for one of the super selective grammars in the suburbs if you think he is that able? ETA have not fear about under stiumlus at secondary school - so much bigger and busier and lots of new subjects to learn!

I just find it boring, particularly as I look as if I come from abroad but have lived in Britain all my life. I feel that where my family happened to hail from is not the most interesting thing about me. The resulting conversation may be civilised but ends up rather desultory as my knowledge of my 'home country' is rather scant (have only visited it three times in the last 30 years...). I think it's quite different if you are more rooted in the other culture. Incidentally these conversations almost always happen in a mono-cultural setting (ie white British). In the normal mixed ED setting I don't think I've been asked it once - and that's why I love living here!

I think for me it's the visibility factor. When you are in a predominantly white area, you stick out. You are visible and people notice you. Sometimes it's good but not every time. I prefer my family to blend in, life's easier that way. Also you get asked the same old questions - 'where are you from?', 'Britain? Oh but where are you REALLY from?' etc etc

Arhus is great - lots of cafes and a nice atmosphere. We stayed at Ebeltoft along the coast from there. The beaches on that side are rather small and feel more like lakeside rather than seaside. All very quiet and low key. The weather I remember as being quite variable, much like a typical British summer (ie quite a bit of rain)

!!!! is having the 'right' A levels on offer for Cambridge the best guide to whether the local secondary schools are failing or not? Really?

Can you clarify, who is targetting the teens? Are they other teens or adults?

I used the alarm with my eldest although he was a few years younger. It did work as sometimes the problem is that the child is too fast asleep to wake up and go. I used it with a chart showing which days were dry - acts as an incentive as will show more and more dry nights. Good luck!

Southwark Gymnastics in Camberwell is fantastic for boys. You can google them as they have a website.

Vera Brittain (Shirley William's mum) lived in Camberwell during part of First World War and worked at King's College Hospital - see Testament of Youth.

My children went to a school that sorted the children into 2 classes after reception and then kept them in the same classes until year 6. This resulted in two parallel classes that rarely mixed socially which was a great pity as my children 'lost' friends that ended up in the other class. I think regular mixing is a good thing and as pebbles says allows the children to make new friends. By the time they reach year 6, they can be thoroughly tired of the children in their class and also can be a trap if your child is not for some reason thriving socially in their class. Also there is a danger that one class is seen somehow as 'better' than the other. Do you know why your school is changing their policy?

I tend to agree with oimissus that we all went into parenthood knowing that taking holidays in school holidays was a known sacrifice that we will have to make for 15 years or so. Could much of this clamour for allowing term time leave are from the parents themselves wanting a cheaper holiday abroad? Most of the children I know (esp teenagers) would prefer to stay really close to home and hang out with their friends in ED. The younger ones would be just as happy taking a bucket and spade to a beach in Kent!

Saffron, I was only taking an example of a mathematical concept as an example - of course I don't have any data about a 'significant number'. I think my point is the rights of the individual vs the benefits of the many.

Hi curlykaren, I'm sorry to hear that you are upset by your predicament and my comments. My comments come partly from being a parent and partly from my experiences as a teacher. It sounds like your child is still very young but as they get older, some lessons can be quite important (for eg. learning a key maths concept) and is best if as few children miss the lesson as possible. I totally agree with you that our children should have their own personal learning journey. My point is that if term-time holidays were allowed, in all probability a significant number of children will be absent at one time or another for a significant period of time (ie a week or more). This will be a real distractor for both teacher and class (and your child will also suffer when other children are absent for their holidays). As for the hike in prices during holiday time, its a total nightmare - for families and teachers too.

"Predicating the education of one child on the presence (or absence) of another is not a good education policy IMHO. " Like it or not, we live in a community and actions of one parent can impact on children of others. We can all hope for more staffing and better support but in this current climate it's probably not going to happen. Term time holidays are probably the preoccupation of the squeezed middle. The rich can afford holidays anytime and the poor don't get to go on holidays at all.

Hamlet is an unusual school and is quite different to other schools in the area. Excellent in many ways, academically, musically, sports but it is rather old-fashioned in some ways and has a very competitive ethos at its heart. What I'm saying I suppose is that it won't be everyone's cup of tea - and also will not suit all types of children. If you go the DVIS/Hamlet route, you are choosing a less inclusive, private ed leaning education. Schools serve the community that it's in.

Children being away for school term holidays will affect the learning of other children in the class and will be very disruptive for all. Topics/lessons missed, extra catchup work to be set. Teachers spending precious time on those who have been away rather than the rest of the class. More burden on already stretched teaching force. Agree with EDmummy about lobbying the holiday industry!

When our's were small we thought 'child-friendly' described places where we could blend in and eat without stress (Wagamama was a particular favourite). We certainly did not expect special play areas or freedom to roam. How time change (and my younger child is only just leaving primary school?)

AFAIK Dulwich Hamlet does not have a min age policy. Worth checking on the website or call the school? As to how old, depends on distance, maturity of child, any tricky crossings to negotiate etc Rule of thumb is end of Yr 5 - Yr 6. You should definitely make sure that your child has plenty of practice walking on their own before starting secondary school.

Just been on the phone to Virgin. They can credit ?4 back to your account to compensate for the loss of service but you need to phone I think otherwise you won't get it! Call 150 and go to customer services. Also if you have had extra expenses because of the outage (eg I had to go into my client's office because of lack of broadband), insist on getting them to pay for it. They are reluctant but eventually they refunded my train ticket as a 'gesture of goodwill'. Good luck!