My daughter is about to turn eleven soon, so it's time to investigate secondary schools. Unlike my own experience, in which every child leaving a public primary school in my town went to one local Junior High School, we are faced with a confusing lottery system. Some of the schools have an entrance exam; some don't. Some are secular and some religion-based, even among the state-run schools. And then there are the private Independent Schools in the area, the two closest of which are in the top 10 in the country. This is all slightly stressful, both for us and for Honey (her nickname).
As a bright child, but one who likes Art, Design Technology, PE and Break much more than her academic subjects, having to "get serious" about her schoolwork, what she wants to do in the future and where she will go to secondary school, the 11+ Admissions process is something Honey would like to block out rather than embrace. I can relate; several dozen times so far, I have had fantasies about decamping to the U.S. for a far simpler entry into the next stage of education for both of our children.
I can only say, in the nicest possible way, that the secondary schools admissions process isn't straightforward. By being able to put your first, second, third (and so on) choices on an application, you are given the impression that you actually have a choice of where your child will end up. However, regardless of our choices, each school makes its own choices and each one has its own criteria. Priority may be given to immediate neighbours of the school and siblings of current students, with exam results and/or cachement area taking up the remaining places. Some schools use a straight-line measurement to determine distance. Others take results and distance into account. With others, it is purely a lottery.
Dilemmas abound. Do you take a chance and put the best school your child is reaching for as the number one choice? Put your close-second as number two and see what happens: if she wasn't lucky enough to get her first choice, and second choice is also popular, chances are she won't get that one either. I wouldn't exactly call the process deceptive; but it feels as if choice is an illusion rather than a reality.
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