Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

My DD when she applied was on the reserve list and we were fortunate to hear 2 weeks later that she had a place. Some children decline their place, which for some is an insurance if they don't get their preferred choice of selective school, particularly those from London. More children also joined in the school year as children left who didn't settle in, thereby creating a place. So don't give up hope as the London schools have not allocated their places yet!

Well, the post lady kept her word. Unfortunately she delivered the post to our neighbour who has only just brought it round.

Now I wish she hadn't.

Its a big "No" for us too. Not even a reserve list. Some baloney about King Edwards School. Sloppy seconds? No thanks...

Whilst I'm wary of making excuses, we too needed full bursary.. Does seem to be a pattern emerging, doesn't there?

She's gutted but will bounce back.

Sorry to hear that Moominmama - I'd vaguely wondered whether everyone got the 'you're on the waiting list' just to make kids feel better. I think certainly that it's more difficult to get in if you need a full bursary, but that's entirely understandable given the extra demand for such places.

I guess all we can do is cross fingers for the next few months....

I am genuinely disappointed to learn of your news. As I have said previously there is no more scrupulously fair process in the land. It is heartbreaking at this end also to have to turn children down, but we only have a fixed number of places. I can assure you that there is no pattern emerging as you might suggest. I would like to add that, although it is not easy, for your child's sake you must try to put this behind you swiftly. As they say, when one door closes ...........

Thank you Howard.

And you're right, when one door closes, another opens.

Sadly for my daughter, the only doors that will be opening lead to the two catchment schools, both of which are in "Special Measures".

Soon be Monday, so another mail delivery must be imminent.

I'm really sorry to hear about your disapointments, my second son didn't get in (1st is in UF), we were told that his english let him down, it is nice to know that it's not a standard letter. We were advised to try again for yr 9 entry, will this be a possibility? Sadly my ds is still failing at english - it doesn't help that he is at a poor secondary school, He's falling further and further behind and yet personality wise would probably benefit more from a CH education than my very lazy ds1

I'm afraid I blame the changing ethos of the CH system.

'Nuff Said ??

pinkhebe wrote:I'm really sorry to hear about your disapointments, my second son didn't get in (1st is in UF), we were told that his english let him down, it is nice to know that it's not a standard letter. We were advised to try again for yr 9 entry, will this be a possibility? Sadly my ds is still failing at english - it doesn't help that he is at a poor secondary school, He's falling further and further behind and yet personality wise would probably benefit more from a CH education than my very lazy ds1

Hi Pinkhebe,

How did you manage to find out it was his English?

It was mentioned in his rejection letter after the weekend assessment.

Thanks. My son's letter didn't have that sort of information. I haven't mentioned the possibility of a waiting list to him as I don't want to raise his hopes unnecessarily. I'm just hoping someone declines their offer

I wish more 2015 perspective parents were on here. Would be great to getter a better idea of what to expect.

It's quite probable that parents of prospective pupils haven't even found this site.

Some do and some don't if I think back.

Yes it's surprising more don't pop up here out of the the 800-odd(?) who applied this year - this forum comes up as the third result on Google if you search for 'Christ's Hospital'. Perhaps they lurk, or pick up the essential information and move on.

We filled in the yellow form for the 'reserve list' and returned it yesterday - I wasn't sure whether it would be a good idea to put in a note asking what he might have done less well at during his assessment...

I have read with interest the comments on this post, I am new to this site and was directed to it by someone who had done some investigations into CH on my behalf. My daughter has just been offered a place, which are delighted about BUT unfortunately we are one of the families who wouldn't be offered a full bursary as we both work full time (just managing to scrape by). The bursary we have been offered makes it completely unachievable, we can demonstrate this by providing details of our out-goings (and I don't mean ski trips, I mean household bills, food etc). We are yet to hear about a scholarship (this information is released AFTER you have paid £500 to secure a place?!) So, after telling our daughter (quoting from the website) 'bursaries make places at CH affordable' obviously we have to now explain to her that this is not the case. She's perfect for the school academically and socially, but we simply can't afford it. I have contacted them to explain in detail the situation but am yet to hear back. Does anyone have any advice?

very few people are eligable for a full bursery, I think you have to have no income and survive purely on benefits. My entire salary pays for the CH education and we've had to remortgage to pay the bills!!

Aldi is our friend and generous grandparents who enable our ds2 to have a bit of fun in his life