Does anybody know when the results will be posted after the

[NEILL THE NOTORIOUS]

OH JR ! ----- of course you are right, and it is exactly what Old (And even Older) Blues have been saying on this Forum, ever since I first Joined it.
I fear that, whatever our opinions of the present Ethos of the School, they will have no effect whatsoever.
I recall, during an Old Blues Day, some years ago, when, in the Science Theatre, the Headmaster explained his reasons for introducing "Full Fee-paying Pupils" as "To broaden the social mix of the School population "

He got a fairly rough ride -- as you can imagine, but of course, those present, had no power -- and he knew it !!!

SAD SAD SAD

[barwen]

A cautionary tale. Our son attended the residential in 2008 and was accepted for C.H. and was due to join Middleton in September. Did he go ? No, thanks to me. I just could not get my head round him boarding so far from his home in Devon. He cried and my wife was angry with me. The same year he passed two other scholarships, both public schools with good reputations. Just before the dead line of July 2008 I had a change of heart and approached dear Mrs Brakes to see if we could get him into C.H. on the off chance that there was a space due to a candidate dropping out like we had done. Out of the blue Mrs Brakes phoned me and said "If you get here tomorrow we will proceed with the admission process although he will now be in Peele". I was elated as was my wife. Can you guess what happened ? Cavan had now changed HIS mind and at this moment remains at one of the two indie schools. IT'S LIKE WINNING THE LOTTERY AND LOSING THE TICKET. If your son or daughter is clever enough and lucky enough to be accepted, dont have second thoughts as I did. Christ's Hospital School is a fabulous school with a great ethos of good and sound education for all.
I am so sad that I have taken away my sons chance to have been part of C.H. and although in the end it was our son who made the decision not to go, I think it was just to please me as he had become confused as to what I really wanted for him. When ever he sees or hears things about C.H. I can see regret in his eyes and I am sure if given another chance he would jump at it. Barwen

ALL A WASTE OF TIME. HOPES BUILT UP ONLY TO BE DASHED !

[dinahcat]

That's a really nice post even though there are some regrets there.It's a really hard choice to make , sending your child to board such a long way away and I am sure you are not the only parent to have got themselves into a stew over it. It is an entirely unnatural thing to send your child away from you . All your instincts, society, friends, relatives can be against you when you are thinking about it so there is no blame attached to wanting your child at home with you.And there's always the 6th form...

[Pixie]

I agree with dinahcat. It took a long time for me to understand why my parents sent me to boarding shool, especially as it turned out to be so different from my expectations. I went Hertford in 1965 and I know that CH life is completely different now, but because of my experience we could not contemplate sending our son away to board. He went to the local comprehensive, the largest in the county, grew up well balanced and achieved excellent GCSE and A level grades. From there he went to Imperial College and graduated with a 2:1.
We have no regrets about our son's education and we have a great relationship with him. There are many things to consider when planning your child's education and boarding schools aren't always the best choice.

[anniexf]

There was no way I would have contemplated sending my daughter to Hertford (even though it might have made my life as a single parent easier on a day-to-day basis) because of the oppressive and stultifying regime I had endured there. She went through the State system, won a place at Oxford, got a First in Biology, & 4 years later a Ph.D. The friends she made at Oxford are still close friends. I doubt if she'd even have got to uni. at all if Hertford had got hold of her.
Of course CH has changed radically and from all I've read it's achieving a great deal for its pupils, both academically and socially; but the school we know now seems to be heading inexorably towards extinction. It will become just another Public School competing on similar terms with the rest. It's already bleeding the average family dry with its fees policy. I feel so sorry for Ailurophile and others whose intentions were the best but who've been betrayed by this "pay up or go" system.
The "CH ethos" is rapidly becoming a myth.

[ailurophile]

I am so sad that I took away my sons chance to have been part of C.H. And although he decided not to go I think it was just to please me as he had become confused as to what I really wanted for him. When ever he sees or hears things about C.H. I can see regret in his eyes and I am sure if given another chance he would be there but unfortunately I cannot see there ever being a third chance on offer. He passed the exams, he passed the physical and the interviews and no one can take that away from him, not even me. Barry Plant.

Barry, I'm sad to hear that you have regrets about your decisions. However, as others have said here, boarding is not for everyone, and if you and your son both had doubts then I suspect that the choice you ultimately made was the best one for him.

That said, are you aware that from this coming September CH will be taking in some pupils at 13 (state school year 9)? I'm not sure whether this option is open only to full fee payers, or if this would suit your own current circumstances, but if your son truly regrets his missed opportunity it may be worth you investigating whether that third chance might just be available!

[Pixie]

Barwen, please don't feel that you have let your son down. If only I had been able to have an open and honest discussion with my parents like you and your family before I went to CH there wouldn't have been so much misunderstanding between us. I didn't want to go but I thought my parents really wanted me to be there so went along with it. I discovered only 2 years ago, shortly before my father died, that he had had misgivings and regretted his decision from the moment he left me there on my first day. We spent many years each thinking that the other wanted this for me when that wasn't the case at all.

[anniexf]

are you aware that from this coming September CH will be taking in some pupils at 13 (state school year 9)? I'm not sure whether this option is open only to full fee payers, or if this would suit your own current circumstances, but if your son truly regrets his missed opportunity it may be worth you investigating whether that third chance might just be available!

But would you want to wrench him from his friends at 13, to try & make new friends where firm friendships have already been established between boys who all started their CH life together at 11, as well as having to adjust to boarding and an entirely different regime - including girls?
He may of course be super-confident, but IMO it's asking too much at a crucial stage of his emotional development.

[midget]

Ann, West Buckland is coed. How would CH Hertford have prevevted your daughter from going to Oxford. I left a few years before you joined, and there was certainle a lot of encouragement from DR et al if people wanted to go to Oxbridge, and in our day there still were not as many opportunties for girls as for boys,eg 5 collehes at Oxford and I think 2 at Cambridge. For medicine at one of the London teaching hospitals (apart from the Royal Free) there was a compulsory 20% girls, and few places were prepared to include more!

That said, I agree that the regime was spartan and harsh in many areas.

[anniexf]

Sorry Maggie, I should have checked the WB website first re co-ed. I notice that the termly fees for years 7-9 are £3690 for a day pupil, & for boarders £5850, with a 5% discount for 2nd. & 3rd. siblings. Presumably this is close to what some parents are paying for CH.
Re my daughter: she would obviously always have had the potential for Oxbridge but I was afraid that CH would have failed her as it did me. From being among the "brightest" in the LCC area's 11+ results I ended up at 15 just getting my 8 O-levels, in a tranquilliser-induced haze. (Tranx courtesey of the school doctor, thanks for his care & concern, ho ho). Leaving & going to grammar school saved me. I cared for my daughter's health, sanity & future as I'd once feared for my own, so CH was a definite no-no.

[dinahcat]

I have a great deal of empathy with annixef as if CH now was the same as Hertford when I was there I would not send any living creature within a hundred miles of it but thankfully times have changed . Forty years is a long time ago in terms of boarding education and that applies to all boarding schools not just CH.Parenting is very different now as well. Parents talk and listen to their children more now than they did when I was a child . My parents would never have dreamed of complaining to the school about anything as they were so grateful that they felt that the school always knew best.
It is very hard to part with your child however good the school is. Yoo will always have days where you think perhaps another school would have been OK and maybe giving up going to their concerts, watching matches , being there when they get home and dealing with the day to day stuff is a sacrifice too far.But these things are always about the parent. I miss these things and still have times when I think I have given up too much but I have far more days when I know I have done the right thing for my children.
Oh dear, I now sound like self -righteous smug parent which isn't what I meant!

[NEILL THE NOTORIOUS]

I don't think Horsham ever WAS like Hertford, and from what I hear -- I am grateful !

I had passed for Bishop Wordsworth, in Salisbury, and my Mother had the un-enviable task of telling the Head, that, due to the luftwaffe's intervention -- I had also passed for CH, and would be going there -- his reply was "Splendid -- of course you must send him there -- a wonderful school !"

The rest of the Family wondered if he had already heard about me ---

[TrueBlue]

Lets face it, there is nothing at all natural or nice about wrenching a child from its parents, placing it in the care of a bunch of strangers you hardly know, and spending a great deal of money, depriving the rest of the family and yourself for the privelidge.

There is only one good reason to do it - awful local maintained sector schools where bullying, drugs, violence and bad teaching thrive. If this is not the case - don't send them.

[Sussex]

They have been posted and have indeed arrived safely. We had a little envelope but with an offer of a place. I have heard much in the past about the significance of the size of the envelope and generally people say the big one brings good news. We are delighted but almost certain to turn down the place for reasons I shall explain on the leavers and fees thread.

[Angela Woodford]

How would CH Hertford have prevevted your daughter from going to Oxford. I left a few years before you joined, and there was certainle a lot of encouragement from DR et al if people wanted to go to Oxbridge,

It all depended on whether you belonged to the set which Katharine calls "DR's Swans". Girls were labelled A or B from the L1V upwards - I think three B Formers managed to stay on for the V1 Form in my year. Ambition and hopes counted for little with DR - once you were labelled, that was it.