Day Pupils.

[NEILL THE NOTORIOUS]

One thought springs to my devilish mind -----

Will Day Pupils have to wear Housey Uniform ?
If so a) will this increase the incidence of "Bashing" as discussed on a previous Thread. ?
b) Will female DPs enjoy wearing Housey Uniform among their friends ?------- VERY Fashion-conscious !!

I will certainly enquire, on the 24th.

I shall now return to Alchemy and noxious brews !

[ailurophile]

Kerrensimmonds wrote

Who says that day pupils, if this discussion turns out to be true, would
a) be admitted on a lower standard of entry criteria
b) not pay fees comparable to boarding pupils?

This can only be speculation. But it would seem a reasonable assumption based on other recent developments! At the moment the majority of places at CH are competitive, and offers are made on the basis of academic ability and the 'need' for a boarding education. In the last couple of years the school has opened up a number of non-competitive 'first come first served' boarding places to entrants at 11, 13 and 16, doubling the self-imposed percentage of full fee payers from 6% to 12%. These pupils are admitted on a lower standard of academic entry criteria, and do not pay fees comparable to the competitve entry pupils, whose fees are means tested. If further places are made available to day pupils it does seem more likely that these will be offered on the full fee paying model.

If the rumours turn out to be true, I'm very curious as to how this would be introduced. Would day pupils be admitted only from next September's second form, or throughout the school? What would be the impact on the existing pupils? Will Housey be retained? What about class sizes? Will the number of competitive boarding places ultimately be reduced to compensate? Will current boarders who live in the mid-Sussex area be allowed to move to a day pupil basis, and how would this affect the fees payable? So many questions... I've always thought that admitting day pupils could potentially create more problems than would be solved by any financial benefit. It will certainly be interesting to see whether this does go ahead, and how the issues are resolved. But isn't living in 'interesting times' meant to be a curse?!!

[Mark1]

From what I understand, the day pupil proposal (I believe the term used is outboarders) was discussed at a recent meeting and is seen as less than ideal but potentially necessary measure in the current financial climate; that is to say, it has been accepted in theory.

[Foureyes]

This is simply a request for clarification.
Wurzel refers above to fees at another school as being, among others : "Day Boarding £7,643 * Day Pupils £6,240"
Can anyone explain, please, the difference between "Day Boarding" and "Day Pupills"? The difference in the fees suggests that the difference in status is substantial but I can't see what it is.

[Richard Ruck]

I can foresee a problem as someone who grew up in Itchingfield and boarded. Congestion

The road between horsham and ch gets choked at rush hour - public transport is near non-existant. Up until now the school has never had to worry about people being late for school or not being able to get in through a broken down car etc so it hasn't mattered that it is in a rural location with pretty poor transport links (compared with local state schools). What hours would they do ?

In winter we had chapel at 8:30 and we didn't finish lessons until 5:45 can you see a 11 year old day pupil leaving home in Horsham before 8am and not getting home until gone 6;30 when they could then have tea and then have to find enough time for homework to match a classmate doing 1.5 hours in a boarding house.

To accommodate day pupils you would need to change an awful lot - probably before long dropping to a 5 day week and standard term dates.

The problem is I still believe CH trying to compete head to head with the winchester's eton's and epsom's of his world If that is what they want to do then drop any pretence of the traditional set up and go for it whole heartedly with just a number of scholarship bursaries like those schools. Trying to be a half way house is i believe destined to failure - decide which direction and stick to it. If they are going to stay as a school for the needy then accept that it can not be 5* accommodation and facilites only 4* - i am sure from seeing the number of people at the open day that there is enough parental interest to still keep the school full of deserving pupils - the schhol has to cut it's cloth according to it's income and the parent's have to accept that they get what they pay for (ie if you don't pay Eton money you don't get those facilities)

Not sure if the congestion thing would be an issue - Farlington School operate four minibus routes to ship their pupils in, so I'm sure it would be very easy for CH to arrange something similar.

[sejintenej]

[
Not sure if the congestion thing would be an issue - Farlington School operate four minibus routes to ship their pupils in, so I'm sure it would be very easy for CH to arrange something similar.

Given the need fopr security a minibus would be desirable to keep out of school grounds assorted mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, grand fathers, grandmothers, friends and fiends all of whom would have not been checked with the police.
That said, the cost of running a bus service would reduce the net income.

(At my grandson's school no pupil is allowed out of the classroom unless a) the child is being collected by a parent recognised eaqch day by the teacher or b) the teacher has been notified by the office that another named person wil collect the child and that person is known to and recognised each day by the teacher. It is a nightmare, especially at the start of a new school year or if the teacher is away for some reason - fortunately I know the School Secretary who sorts things out when needed. Imagine CH having to apply those rules!)

[LJG]

Some of the Grecians have been told that day pupils will be admitted in September and an announcement will be made on Friday.

[Momto2]

I can also back up LJG's post - September it is

[Fjgrogan]

I imagine that parents whose children have failed to get boarding places will not be happy to find the places taken by day pupils, presumably with money! Neill and JR will be apoplectic. I'm not too thrilled myself.

[anniexf]

I imagine that parents whose children have failed to get boarding places will not be happy to find the places taken by day pupils, presumably with money! Neill and JR will be apoplectic. I'm not too thrilled myself.

The objective seems to be the maximisation of income asap, and if that can be achieved via the chequebooks of Sussex, so be it. What a betrayal of the Dede of Pitie. My heart goes out to the parents who have been put through the financial wringer to such an extent that they are having to withdraw their children; it's callous and insulting. This so-called "short-term" expedient will doubtless become permanent, as temporary measures often do.

[Foureyes]

As a matter of interest I distinctly remember that there was at least one dayboy in my time in the early 1950s. He lived in Horsham and commuted daily. Why he did not board, I have no idea and although it struck us as slightly strange there were far more important things to worry about.

[Fjgrogan]

If it is only a temporary emergency measure to balance the books, then so be it, but it is definitely a betrayal of the original ethos of the school. Presumably it will have to run for the duration of the school life of September's intake. But please let it be a one-off.

[Mrs C.]

There have been day pupils at CH for years - children of staff.

If it`s a financial necessity to admit outside day pupils, isn`t it better to do so than have to close the school ?

[sejintenej]

There have been day pupils at CH for years - children of staff.

If it`s a financial necessity to admit outside day pupils, isn`t it better to do so than have to close the school ?

There was the son of a teacher when I was there in the late 50's - he boarded but I don't know the financial and entrance exam conditions. It always made sense to me as I felt it was an incentive for the teacher - an extra perk of the job. No problem to me.

[wickedwitch]

well thats my waiting list place gone then.