Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

englishangel wrote:I once picked my son up form his white-faced childminder in the middle of a thunderstorm (I love them), she said "Please take him quickly so I can get under the duvet".

I agree about being scared for your genes though.

I am quite happy with heights, but when I took my twins (about 15 at the time) I was the one glued to the walls while the kids happily leant on the railings and pointed out the sights.

I have just realised that this makes no sense at all as I did not put in that we were at the top of St Pauls' Cathedral, about 400 feet up.

However I am quite happy to go to pubs, (restaurants, the loo, Chelsea Flower Show) on my own.

Husband always says he married me because I bought my own round (we were all students on the same grant, why not?)

For those who are currently or have recently been students, a grant was an amount of money received on an annual basis from your local authority which enabled you to LIVE at university without having to get a job (a loan or an overdraft) to make ends meet, particularly if your parents hadn't (allegedly) fiddled their accounts to get you into CH.

englishangel wrote:

englishangel wrote:I once picked my son up form his white-faced childminder in the middle of a thunderstorm (I love them), she said "Please take him quickly so I can get under the duvet".

I agree about being scared for your genes though.

I am quite happy with heights, but when I took my twins (about 15 at the time) I was the one glued to the walls while the kids happily leant on the railings and pointed out the sights.

I have just realised that this makes no sense at all as I did not put in that we were at the top of St Pauls' Cathedral, about 400 feet up.

However I am quite happy to go to pubs, (restaurants, the loo, Chelsea Flower Show) on my own.

Husband always says he married me because I bought my own round (we were all students on the same grant, why not?)

For those who are currently or have recently been students, a grant was an amount of money received on an annual basis from your local authority which enabled you to LIVE at university without having to get a job (a loan or an overdraft) to make ends meet, particularly if your parents hadn't fiddled their accounts to get you into CH.

Was there a lot of that when you were at school?

soc wrote:I am not saying this about all women but...................... Why is it that women fall for a fella, marry him and then spend the rest of theirs lives trying to change him? If he was good enough to marry, why change him?

This reminds me of a joke the Roman Catholic Headmaster told at a final assembly in a school I was working in in Costa Rica.

Talking about couples he said,

Before they are engaged, she listens to him.

After they are engaged, he listens to her.

And after they are married, the neighbours listen to both of them.


I can't remember the context, and I have no idea what happens now that so many couples live together before marriage, nor bother about getting engaged, but it made me smile at the time (1971)

Mrs C. wrote:

englishangel wrote:

englishangel wrote:I once picked my son up form his white-faced childminder in the middle of a thunderstorm (I love them), she said "Please take him quickly so I can get under the duvet".

I agree about being scared for your genes though.

I am quite happy with heights, but when I took my twins (about 15 at the time) I was the one glued to the walls while the kids happily leant on the railings and pointed out the sights.

I have just realised that this makes no sense at all as I did not put in that we were at the top of St Pauls' Cathedral, about 400 feet up.

However I am quite happy to go to pubs, (restaurants, the loo, Chelsea Flower Show) on my own.

Husband always says he married me because I bought my own round (we were all students on the same grant, why not?)

For those who are currently or have recently been students, a grant was an amount of money received on an annual basis from your local authority which enabled you to LIVE at university without having to get a job (a loan or an overdraft) to make ends meet, particularly if your parents hadn't fiddled their accounts to get you into CH.

Was there a lot of that when you were at school?

I don't think so, but there have been comments on other threads about the cars which collect students from school nowadays.

I wonder if they still do grants these days or if they all fit under the umberella of student loans?

Hey EA did I spell umberella correctly? It looks wrong to me which ever way I spell it!

soc wrote:I wonder if they still do grants these days or if they all fit under the umberella of student loans?

Hey EA did I spell umberella correctly? It looks wrong to me which ever way I spell it!

You should get the Google Toolbar to put on your explorer. It has a spell check on it so you van use it before you post.

Umberella spell checked to umbrella.

umbrella, from 'umbra' the Latin for shadow.

There are loans, all students get a minimum depending on parental income.

There are also bursaries, grants by another name, also dependent on parental income and not repayable, but they vary by university and sometimes by course too.

Thanks Mary, I knew it was wrong, it just didn't look correct in any way to me.

So students do actually get some help that doesn't have to be repaid. It does seem a bit worrying that there are now people who are not going on to uni because of the costs

Mrs C. wrote:

englishangel wrote:

englishangel wrote:I once picked my son up form his white-faced childminder in the middle of a thunderstorm (I love them), she said "Please take him quickly so I can get under the duvet".

I agree about being scared for your genes though.

I am quite happy with heights, but when I took my twins (about 15 at the time) I was the one glued to the walls while the kids happily leant on the railings and pointed out the sights.

I have just realised that this makes no sense at all as I did not put in that we were at the top of St Pauls' Cathedral, about 400 feet up.

However I am quite happy to go to pubs, (restaurants, the loo, Chelsea Flower Show) on my own.

Husband always says he married me because I bought my own round (we were all students on the same grant, why not?)

For those who are currently or have recently been students, a grant was an amount of money received on an annual basis from your local authority which enabled you to LIVE at university without having to get a job (a loan or an overdraft) to make ends meet, particularly if your parents hadn't fiddled their accounts to get you into CH.

Was there a lot of that when you were at school?

There still is, i can think of a number of people on my year group whoose parents must have fiddled to get them in for the amount they paid!!!

Are we saying that there are a load of kids at CH these days whose parents can afford the full fees and there are less of the kids the school was founded for?

Well ,there are certainly a number of families where parents are divorced and one may not be earning very much, or nothing at all - and it would seem that fees are always based on that parents earnings.
It always amazes me how many pupils go on holidays abroad several times a year, have all the latest phones, ipod things, designer clothes, etc etc, yet allegedly pay no fees. (and don`t let me start on the EMA thing!!).

I`m not necessarily saying that more parents can afford full fees, but I`m sure there`s a bit of "fiddling" going on somewhere, by some, to ensure less is paid .

However, as i think someone said somewhere a while ago, it`s a question of "need" - not necessarily financial need, and there are lots of children who really do need and deserve to be here.

soc wrote:Are we saying that there are a load of kids at CH these days whose parents can afford the full fees and there are less of the kids the school was founded for?

I wonder how many do pay full fees...

Isn`t there supposed to be a maximum %age? Although that may have changed.

Mrs C. wrote:Isn`t there supposed to be a maximum %age? Although that may have changed.

I think the maximum allowable percentage is 6%, but pupils whose parents pay the full whack currently number around 2.5%, I believe.

Perhaps this has changed a bit with the new intake - not too sure.

It could just be that there are more posers around these days then