Unofficial Christ's Hospital Forum

Angela ----- only because I cannot compete !!

There you go again.

If I could spell Recidevist -- I would use it !

Nearly

recidivist: re·cid·i·vist (rĭ-sĭd'ə-vĭst) n. A person who relapses, especially by returning to criminal behavior.

Thanks !

I am also, I believe, according to Angela, "Gender Orientated"

Does this include congratulating the English Women's Cricket Team, for being the best in the World ? ---- Also the Soccer Team seem to be pretty good !

Final Note ------ I don't care what I am ---- other than happy

Back on topic… I’ve been looking through the new Parents’ Handbook which we were sent last week, and was curious to read the following information in the section on Admissions:

The main intake of new pupils each year is at age eleven, when 120 pupils join the 2nd form. Up to ten pupils are admitted into the LE (year 9) each year, and 25 to 35 new pupils join in the sixth form. These places are competitive.

Does anyone know where the ‘up to ten’ places in the LE have come from? This is a new one to me!! I do know that only two years ago a friend of mine enquired about the possibility of deferring entrance for her son, who was due to reach his 11th birthday just days before entering the second form and who she worried was not ready for full boarding; she was told in no uncertain terms that entry was strictly at age 11 except in special circumstances (i.e for choristers). Current information on the CH website would still suggest this to be the case:

Most children enter the School when they are 11 years old (into Year 7). There are also places in the Sixth Form and occasionally, places occur for children between Year 7 and Sixth Form. Applications for entry into Year 7 must be made by the middle of October in the year before entry, although many children have already registered for the entrance exam by the time they are 9 years old.

So, is there a specific new policy to admit pupils into the LE? Are these additional places? Or does the indication that up to ten places are expected to become available reflect the fact that an increasing number of existing pupils are being withdrawn from the school during their first two years? If the latter, then this is a significant problem. Shouldn’t the school be doing more to identify and address the root causes of why pupils are leaving, rather than simply seeking to replace those pupils whose ‘needs’ they have failed to meet.

Enough already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I attended C.H. (66-73) there was a specific policy in place that introduced circa 10 boys a year at LE level.
This has fallen into abeyance over the decades.
We actually take 56 foundation boys and 56 foundation girls at yr 7 (+ some non-foundationers).
This means that we do have some places at yr 9. Now we have poisitively decided to add that statement so as not to shut the door completely between yrs 7 and 11.

I hope this puts matters straight and stops another endless stream of sniping and conjecture.

I am always happy to oblige with the truth.

Just out of interest, I was a third form squit (aged 12) in 1972. Are there still such things?

Richard, although we didn't call them squits, I also entered age 12, (1959) only a couple of weeks after my birthday but definitely after it. I think there were about 6 who went into LIV, only one other into my form of LIV - and we both went on to do double Maths A level together!

HowardH wrote:
I am always happy to oblige with the truth.

What a pity such truths are only selectively revealed. Parents would undoubtedly appreciate the truth about the calculation of their fees this year, but clearly this one will be closely guarded.

I can't remember if I have said this before ........... my daughter Maria did the Almoner's Nominees entry, I think, and there was a glitch in the admission age dates which provided a six week overlap during which her birthday fell. She was therefore able to have three attempts - the first a year early, which we regarded as a dress rehearsal , the second in her normal 11+ year, when she failed to get into CH but got a place at a good local grammar school (Tiffin Girls' School in Kingston-on-Thames). Because there are very few from local primary schools who are accepted for Tiffin she found herself being congratulated on how well she had done, but in fact what it did was impress on her how high the standard was for CH entry. Because of the date glitch she was able to have a third attempt and after a year at Tiffin just scraped into CH from the waiting list at the last moment, thus going straight into the LIV two months before her 13th birthday. Her younger sister was a BSB presentee and therefore entry was less competitive - she too was entered a year early and to everyone's surprise got in first go! Her birthday is in April, and it was at the time of the 4-term year, so she started at 10 years and 4 months in the third Form, having skipped the final year of primary school, and by far the youngest and smallest child in the school at the time. We always assumed that somewhere along the line she would be kept down a year, but in fact it never happened, so she left with three decent A levels at age 17, and went straight to college. If she hadn't changed subjects in mid-course necessitating a bit of backtracking she would have graduated at just 20 years of age. Throughout her time at college she had an evening job with a West End Theatre, so by the time she was looking for a 'proper' career in the theatre she had both the qualifications and the experience required. She clearly didn't suffer from having missed her last year in primary school.

Enough already!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I attended C.H. (66-73) there was a specific policy in place that introduced circa 10 boys a year at LE level.
This has fallen into abeyance over the decades.
We actually take 56 foundation boys and 56 foundation girls at yr 7 (+ some non-foundationers).
This means that we do have some places at yr 9. Now we have poisitively decided to add that statement so as not to shut the door completely between yrs 7 and 11.

I hope this puts matters straight and stops another endless stream of sniping and conjecture.

I am always happy to oblige with the truth.

Thanks for the clarification HowardH. As parents we usually have only our own limited experience of CH to judge from, and I do find the insight of staff and OBs on this forum tremendously informative; what a shame more parents don't know about this useful resource.

So, does this mean that the school will now be more sympathetic to requests from parents to defer entry until Year 9? Or is there a separate applications procedure for the LE places? If so, how does this work? Is there a 'waiting list' (in which case, why not fill all the available places at Year 7?), or another competitive examination? Are children who failed to gain a place at age 11 - or those who had to turn an offer down for any reason - offered a second chance to try? Sorry to raise so many questions, but I'm hopefully not the only parent who is genuinely interested to find out more about how CH works!!

I joined the 3rd Form at 12, in December 1940, due to a death in the first Blitz, so I was a late replacement.
"God moves in mysterious ways--- "

I can think of a few LE /LF squits during my time.

Martin Pretorius and Nick Amin may ring a bell with Howard H to name but two.

anniexf wrote:

HowardH wrote:
I am always happy to oblige with the truth.

What a pity such truths are only selectively revealed. Parents would undoubtedly appreciate the truth about the calculation of their fees this year, but clearly this one will be closely guarded.

In addition, it would be 'nice' if it were communicated politely and respectfully.

Caroline Payne
Hertford 65-70