The secondary school thing...

Molly has her place at the secondary school she decided she wanted to go to (more on that back here). It's the one up the road. About 5-10 minutes walk away. Not that it was ever going to be an issue. I feel for those families we left behind who are going through the nightmare of trying to explain to their little ones that they don't get to go to school with their best friends and there's nothing mummy or daddy can do about it.

But I still remember the wave of relief that Louise and I felt on our first visit to Molly's primary school when we asked the question about entry criteria for secondary schools in the area. Automatic entry to either the local comp or a Catholic school in York. That just confused us and we had to check. Yes, automatic entry meant exactly what we thought it meant. A little different from the idea we were used to back in Birmingham.

So the thing that would have been giving us nightmares and cold sweats in Birmingham we sailed through in Pocklington. It almost makes us feel guilty. Almost. But it is one of the main reasons we moved up here after all. And it's worked out wonderfully well.

It's all worked out wonderfully well. Pocklington still feels like a holiday destination that we just happen to be lucky enough to be living in. It's a great feeling. But most importantly of all, our little girl, who's not so little any more, is going exactly where she wants to be going for the next 5, maybe 7 years.

Growing up is hard to do..... Molly makes the secondary school decision

Last week Molly, Louise and I headed over to another secondary school to have a look around. We did the local Pocklington one a while back and Molly really loved it. This time it was the York Catholic school.

I've talked about the secondary school thing before. Quick summary: Back in Birmingham we were terrified by the lack of choice we had. Either send her to the local comp (not going to happen - absolutely awful school, probably has the metal detectors in by now), try to get her into King Edwards Grammar (then 1 in 8000 applicants successful - now? maybe 1 in 12,000?) or go private. None of them were really an option. And we were worried. Really, really worried.

But when we looked at Pocklington we were told that she had automatic entry to either the local Pocklington comp or the York Catholic school. The relief was amazing. Both schools are academically about the same based on the % scores and we soon decided we could easily leave it up to Molly to decide.

So, back to now. We've seen the Pocklington comp and all three of us thought it was really good. The plus side is the local thing and the great feeling we had. The minus - big school. But we're all agreed it's lovely and Louise and I think (and everyone we speak to agrees) that Molly would do well there - although she's just the sort of kid who'd do well anywhere really.

So off we head to York for the catholic school open evening. And it was lovely, a mazey rat warren of a place, "charming" was how Louise put it, but both Louise and I knew that we still preferred the local Pocklington comp. Which meant we both started wondering how we could persuade Molly to favour our choice, despite promising that we'd let her decide. Luckily we didn't need to. After the tour we sat down to listen to the various speeches from deputy heads - and even before they started Molly leaned across to Louise and told her she wanted to go to the other one.

So it's decided. We sent the online application off last week. Molly's picked her secondary school. Another step towards not being my little baby anymore. I'm incredibly sad but also excited for her. She's growing up and there's nothing I can do about it.

The secondary school thing.....

When Molly was born she was already booked in at a local nursery. When Molly was 1 she'd got herself a place at the primary school we wanted her to go to. Sure, that had meant me lying to a nun about my religious beliefs - but then again Church Of England isn't that far away from complete agnostic is it? Louise wanted the catholic thing, not me. Although when we looked around at the primary school choices it was obvious to me that Catholic was the unfortunate route we had o go down - hence the lying to a nun.

And before we moved up to Pocklington we were beginning to get a touch worried about where on earth she was going to go to secondary school even though she was only in Year 1 at the time. Our basic choice of secondary school in Birmingham ran: Local comp, King Edward's Grammar, Private. The local comp was the sort where they probably have metal detectors by now. King Edward's Grammar has something like one place for every thousand applicants and private was a little out of our price range.

Moving up here, one of the first questions we asked at the primary school we wanted for her was what secondary schools were available. After Birmingham it was amazing to hear that it was automatic entry to one of two schools; the local Pocklington comp or the York Catholic school.
The relief was amazing. No more worrying. We could just leave it until she got to Year 6 and then let her decide.

And back then Year 6 seemed so far away. But not anymore. Last week we went for the first of two open evenings for Molly. This was the local Pocklington comp. As you would expect, they laid on everything they could to impress, and for Molly it worked. She's talked of nothing else since. Me, not so impressed - remember, I used to work in secondary schools and know exactly how much veneer and polish is applied for these open evenings. But nonetheless, it's a good place for her to go. The advantage is that it's a good school, results are good (although to be honest I have very little worries there - Molly's honestly the sort of kid who'd do well almostanywhere) and it's local - a 10 minute walk. But that's the disadvantage as well - living in such a small town means that going to the local comp rather limits her. Plus it's big - 1200 odd.

In a few weeks we're off to the York Catholic school. Advantage - split sites, with Year 7,8 & 9 on one smaller site - making it feel like a much smaller place than the Pock comp. Disadvantage - it's an extra hour morning and night on the bus into York for her.

But, no matter what, we're determined that it is still her decision. At the moment, having only seen the local comp, she's sold on that one. But once she sees the other she may change her mind. I'll be sure to let you know.

Of course, the most horrible thing in all of this is that my baby is growing up. It's just not fair, not fair at all.