Don’t know why she’s determined to get in. I’m worried it’s for the wrong reasons. Her friends are there and she wants to be with them.
It’s a selective entry school and one of 4 in Melbourne . A top girl one that has the creme de la creme.
Every year a hopeful 3000+ kids apply for the 4 school with only 1/4 make it in.
Everyone tends to aim for the two top schools thus really it’s 3000+ kids for less than 500 places.
It’s not that she can’t beat the other kids to get in. It’s a case of being fair. Hence the school only accept 5% from the participating schools.
Let say the school has 200 students enrolled they will take the maximum of 10 students .
Last year her school had about 32 students going for the exams. Even if the 32 were way better than the other schools they wouldn’t have gotten in anyway due to the 5% rule. It also meant she had to beat 22 of her peers to get in. That’s the hard bit . She’s an all rounder not an academic.
I know when we went back for the exams years ago there were 12 of us. Only two of us made it in out of the 12. The girls managed to beat the boys. The school made such a big thing of it we had our photos in the newsletter.
Now it’s much harder. Back then not many people know about the selective schools.
Some parents goes to the extreme of enrolling their kids in nondescript schools in hope they bypass the 5% rule. Then they only got the academic side to worry about.
Most of the kids goes to exam preparation classes to prepare for the exam. In hindsight may be we should have booked her into one of the exam preparation classes.
I’ve just gone into their website. This year they only accept 25 kids in. The kids will need to sit for an exam. There’s also an interview and for the application they ask you for a 200 words blurb as to why you want to attend. You’d need all your evidence with you ie. school reports for your year last year plus the upcoming June one. Not only that you needed to list all your co-curricular activities as well.
Here is hoping her piano, violin, sport, performing arts and school service awards counts. I’d hate to see her devastated yet again. There’s nothing wrong with her present school.
I’m just mindful as I’ve gone there . I know what it’s like. You go from an A + student to a D student and the competition within the school is fierce . It either break you or you strive harder to be one of the best.
Then there’s the loss of face. There were students who didn’t like the environment and wanted out yet couldn’t leave. Their parents wanted them there. The thought of disappointing their parents , ridicule if they were to go back to their old school was enough to make them stay .
I’m worried she hasn’t thought it through but if she wants it bad she’d better study hard this semester to get good marks for her report.
It’s going to be extremely hard to get in as all the ones that missed out last year will try to get in again this year.
I’m not hopeful at all but as a parent one must go through the process and hope for the best. May the force be on her side.
Dewy's Place 