Best coastal town in Kent
- 13 November 2017 17:24335634Scroll down for proof of how lucky we are to live here.
https://www.onedome.com/blog/lifestyle/the-best-places-to-live-in-kent/ - Captain Haddock
- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 8,167
13 November 2017 18:05335640Quote 'Dover comes first because of it’s choice of shops, places to go out, and schools'.
"We are living in very strange times, and they are likely to get a lot stranger before we bottom out"
Dr. Hunter S Thompson - Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,895
13 November 2017 18:07335641Nice to know that we top a list above Deal which so many like for some strange reason.
Reading the comment by Jennifer yet another of those miserable people who love to run the town down, Folkestone are welcome to her.howard mcsweeney1 likes this-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
------------------------------------------------------------------- - 13 November 2017 18:33335642I do love the town of Deal but not the knuckle draggers that populate it. A good example is their hatred of anyone from London, considering around 9 million people live there that is quite an achievement. The best example of their lack of brain cells is the pressure they put on for the High Speed train to stop there, Charlie duly obliged meaning that high earners were then moving there because of the much lower house prices and the very best off are buying second homes there meaning that Deal people are forced out of the market and shops now sell sun dried tomatoes rather than the staple food micro chips.Guest 1713 likes this
- 13 November 2017 18:35335643Captain Haddock wrote:Quote 'Dover comes first because of it’s choice of shops, places to go out, and schools'.
Not rocket science Bob, Dover has two grammar schools to cater for the high intellects here whereas Deal?Guest 1713 likes this - Captain Haddock
- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 8,167
13 November 2017 18:52335644The Boy's Grammar having to have a 'special test' to make up numbers since there are not enough locals who can pass the Kent Test (while in places like Sevenoaks there are not enough grammar school places for all who can pass! It's called assortative breeding.) Fact.
Entrance to DGSB is through successful completion of either the Kent Test or our own Dover Grammar School for Boys entrance test.
Paul Watkins likes this"We are living in very strange times, and they are likely to get a lot stranger before we bottom out"
Dr. Hunter S Thompson - 13 November 2017 22:11335660Bob you may well mock
- 13 November 2017 23:13335662Captain Haddock wrote:The Boy's Grammar having to have a 'special test' to make up numbers since there are not enough locals who can pass the Kent Test (while in places like Sevenoaks there are not enough grammar school places for all who can pass! It's called assortative breeding.) Fact.
Entrance to DGSB is through successful completion of either the Kent Test or our own Dover Grammar School for Boys entrance test.
A few years ago, a work colleague was distraught that her son had passed the test, but didn't get a place because they were, apparently, oversubscribed (i.e. more people passed the test than there were places).
Said lad was from here, but they took people from as far away as Hythe. Seems a bit hard on talented locals.
DGSB always had a large Deal complement. Two buses a day. The 128 and the 129 iirc. - Captain Haddock
- Location: Marlinspike Hall
- Registered: 8 Oct 2012
- Posts: 8,167
14 November 2017 01:25335663TheThinWhiteDuke wrote:A few years ago, a work colleague was distraught that her son had passed the test, but didn't get a place because they were, apparently, oversubscribed (i.e. more people passed the test than there were places).
Said lad was from here, but they took people from as far away as Hythe. Seems a bit hard on talented locals.
DGSB always had a large Deal complement. Two buses a day. The 128 and the 129 iirc.
Needless to say (?) my original comment was 'factish' rather than totally factual. Certainly that was the overview amongst staff at DGSB in early 2000s.
When I took the 11+ c.1963, everybody took the test and was allocated a school. I don't think 'parental choice' came into it and possibly test scores to get into a grammar school varied across the county (Somerset) depending on spare places within a 'catchment area'? I don't remember the 11+ being a 'big thing' for us.
Realistically with a large sample one could expect scores to be fairly stable over time by area and a town like mine (Bridgwater) being fairly 'working class' would need a fewer % of grammar school places than, for example, Bath I suspect.
There's some info on how the Kent Test works (?) here:- https://educationdatalab.org.uk/2017/05/kent-11-plus-part-ii-how-does-the-11-plus-work-in-kent/
As you can see here http://www.kentnews.co.uk/news/more-than-6-500-pupils-have-passed-the-kent-test-1-4735481 almost a third of kids passing the Kent Test now come from outside the county to add to the confusion and will put further pressure on schools in West Kent e.g. Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Royal Tunbridge Wells
What I don't know is what % of local kids actually sit the test. One suspects that possibly the demographics of Folkestone have changed over the past few years (< an hour from London on HST and houses cheap as chips) and more parents are putting kids up for test who are more likely to pass? The same probably goes for Deal/Sandwich which is why Manwoods have increased their number of Yr7 forms.
I'm truly sorry about your colleague's son. Personally I believe grammar schools are a 'good thing' and enough grammar school places should be provided for all those who have passed the Kent Test. Try looking at the admission policy for Borden Grammar Sittingbourne where they rely on the Kent Test and Postcode! It's a shame that government(s) have not provided the schools and places, especially when so many, especially on the opposition benches, have benefited from them.
When I was at school we also had the 13+ where kids who had not got into grammar school but showed obvious academic ability were actively encouraged by staff at their secondary school to transfer to the grammar.
That was before league tables and now we have (for example) talented A Level mathematicians being taught in tiny classes to boost results for a secondary school whereas they would do better in a grammar school where you have a number of A level groups and a staff much more used to teaching at that level. There are local kids who are not now at Oxbridge because their potential was sacrificed to boost some A level stats. That is awful."We are living in very strange times, and they are likely to get a lot stranger before we bottom out"
Dr. Hunter S Thompson - 15 November 2017 09:09335716Dover bucking the trend on house prices.
http://www.kentlive.news/news/kent-house-price-stopped-rising-773801