A week ago I had to take the morning off to attend a Welcome Induction. I was nervous. I wasn’t sure I was ready to confront this change in my life. It was a struggle for me, but I knew that the time had come.
I attended the induction to the school that the twins will be going to.
Hopefully.
We live in a small village, and this small village has one school. Each year (or grade, for my fellow countrymen) is composed of one class of 30 students. One class. Just 30 students. The twins will go to school there knowing every single person in their class. This staggers and amazes me, as my graduating class had about 1,0000 students in it. I much prefer tiny classrooms with children that they grow up with.
And I am not alone.
This school, which is over 150 years old, has hit the top of the tables in terms of excellence in education. This means that of those 30 places, each and every one is sought after, fought for, and promises to various deities made. And when I said “deities” I mean C of E. Very Church of England. As evidenced by the religious accoutrement around the stage where the Headmistress gave her introduction.
It was a sea of Boden, of SUVs parked out front, of people turning their iPhones to silent and tucking their LK Bennett shod feet under them. We were without exception a well-turned out, very middle class audience. We were all well turned out because (just as I felt) we wanted everyone to know that we were respectable and our children would reserve their hellion like moments for hometime. I felt like one of those New York City parents trying to secure a place into the elite school and willing to sell my soul to the devil to do so (ergo eschewing the Church of England leanings, I am sure.) Every last one of us wants to get our kids into that school, to such an extent that I was sitting there with the wheels spinning in my mind – The school library fund is £500 short of hitting its goal to refurbish. I could donate that £500, saying modestly “It’s absolutely nothing, Nick and Nora are beyond delighted to donate funds to such a brilliant cause.”
(I don’t know what your life is like, but I don’t have £500 sitting around spare, so that idea was a non-starter.)
The induction was difficult for me. The Headmistress presented a slideshow whereby she showed the graduating class of pupils, and she showed a picture of them the day they started school next to a photo of them the day they graduated from that school, aged 12. It had me in pieces – I can barely handle the fact that the twins are heading off to school soon, I definitely can’t face the idea of them graduating from it.
The school was lovely. Absolutely perfect. It’s without question where I want the twins to go – brilliant results, a gorgeous old school, and the Reception Class (Kindergarten) has a massive two-story castle built into the room. Hell, I want that, I can only imagine the reaction of the twins to it. We saw snippets of the older childrens’ writings, and they were so erudite that they made some adults I know look like pencil wielding monkeys. It was charming in every respect, and I pictured Nick and Nora in their school uniforms (standard issue in the UK) hurrying through the hallways, chewing on the end of their pencils, and laughing on the see saws. I imagined Parent Evenings and school plays, I saw baking cookies, making costumes, and helping paper mache elephants for the science project.
We are hoping for a place in the school for the school year starting in September 2012 – in this council children start school the school year they turn 5, so we’re a year ahead. We are so hopeful that the twins get in. There’s a good chance of it, but the school’s so popular that there’s definitely competition, as although we’re in the catchment area people are actually moving into the area just to get their kids into school as well. I can’t believe the twins are going to be old enough to go to school next year. I can’t believe that they weren’t born yesterday, because sometimes it feels like that.
We did the introductions, all of us silently weighing up our chances against the other parents – I live closer. I go to the local church regularly, so that counts in my favor. And when I did my introductions, there was a titter:
“Hi I’m Shannon, and I am the mother Nick and Nora. They’re twins.”
I smile.
That’s right folks – I don’t want just one space at this incredible school. I need two*.
-S.
* That said, they recently changed the law so that if one multiple birth child gets into a class and takes the last space, the classroom has to grow by however many places to accommodate the other sibling/siblings. So the good news is, if one gets in then they both will.
I wish you and the twins all the luck in the world!!
I know how you feel – around here the schools are all incredibly over subscribed and as a full time working mum I can’t be there at the coffee mornings and fundraisers needed to help secure the places so we’ll be taking pot luck. Gulp. But at least its just one at a time for us
Harrowing! I have not even looked into school for my daughter yet, and apparently our local school fills up quickly. However, I assume that the school district would have to do something for me. But I have several months before I have to worry about it. October birthdays mean my daughter gets an extra year before she starts school.
Best of luck getting into your chosen school! I’m sure no one would pass up an opportunity to spend time with your Lemonheads!
This is such a big milestone-they are starting down a path they will be on for a big part of their lives. Of course I may be biased, but the school should be so lucky as to have them. Yet isn’t it funny what we will do for our kids? Sure, I will rip the head off of anyone who even thinks about harming my babies, but even scarier I will become one of *gulp* those parents if need be-and not feel one bit sorry that I did.
Veronica is headed to junior high next year. We are both ready for it, her naturally a little bit more than me. The only time I got a bit wobbly was at the awards ceremony on the last day of school. They put up the pictures of her class, kindergarten through sixth grade. All the field trips, class parties, poetry days, ice cream parties, birthday treats-it was all there.
*sniff*
Shannon-
That is really awesome. It is so intriguing to see how different places welcome and approach things. Here in the States in a small town, 30 kids is like a WHOLE LOT!! People think that 25 is so big. It goes to show that you can achieve great things with 30 kids if you know how to do it right….
Just like life…
Leslie B.
Would you like a note from a mom? I’m a mom – I’ll write you a great note! Good luck dearheart – if I were the school, I would take the twins in a heartbeat.
We relocated as we couldn’t face the school thing with the boys in Berkshire. We have one school in the village and that is that
Why is the comment box so narrow? Is it me again?
We’ve just made the next move, my son starts secondary school in September. We were spared the anxiety of the selection, because of some legal action years ago all children from his junior school are guarenteed a place at the local secondary school. I know one mother who lives out of the area and started her child here in nursery with a view to him ending up in the school of her choice seven years later. I couldn’t believe it when she told me, senior school seemed so far away then.
Shannon, that is SO exciting. Sounds like it would be a perfect fit for Nick and Nora.
We just finished relocating so that we would have the best public schooling available for both Al.ex and Car.sten, and have access to better special education resources for Al.ex. Our plan differs slightly from yours in that we are going to defer starting Kindergarten an extra year until 2013. It’s my hope that both boys will attend the new “transitional kindergarten” program that our state will be starting soon… it’s scary to know that we are in charge of our kids’ futures in such a kind-of-permanent way, but I think we’re up for the challenge now. :-)
I cannot begin to imagine. Where’s the other option?
How does schooling work in England? If there’s only one school, and your child doesn’t get in, what are you supposed to do—drive them all over creation? Or is the next nearest school then obliged to give you a place?
(Good luck!)
There were 12 pupils in the first school I went to, I had such a wonderful time. I hope I can get my little girl in to a similar school! Those days are so important.
It sounds wonderful. I wish the little people all the luck in the world to get to play in that castle!
I wish we’d got our son into a conservativeschool, He’d probably be much better off today.
On the other hand I am glad that the nightmares and the pressure that do happen in those “excellent” schools did not happen to him. Thank god. He is quite a happy chap now with 24 and will make his way without excellence.
Anyway, I wish you both good nerves and better arguments for the 13 years struggle with teachers ahead of you! Good luck.
I graduated in a class of 31. The knowing all the kids is both good and bad. Ultimately you may want more diversity for them as they get into the junior high and high school ages, but you have plenty of time to think about that.
Any chance I can get the password to the locked posts? I have been systematically reading all the old ones but have only made it into 2004!
Everything crossed for the twins to get their place! We had already put Oliver’s name down in 3 schools and he was born in January!
I definitely have my fingers crossed for your gorgeous two!
Well, maybe it’s just me but I am still stuck on “The Lemonheads are old enough to go to school….” Oy – I really must quit blinking – time keeps passing too quickly while I have my eyes closed. Best wishes for their acceptance. Very glad to hear that if one gets in the other is automatically accepted.
How does the selection process work there? And I was wondering the same thing- what other options do you have if they don’t get in?
That law must royally (no pun intended) piss off districts with sextuplets living in them.
Have you seen “The Best and the Brightest?” It’s about a non-native New York family trying to get their kid into a good school, using some rather unconventional and hilarious tactics. If nothing else, it’s worth seeing for Neil Patrick Harris and Amy Sedaris. And who knows, maybe it’ll offer you some ideas…you have no problem blackmailing the headmistress, right?