Schools

As Caitlin is in year 6 this year we are having to think about where she goes next. In NZ you spend two years at Intermediate school and then go to college. Seems a strange arrangement to me but there you go!

The local intermediates, Glen Eden and Green Bay are not terribly well regarded and Blockhouse Bay, which is seemingly fine, is rather further afield, is on no bus route and is considering bringing in a catchment area. Most of Caitlin's friends seem to be going to the first one, inspite of its reputation.

We had heard tell of a new independent school in Henderson, about 20 minutes away from here. One of Laingholm's teachers sends her daughter there and said academically it was great but that the sporting side left a little to be desired. If we wanted c to go there, she would have to take the scholarship exam and that was to be on the 28th of May. We'd missed their open day, due to netball commitments, so I decided to call in, having warned everyone that we might have an application form to fill in. I wanted to be impressed, and let's face it I knew what to look for.

I was so disappointed. The staff seemed surly, the Head's PA who offered begrudgingly to show me round didn't listen to the fact that my daughter was in Year 6 so showed me the primary end and not the senior school. Only one room contained children, doing ICT and they were silent. There was no noise anywhere, no smiles, no happy faces, hardly any children's work and it all seemed too much trouble. The PA said she was very busy, but as I was leaving she admitted she was going back to empty the dishwasher. No one asked my name, no one shook my hand, no one will ever know whether my daughter sat the entrance exam because they have no record of our interest.

They seriously need to get their marketing sorted out. They did nothing to sell the school to me today. That does mean that C will not have to spend her pocket money on uniform as she suggested she might have to, having seen the prospectus, and a blazer costing $270.

I really need to stick to my principles. I have always said I didn't hold with private education and I feel vindicated!

C is off to the Young Leaders conference tomorrow so has to be in school bright and early in her ' school' t shirt. I must remember to take a photograph