Stressedy Stressed

Bit UGH and BLERGH at the moment. The little dude didn't do as well on his school placement exam as we had hoped (or expected, based on his past scores). Don't know if it was due to the fever he had that day -- when he came home with it I was, like, oh no -- or if he just wasn't prepared or he messed up filling out the sheet or what. But whatever it was, it didn't go as expected. So that means he can't get into either of the schools we were hoping for unless we can appeal. Meeting with his current headmaster on Wednesday to find out if asking for the appeal/selection review is even reasonable based on his score. Not really sure how it all works.

In the meantime, we'd put off applying to other schools (i.e. the ones we'd have to continue paying for rather than the excellent free grammar we were hoping for) until we got the results. But now we've got to get on it. So I've spent most of today researching schools and filling in applications and paying registration fees. The free state schools just don't look like viable options...the only ones rated outstanding are the all girls ones. All of the mixed and boys ones are, at best, rated good. And some of the ones that look good are really just too far away from our current city. Cost-wise, about what we're paying now per term but that'll go up as he gets older. There is a hope that he could get into the grammar at age 13 too, so I guess I have to look into that too.

It's all so different from how I grew up where you just went to whatever the local school was and it was weird if someone was at a private/paid for school and even more bizarre if they were boarding. But that stuff is common over here in the UK. Some of the schools you literally have to put your name down at birth. We've already missed a deadline for one -- and why they put their deadline well before the date you receive your exam score !! That's just evil -- though we're now on some kind of waiting list for that.

And I feel bad for the little dude too. I know he expected to pass. He's putting on a good face but I can tell it has been a blow to him. His previous results were well over what he needed to get. So I'm hoping that the headmaster will think an appeal would be successful, though we've still got to have all of our backup plans in place in case there's no hope.

But...just...ugh.

I shouldn't complain. We're doing okay. But it is a struggle sometimes to pay these massive school fees. It's more than I paid for university and he's just 10. Getting into a grammar would have saved us from that. But you want the best for your kid. At least there's some things coming up that will help with that, but sometimes it goes very slow...

And I am very angsty waiting for my agent to get back from his holiday so that some things can get a move on...