Catchment

[waitawhile]

Hi all,

Just wondered if I could run my thinking by some of you wise owls.

I've got three little ones. By Sept 2013 they will all be in Primary School and we will then be applying for DC1 to attend secondary school. (DC1 will be yr5 DC2 in Y3 and DC3 YR in Sept 2013). Currently we don't live in the same catchment to the Primary school as there were no rentals available. DC3 should get in because sibling link comes before distance, however, I am wondering if I could use DC3 to get DC1 into an outstanding school (reception to sixth form) by moving into the catchment in the next 18 months. I'm not sure if we are going to buy again so we do have more flexibility. I would still have to do some travelling between two schools until I could get DC 2 over in any case. The demographics of the area are slightly better.

If they are to go to the secondary school that all their friends will go to we'd have to move back to that area also.

I'd appreciate any thoughts on this subject and perhaps things I might need to think about.

Thanks everyone.

Waitawhile

p.s we've moved a lot over the past few years and I am sensing that we are going to have to stay put for quite a while in a particular area if we want to get a good secondary school. That's rather daunting but also something that I know we have to accept or do we? Will the right home life and parental encouragement make enough of a difference that I should have more confidence in secondary schools??? Thanks.

[waitawhile]

I should say we'd have to move back to the area their current primary school is in to stay with their friends.

[admission]

You need to look carefully at the admission criteria for this school that you are considering but a sibling link is usually only relating to an older sibling (DC1) being in the school not a younger sibling (DC3).
The other consideration is that you are talking quite rightly about the need for a good secondary school but the reality is that you are talking about a good few years ahead and anything could happen in terms of the quality of the secondary school in that time. Having said that a move back to being in catchment of the preferred primary school, which is then a feeder school for the prefered secondary school does seem the sensible move.