Romesh Ranganathan - School Places & Entitlement

Not all secondaries are within walkable distance ffs. The school my kids went to have LOADS of children dropped off as public transport is very unreliable on some of the routes, ours included. When mine couldn't be dropped and they had to take themselves now and then they struggled a lot. One of my daughters was at the bus stop for two hours one day when I was away and she had to finally call another parent to come get her.

It's shit for his sons to be at different schools. There are all sorts of logistical reasons and others too. My kids went to different primaries and they weren't like siblings in a way because their lives seemed to split up at that point. They didn't know the school or teachers or characters or events of the other and I feel it made them grow apart. I couldn't wait for them to be in the same school at secondary, and now they can laugh or chat about stuff and their friends know each other etc.

I agree that you might want your DC to go to the same secondary (mine did actually) but you equally might not. We have a very academic secondary near us which would have suited one, maybe two of my DC but certainly not the other. And getting them to school for secondary should not be an issue (tho I live near a secondary school and OMG the cars at 3pm!).

Those who say "well he should be able to send them to the same school" – at the expense of a local child getting that pace though? If he did move and was no longer in catchment then that's on him. It needs to be considered.

And while I am sure people have had issues with different holidays at different schools, it’s not that common surely. Our city and county has holidays that match. You'd have to go 15 miles away to Nottinghamshire to have different holidays. Secondary school age DC do not need so much in the way of childcare. I agree this would be a PITA at primary but that's not what we are talking about.

Well they would have been in good company because a lot of the catholic siblings were missing out.

This

But someone at that school
who wasn't a catholic could easily have a sibling miss out.

Yep. He needs to stop fucking moaning.

Well we are Catholics so ticked that box and when we started with schools the sibling policy was at the top after religion, so we we knew we were ok. Unfortunately the policies changed after the diocese intervened for a reason nobody could understand.

If siblings were prioritised over catchment in our area, the children in the furthest village wouldn't be able to access the school bus to get them to school. That wouldn't be fair either.

The alternative would be larger clas sizes to accommodate catchment and siblings... People wouldn't want that either!

Unfortunately, some families will not get what they want.

As I have said it's not really about getting to school is it.

But seriously, it is not unreasonable to want your children at the same school if they're close enough in age to have that experience.

@Catsandcheese but if yours were at catholic surely you aware that siblings are not top priority?

@FightingFish
Wonderful for you, mine were at Catholic schools, nobody could walk to them (not even primary) and the public transport was not reliable.
I think it is wrong that siblings are not top priority after looked after children in admissions policy.

People often have to move to upsize/ get more rooms - why should that be penalised? Particularly when a child is impacted.

Why should a local child miss out on a place because other families have moved out though?

I think it's wrong he hasn't got a place for the youngest - absolutely obvious that if you have older children in that school it's best for all round if they are kept together - that's in the best interests of the children

People often have to move to upsize/ get more rooms - why should that be penalised? Particularly when a child is impacted.

For secondary I’m not surprised siblings are not that high up the criteria - surely kids are expected to get themselves to and from school, so it doesn’t really matter? It’s not like primary where parents will be doing a school run.

Some faith schools are quite small (one form entry primary)

yes but as no 1 criteria is faith and church attendance they tend to go much further out than a non faith option.

I am glad he ihas spoken out about this.
Many years ago, my youngest ended up at a different school to his siblings and it is a piece of shit getting that to work when parents are working etc, even if school buses are involved.
You can end up as we did with different half terms and all sorts of hopelessly challenging issues.
I heard him talking - it is secondary school not a village school

Hmm people should read the rules but the number of parents who do not understand their preferred schools's admission policy is silly. It's not rocket science.

Some faith schools are quite small (one form entry primary)

I know some schools who prioritised local dc over siblings further away. It's because it can hollow out a local community for the school and hog have people leaving opposite a school but dc not getting a place.

Exactly, so why is he getting such a hard time on this thread? If I found out that he got special treatment because of his celebrity status then yes that would be fair enough... but for complaining serious!

@miserablecat it's unusual for a faith school to have a small catchment.

I mean he’s far from the only one, there’s a whole thread of people moaning and complaining that they didn’t get to their top choices.

I would read the admissions criteria. In my area some school prioritise siblings, others it is children in the parish boundary. Whether I had 1 or 10 children I would still think a village school should prioritise the local children.

This happens in my area. All the schools are oversubscribed but one seems more popular than others. I'm pretty sure lots of people live in the area and go to church for long enough to get child #1 in, and then move somewhere else. Despite the catchment area being pretty small, plenty of pupils arrive by train (from different towns) everyday.