Wandsworth waiting lists - no movement?

@TammyWhyNot I've read on several forums of interested parents that some of the local super-selectives have been over offering in recent years (for the first round of offers). Clearly not on the first come first served basis that some of the London public schools have been using though. I haven't thought up the idea myself. And I do have a DS at one of them, so am not entirely ignorant...

Agree about Graveney (did I say otherwise?), yet I suspect it's mainly in 'Extension' places that there's most W/L movement potential. Maybe this year more parents/youngsters are 100% happy with Graveney as their allocated school and are therefore not holding out for other potential offers? It must sometimes happen.

What happens for children who are Graveney pupil siblings but also do really well in the Wandsworth Test? How does the admissions process at G treat them? Do they get sibling places or ones based on WT performance?

Some private schools have been over offering and then taking the first people who get their acceptances in.

State schools can’t and don’t over-offer, and can’t be ‘canny’ in making offers beyond doing exactly what they say they do on their published admissions.

And many people choose Graveney selective stream for example, over the Sutton Grammars based on the journey, and plenty of people pass for the Grammars but not Graveney (and vice versa).

@NewModelArmyMayhem18

Agree with over offering. The school we have now seems to make 80 offers for 60 selective places as obviously anyone that gets a full grammar will usually take that so I think they have a high dropout rate.

And hasn't one of the admissions experts indicated that most movement usually happens in the first two months?

Some moons ago, when DS was 9th on a waiting list for a super-selective place (he got the cut off score but places were allocated in distance from school order), we only had to wait three weeks after Offers Day for him to be offered it.

Maybe the grammar schools have become more canny about the way they do their initial round of offers (isn't the trend now to over offer?), so there isn't the movement there used to be (which in turn will have a knock-on impact on Graveney and the like).

Annoying though @Confuzzle. I feel your pain.

I think although the cutoff for first round acceptance was 15th, if people do not 'decline' their place it is still held open and the council have to contact them to get their decision, which obviously takes ages, plus Easter was early delaying things (she says hoping!).

Lack of movement could be due to the bulge year, although I heard the Graveney applications were the same as usual - that saying, there could be more pressure on independent places/grammar places affecting this.

Just can't quite believe that almost 2 months in, there has been movement of just 5 places.

First offer was 1st, cutoff for acceptance was 15th. I received my second offer 21st of this month acceptance due by 30th.

How much time do they give overall for accepting/refusing an offered place in the first round? A month or longer? Presumably Easter being early delayed the process?

Maybe the lack of movement is more to do with increased pressure on places this year? Or it's perfectly possible to have a random type of year when more people than usual are perfectly happy with their allocated schools?

@Confuzzle

Yes. The school seemed to have no idea the offer letter was coming out to me even though it was obviously posted that day. It came from the council so they have obviously not passed them back to schools yet.

I know someone that applied cross borough and they were emailed saying they hadn't received their acceptance about 2 weeks after cutoff for first offers - the council either hadn't passed through or receiving council had not updated system as it had been sent in good time!

@AveEldon hopefully this will trigger some movement!

@Toomanycats99 I think you are right - I spoke to Wandsworth admissions and they are apparently still working through contacting everyone to see if they are accepting/declining places.

@NewModelArmyMayhem18 Yes it seems to be out of the school's hands and down to the borough, and with them having to wait for out of borough communication it is a slow process. There seems to be a bit of movement re Tiffins, but less on the Sutton schools which probably have more impact on Graveney. Not sure about the whole independent school timelines.

A number of people are surprised about the lack of movement on the list compared to previous years. Here's hoping

When, many moons ago, DS got offered a place from W/L for preferred choice super-selective (within three weeks of Offers Day), he received it directly from the school. I recall that the local borough (not our own) was a bit miffed about it having been made in this way (rather them via them). Maybe processes have been tightened up since then to ensure all go via boroughs'?

Yes, I can easily see how much the whole process is slowed down by 'between borough communication' about places becoming available...

Total PITA if you're near the top of a waiting list and desperate to hear before all the 'starting Yr 7 induction' rigmarole starts (as early as May in some cases).

I'm not Wandsworth but another London Borough. I was 3rd on the waiting list after first round for a 'backup' school (it's not a grammar but allocates a proportion of places to 11+ passes). I rang school Friday and was still 3rd however got an offer yesterday. So that's taken 6 weeks from initial offer day to filter through.

I was told that with grammar places the process can take longer as many applicants are in different boroughs and so acceptances etc have to go from one borough to another.

@Confuzzle that seems like very little movement indeed with it now being late April. Getting a sense on the 11+Forum that there's not much happening with the super-selectives' W/Ls either.

Welcome letters were sent out this week so that might trigger some movement

I assume you have looked at the previous years stats - it looks like at score of 248 might be okay by the summer

Very little movement on Graveney list - 5 places since 1st March.

Yep we got the place from Wandsworth waiting list and are now in quandary of indecision! if interested in detail (or have any tips for me!) see thread started here late last week. I made a mistake looking at offer letter and we actually have till early next week to decide.

Just wondered if there has been any movement for any of you?

True, maybe they are - hoping so!!

Maybe those with the selective places at Graveney are more likely to sit on their offers (so they've not yet accepted or declined them), particularly if they've weighing up pros and cons of state vs independent school places?

It's funny how the selective lists haven't changed - these are the lists that tend to move more quickly as children take up grammar/independent offers. In fact I know of children who have rejected offers yet this isn't reflected in the waiting lists? Apparently there were the same number of applications for Graveney as last year (despite the bulge year).

Ave yes we got a score and were told it was just one point below the score got by all 21 candidates guaranteed aptitude places straight away . . and on inquiring further was told that 12 other DCs (out of around 250 taking test) also got this score . . . I've no idea how they were ranked otherwise, though school may have used the dreaded Wandsworth test - they do use it for banding/catchment area lists.
On March 1st I found out from Wandsworth website that DC was in position 3 on aptitude waiting list. He's still in position 3! Though banded catchment list has shifted about 6 places.
We're not that bothered though as he has now decided he prefers his offered school, and I think he may have a point, though originally we ranked it lower . . In which case it's lucky he didn't get straight in to the Wandsworth one.

There are 10%+ more children needing year 7 places in Wandsworth this year, so this will have a bearing on things. The schools have the revised lists now after acceptances/rejections deadline day.

marytuda - did you get the aptitude result before the school application deadline?

I wonder if the difference is due to the movement of the W test date. This year and last year people knew their score before applying

Seems strange, unless Wandsworth are just taking a long time to process responses - surely someone would have rejected either of these by now!

Wondering a bit about this too. Not that my DC is on the Graveney waiting list, but is v high on another Wandsworth school's aptitude WL. I'd assumed that a few at least from that list would move on to Graveney or elsewhere so was standing by for an offer - but so far nothing. Like you say only the distance wait list has moved.