Nervous about Secondary School allocations out this week!

Will the whole of London be online at 5? Or does it vary from borough to borough?

@notoffee

We were given our results yesterday and I contacted the schools involved first thing this morning.

Thanks @notoffee I can’t deal with this lol. Does anyone know how late they carry on sending the emails? I’ve spoken to every parent I have contact with and they ALL have heard now 😭 why us?

But how did you find that out so earlier in the process Psychobobble? surely you will be top of the list too so fingers crossed.

I have calmed down re the places. Just need to wait and see.

Did not sleep.

Chocoholicmumma hang in there. Best of luck. It really is nerve wracking!

Thank you to those who are offering their help and support on this thread, it is very much appreciated. I'm counting down the minutes until 5pm!

I second prh - I'm happy to take PMs if people would rather. Though if it's a reasonable general case you will get good advice by posting on here as there are several of us with knowledge and experience.

If anyone wants advice on appeals, I would recommend starting a thread with some information about your case and putting the word "appeal" in the title.

I can't answer for other appeal experts but I will always respond to PMs if you don't want to post information publicly.

The emails in Kent are starting to be received... Biting my fingernails off trying to distract myself with the weekly morrisons shop.

That's good Psychobobble, you should be high up the waiting list.

Still nothing here. Other mums on school fb group got started getting their results hours ago. My nerves can’t take this!

Just found out we are 8 metres further from the school than their last allocated distance place.

I know they have to draw the line somewhere, but...8m!!

Sorry for your DD @cautiouscovidity. I do feel sorry for them too - & us, so hard to make good decisions editor without open days - but hopefully they'll get a normalish final term. Also feel like things should be more normal by the start of next term which will be better than this year's poor Y7s, who have really had a tough time.

Good luck to everyone waiting. DD didn't get the grammar she wanted. Not unexpected as her 11+ results were lower than she'd expected but still hard to see it in black and white.
I just feel so sad for this cohort. No school from March - September of year 5, no open days so no opportunity to see the schools first hand, missed a chunk of year 6 already .

@bex12345
Hopefully you’ll be fine - 5th before people have even started accepting- things like people having state school as a backup to private or people moving out of area!

[quote Todaytomorrowyesterday]@KitHenry
You may have had other people update as I haven’t read it all.
I was in your place a few years ago - it was awful feeling accepting a place that I knew she would never go to BUT I accepted the place as I knew that without accepting the LA as far as they concerned had done there bit.

I contacted the schools to find out where she was in the waiting list and added to others in the area. The one school we wanted has an intake of 220 and I was 35th.
We put a lot of effort into the appeal while trying to find a suitable backup private school - we couldn’t afford it but found something.
I phoned the school regularly during the appeal process and finding out where she was on the list - we moved up and down!
The day before the appeal we got the call to say she was in the school we wanted! It takes time but keep the hope and accept the place you don’t want (though I needed wine to do that ...)[/quote]
Wow. Thanks for sharing this... I now feel that all is not lost (5th on waiting list here)!

@Psychobobble
It won’t knock you off the waiting list.
We found out the day before appeal panel that we had a place - so relief all around!

@KitHenry
You may have had other people update as I haven’t read it all.
I was in your place a few years ago - it was awful feeling accepting a place that I knew she would never go to BUT I accepted the place as I knew that without accepting the LA as far as they concerned had done there bit.

I contacted the schools to find out where she was in the waiting list and added to others in the area. The one school we wanted has an intake of 220 and I was 35th.
We put a lot of effort into the appeal while trying to find a suitable backup private school - we couldn’t afford it but found something.
I phoned the school regularly during the appeal process and finding out where she was on the list - we moved up and down!
The day before the appeal we got the call to say she was in the school we wanted! It takes time but keep the hope and accept the place you don’t want (though I needed wine to do that ...)

@KitHenry the other option that you have, that I don't think anyone has mentioned (apols if they have and I missed it) is to look at other schools that you didn't apply for originally. If you don't get a place at any of the schools you expressed a preference for, the LEA will allocate you a place at the closest school with spaces left. That doesn't necessarily mean it's the only school with places. There may be others a bit further away that are more acceptable to you. So it might be worth enquiring about other schools with places available? You could also ask about waiting lists for full schools that you didn't put on your original list of preferences- I don't think there is a limit to the number of waiting lists you can be on so I would get on the list for every school that you would prefer to the one you've been allocated.
But as others have said, don't reject the place you've been offered unless you are willing to homeschool or go private. The LEA have no obligation to find you another place if you reject what you've been offered.

Congratulations and commiserations to those who have already found out.

We are in Kent so 'after 4pm', although he reached the grammar score needed and has a sibling so it should be a formality - but I'd still like to see it in black and white!!

[quote Psychobobble]@GolfForBrains

I will appeal, nothing ventured nothing gained, but the grounds for appeal are probably quite flimsy. But if I am understanding you correctly there is a chance she could get a waiting list place before the appeal hearing? I mean, putting in an appeal won't knock her off the waiting list?[/quote]
Definitely not, no. The waiting list and the appeals process are entirely separate.

@GolfForBrains

I will appeal, nothing ventured nothing gained, but the grounds for appeal are probably quite flimsy. But if I am understanding you correctly there is a chance she could get a waiting list place before the appeal hearing? I mean, putting in an appeal won't knock her off the waiting list?

No they're not @Psychobobble, so it is important you are on the waiting list if you are planning to appeal. There will be a timetable somewhere on your LA site for appeals and my recollection is that it is May/June for appeal hearings. A successful appeal results in a place regardless outside the normal PAN but that's why the school will be arguing the disadvantage to the school of squeezing an extra pupil in outweighs the benefit to the individual child.