Urgent Help - Year 9 school places for six children required asap

Bromley council specifically tells people not to move in Year 10 so Year 9 boys should definitely move as soon as possible.

@Tiredalwaystired - take it up with Harris, not me.

It's definitely the case here in Bromley. From 2012 onwards.

Perhaps it doesn't apply to y9 but given that people move away from the area (seems to happen a lot- ppl move for a rural life/move countries), I wouldn't be surprised if the many places in y9 came up and were not re-filled quickly.

OP would love it if you could update us later about whether they got places.

I am always perplexed when people thibk paying for education automatically makes them high achieving. I don’t think (but excuse me if I’m wrong) the OP ever mentioned selective.

The positive prejudice around paying for education is part of this general problem.

https://www.bromley.gov.uk/downloads/file/9/in-year-secondary-school-admission-guidance-and-form

Here it is - Harris schools are separate. Proof of notice to leave the private school needs to be given to the Council.

Look at Money saving Expert for ideas on how to budget. Take packed lunches to work & school, look at unused subscriptions.
On the plus side, second hand uniform is often available for state schools.

Academy Trusts are there own admissions authority and groups of high achieving kids will be scooped up if there is space.

If the boys are Y9 then it’s best they move before the summer term anyway so they can get used to the school and pick GCSE options, plus they can get appropriately streamed for Y10. Starting at the beginning of Y10 might mean there isn’t space in the options they would have chosen

They will have given notice last month to leave at the end of this term.

OP The VAT is not being added in January so they don't need to leave immediately.

A unique situation perhaps but many children will be affected. As predicted, there will be a lot of scrabbling for state school vacancies and I tend to agree with pp upthread who suggested this hunt should have begun as soon as the VAT change was mentioned. Yes, parents would have had to pay a term's fees by default but to have your child settled in a decent local secondary may have been worth it.

No idea if they have space, but look at Ravens Wood School, all boys, loads of clubs, have heard Science and Maths is good and it’s a big school. I would contact the head somehow. It’s a unique situation,

Your friends could consider one of the online schools? Kings InterHigh? Or there are other providers now, I believe? They do the standard AQA, Edexel exam board syllabus, have on-line live lessons etc. Not the same as physically going to a real school, but they could be enrolled and ‘in class’ pretty much immediately and cost a fraction of private school fees.

Bromley is a big Borough. You should also look at schools in neighbouring Boroughs (or possibly Kent) depending on which end of the Borough you're in.

State schools don't 'follow a totally different curriculum'. A GCSE from a private school isn't a special one. If you move in year 9 you're in plenty of time to pick up different exam boards.

The parents need to speak to admissions in Bromley and any other borough. Bromley has lots of really good schools, like most of South London.

The problem doesn’t change if you have the money for VAT for “a term or two”

If a child is in year 9 and the parents now think they cannot afford VAT through to the end of year 11, then now is a good time to switch. The parents would have had to give notice at the start of this term to not be liable for next, and the same would apply in Jan and in April. It is possible that they could pay one or two terms at the higher rate but they still need to search now and move well before the end of term if a place is available.

Searching now for a place starting in year 10 isn’t allowed as the target school couldn’t keep that place open for a couple of terms.

I don’t know about Bromley, but 2010-2011 were high birth rate years. The highest since the 1970s. Many areas of the country, including mine, have no spaces in the current year 9.

The announcement that VAT would be applied from January wasn’t made until the end of July, after the date notice would have to be given to a private school to avoid a term’s fees. Up until then, the government had suggested it wouldn’t apply until next September.

You've posted this on other platforms too and have been advised to send the Bromley in-year admissions info to your friend (the link was provided via FB messenger) as well as being told to contact any of the Harris schools direct to ask about Y9 places. Hopefully that's been useful to your friend.

https://www.bromley.gov.uk/schools-colleges/apply-move-schools
(For schools in the London Borough of Bromley. For schools in other boroughs or in Kent, they need to check the websites of those LAs to find out what the procedure is; e.g. not that they would be applying for a place there, but applications for in year places at any Essex secondary school are handled by the individual school, not the LA ).

Yes, the parents should ring round to schools (and /or email Bromley admissions team) and ask about laces, but what will matter is not whether there is a place when they ring, but whether there is a place available at the point that a formal application is made, so they need to be getting on with that, especially if they would intend to submit an appeal for any specific school(s) if they were not successful there.

Have all these boys been in independent schools all through, or did their parents look at state secondary schools in year 5 / 6from which they would at least have some idea of what the various schools in the area were like?

I'm quite surprised that all 6 didn't plan for this & move at summer. I hope they get sorted soon

Depending on where they live Sue Gray’s son might be their mp - Liam Conlon.

Forest Hill boys is on the up.

in the meantime how about the six share the costs of tutoring? It would be about 7 pounds each per hour so 200 a week for 35 hours or so

there will be spaces in Bromley schools. Declining birth rate. At my daughter's sch (all girls) there are 2 spaces in her form.

you may find there's places available, as the other posters have said, you'd need to contact Bromley secondary schools admissions for an in year application.

Bullers School for Boys
Ravensbourne (co-ed)
Ravenswood (boys)
Darrick Wood (co-ed)
Beckenham Harris (co-ed)
Langley Sch for Boys

All decent options, it just depends on where you live and if there's spaces.

I'd advise against Bishops Justis ... it'll probably have spaces but has a bad rep locally.

good luck, hope you find spaces for your ds and his friends.

It doesn’t really matter which two year GCSE syllabus is being followed for each subject in the private school, as these children are in Year 9. (If they were halfway through Year 11, it would make a real difference!)

As previous posters have said, going on the waiting lists for the relevant/preferred schools now would be better than waiting until January. Even starting a week or two before Xmas would be better, imo, if possible, rather than waiting until January. Start before Xmas, have the holidays, and they’d feel like old hands by January.

It sounds like the hope is that all 6 can move to the same school, (apologies if I’ve misunderstood). This might be a tough ask, but I would be surprised if there weren’t places at several schools by January able to take one or two. (Bromley is a huge borough with loads of schools.) Do these parents want an all boys school, though? If so, that would restrict their options considerably.