Waiting for that secondary school letter (1st march?)

Some hope for all of you:

last year it was us in your position.
Of all our 3 choices, all within 300m from our house, we got NO offers. Imagine my dismay!

In june we got an offer for a fourth choice which was added after the first rejection. I was far from happy and ket hoping.

We got our first choice THE DAY BEFORE she was due to start!! By then I had given up hope tbh but because someone had told me that a lot of places free up within the first few weeks of term I did not tell DD anything in re to which school she was going to - I kept saying we were still waiting on an answer and made no big deal out of it with her (I was obviously dying inside). There was quite a lot of movement between the school in the first few months of term.

All I am saying is if you don't get your choice now it might not be the end of it.

Good luck to you all! I am so glad I will not hav eto go through this again till secondary school and that is a loooooong way ahead.

Oh lordy, a, so glad we have left the Uk or we would be going through this next year

Really hope you all get the schools of your choice

Oh me too - we've just moved into a new area and had to put dd's application in before we'd even seen the schools. Fortunately our first choice on the form turned out to be our favourite and dd did pass the exam. We are supposedly within catchment, but it's an oversubscribed school so we wait nervously with the rest of you.

Bluuuuurp. Feel sick at the thought of it.
Good luck everyone. Cos that is what it seems to boil down to here!

Am very envious of all you who are expecting to get your first choice.
Here in north london, I would be absolutely delighted if we got even our 4th choice!

As hopefully some comfort - last year we got our second choice. This was ok - but still a disappointment. I rang up and found we were first on the waiting list, 6 days later we heard she had a place! So if you don't get your desired result, find out where you are on the list and ask how many got in from that last year - may be very comforting and hopeful news.

Also waiting to hear whether DD1 has got into our choice of secondary school (and DD3 into the primary school DD1's leaving). We're out of catchment (5 mile journey) but I hope that the fact that she's gone to a 'feeder school' will weigh in our favour.

oops, just realised this thread is about secondary schools

Applied online for the local school only, we are a 3 minute walk away, letters are dispatched here on 16th Feb, so we should hear Wed or Thur. I was confident when I applied that ds would get in as we live so close, ds goes to the preschool etc. However, I still feel a bit nervous and will be pleased to get it all sorted.

Found out our primary school places yesterday - DS2 didn't get in to our 1st choice, don't want the 2nd choice and am now kicking myself for putting a second choice down at all.
We'll appeal and if that fails may have to go private. Aaargh...

Our first choice for ds1 is an out of catchment faith school.
It is grossly oversubscribed (nearly 3 times as many applicants as there are places) but they allocate 80 'foundation' places for children of regular churchgoers before they even allocate catchment places so we've applied for one of those places.
We have regular, lifelong church attendance so we fulfil the foundation place criteria but if they have more that 80 applicants for those places they then apply the regular criteria (siblings,distance etc) to decide who gets one of the places...

So while we fulfil the criteria, we are definitely not guaranteed a place as we are just out of catchment, but we do have a chance so yes, baited breath here, definitely..

and the alternative that we will be offered if the faith school app is unsuccessful is worrying to say the least..

I hope we all get the places that we and our DCs want

Waiting on primary application in Surrey. Should find out by text and email on 26 Feb. First choice is our nearest school and we should be fine but I wont be happy until place is confirmed.

Yes, baited breath. DD took the 11+ so we are waiting to see if she got into the super-selective grammar school or below average comprehensive. I'll just be glad to know.

I just wanted to say fingers crossed for everyone that is waiting on secondary school places, and I hope you get the places thta you want..

I was in the same position earlier this month (but for primary places) - thankfully we got our first choice..

I do want to add though if you don't get your first choice, please don't think it is the end of the world..I went to a very bad school (if you look at the league tables)...but an excellent family background makes all the difference..my parents made sure I knuckled down, and I went to one of the best Universities in the country..I was the first person from my School to go to a certain Uni - what I'm trying to say is if you don't get your first choice, and your appeal is not successful, please don't think that is it. A bright child with the right family support will succeed, and I wish you all the best of luck

It's a great shame you can't swap isn't it? Mumsnet could offer auction services. IN fact I think it's their future.

Who will pledge a Mooncup (bucketsized), a half eaten Greggs Sausage Roll and a place at St Shit's in exchange for an unused Boden returns label and a palce at Smuggy Comp?

We have to wait until 30th April to find out. On the boderline for catchment so no guarantee that we'll get our first choice. The one we'll be offered if we get none of our 3 choices is dire so really worried. Hell I've still got 11 weeks to fret about this.

I really want 2nd choice, first is ok and had to put it otherwise would have got a school that I don't like....

opps sorry. I'm wrong. primary is april 2ndary is earlier. Unis shuffles off the thread wishing she had read the header properly.

Blimey- feb, march... we don't get told till April down here in the wilds of rural devon.

Yes yes, we were out of the country at application time, got leave to apply as we were gone on business and now back but what if they've lost/trashed/not allowed our application? DD1 will be given a place at a very bad school, very bad walk crossing several busy roads AND it has a bulge class so facilities will be stretched. So nervous.

Have just received letters from DS's first choice school that they have been accepted We are trying to move and I still have to sell, but school have been really nice and said they will have places for them and not to worry if we dont meet their acceptance deadline. It is a very good private school and once in they can stay until 18 without having to pass common entrance, which is a huge weight off my mind.
School know I am a LP and have gone out of their way to be supportive