To think that siblings should not get priority when it comes to applying for secondary

[ReallyTired]

I think that sibling priority is essential at primary school level, but compeltely unnecessary at secondary school. My children will be at different schools as one will be at primary and one will be at secondary and I am sure we will cope.

Why is having two children at different secondaries any less doable than having a child at primary and a child at secondary? I find it unfair that a family can move into catchment of a top secondary, move out of area and still get sibbling priority. It is crazy that some children have to take a bus to school because they cannot get into the comprehensive that is walking distance of their house.

Secondary school children without special needs do not need mummy to take them to school. I feel that community secondary schools should just have a distance/ catchment criteria.

Yes, I think I'd agree, unless in cases of special emotional or social need.

yes i agree - depending on distance etc.

They don't get priority in my borough

Yanbu. Old bug bear of mine and I've posted on it several times. It would pretty much put an end to the renting in catchment for a year or two problems that skew the school intake in my area.

And the ludicrous situation where two acquaintances of mine have first children who got places at a particular school on account of their dyslexia, but thier other three children, who do not have dyslexia, will automatically go there. None of them live in the catchment for the school.

Its wrong and I can't think of any good arguments in favour.

I think you're probably right. There's a family of 5 who live near me and none of them have gone to the same school as each other as they all wanted to go to different schools where their friends were going or for a specific learning need (i.e. music or pe specialist). They all get there under their own steam and seem to be coping fine.

I think the norm should be no sibling priority, but that schools should decide in light of their local circumstances.

What is sensible for scattered village children is totally different from those in urban areas.

I think siblings should be priority.

Ds starts sec school next week and ds2 will be in y4 but the thought of having 2 separate sec schools for years fills me with dread.

2 schools to have to learn the rules about, different events, double parents evenings.....eek!!

Same schools make sense for siblings.

Yes I totally agree. My DD's secondary does not have sibling priority BUT our nearest school does, hence DD not getting in. Completely different to primary school where sibling priority makes sense for parent/carers.

What about different sex siblings in an area where the only choice is single sex schools monkeymax? You'd have no choice about it then.

I also agree with sibling priority. I think it makes families build a stronger relationship with the school and frankly makes life much easier. The secondary-entry system is crazed enough without making parents sweat it out multiple times.

monkeymax, you are not responsible for learning the rules of the school: your child is. It is their job to keep you informed about events and ensure that everything needed for the school day is organised. Or get bollocked if they don't (yes, ds, that was well deserved!).

Oh well, so long as it makes life easier for some people at the expense of others eh? Why not have a level playing field for all?

2 schools to have to learn the rules about, different events, double parents evenings.....eek!!

Unless your kids are twins, you'll have all that anyway....apart from the rules bit.

True, Minty, and I hate same sex schools. But I've moved to an area which has several mixed gender comps for that very reason. Still, there's never a guarantee (at least in London) that children from the same household would be accepted for the same school on distance alone.I don't plan to move home, but that's no guarantee that DCs subsequent would be in the same school, except for sibling priority.

Ah the old 'I'm too lazy' reason.

Yanbu op. it's discrimination often times. Eg only kids turned away due to policy. Archaic and irrelevant.

My DS and DD are at the same high school. They leave at separate times to go with their own friends and never come home together either. They never see each other during the school day. My DS was originally supposed to go to a music specialist high school but the travelling was prohibitive so he's ended up at the same one as her (which is the correct one for our catchment) but I honestly don't get what difference it would make if he went to another one.

Addirional costs because you can't hand down uniform or pe kits. Rural areas where bus transport is expensive and unreliable. Parents evenings clashing, award ceremonies, different holiday dates these are all issues that I've dealt with because the dc did not attend the same secondary

Another anecdote, if I may. A friend of my dd's was offered a place at a hugely oversubscribed school with a miniscule catchment, even though she lives miles away. She got the place because her db is in the 6th form there! They will be at school together for one year.

It is a daft and unfair policy.

but jacks, are most of those any different from having one child in secondary and one in primary? you'd still be coping with different parents evenings, awards ceremonies and transport issues (besides, don't they have to arrange school transport?)

Agree with jacks. Plus school friends in entirely different locations, so no chance of co ordinating pick ups .

Secondary's have bigger catchments, the distance between two secondaries will be larger than distance between secondary and feeder primaries.

we applied for ds's heavily oversubscribed secondary on grounds of disability and social needs- they are the only local school with any experience of his condition

he got in on the sibling rule

so all ended fine, but I would certainly have been pissed off if he hadn't had a sibling and hadn't got in because his place was taken by some perfectly healthy child under the sibling rule

I get your point OP, but shearing many of the same experiences is nice and comforting for siblings and learning one system is way less stressful for parents.

It's cheaper and less wasteful for, uniform too.

Most of all it saves the schools a load of work, if perhaps 40% (probably a lot more given friends with older DCs) of the parents know the ropes the teachers get asked a lot less stupid questions.

No they don't need to arrange school transport and at £60 a week for bus fares driving is a lot more cost effective even if the round trip took over an hour. The thing about primary/ secondary is that they were closer together and it was short term. Parents evening at primary are different too and tended to be at closing time not in the evening.

Im not even going to start on snow days.

Totally academic here, as the buses give us total Hobson's choice.