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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To tell you to read this thread if your DC starts school in Sept!

244 replies

seamstressmummy · 19/12/2015 19:13

This thread saved my skin last year, so I am paying back the karma.

15th January seems to be the closing date again.

remember it is preferences, not choices
they do not HAVE to give you one of the schools on your list
make sure you have a dead cert banker in there!

OP posts:

SoniaShoe · 22/12/2015 09:12

Thanks for starting this thread. I'm applying this year and have difficult choices so it's useful to read suggestions.

I live in a large highly populated town but at the quiet end where there are no nearby primary schools. Our 2 nearest schools are fantastic and I would love to get in either but I'm outside the nearest distance for the last 5 years for one (our nearest school) and outside the nearest distance for most of the previous years for the other one. So I think one isn't worth putting down but the other one worth a chance and probably about 50% chance of getting in.

The next nearest is a rubbish school I don't want to go for but is probably our only almost guaranteed chance so probably a good "banker" choice for no 3.

Then we have a wild card! A new free school which is a bit further away which isn't likely to be over subscribed this year but is looking like a really good place. Again it's not guaranteed as demand is unknown and probably 50% chance of getting in again. Their admissions isn't based on distance they are (unusually) doing a ballot from applications across all parts of the town.

So my dilemma is either:

Wild card
2nd nearest local school
Banker rubbish local school

1st nearest school in the hope of a fluke year and so we get on waiting list
2nd nearest school
Wildcard

My DP is showing very little interest and I've become obsessed with it all so any views welcome.

Jesabel · 22/12/2015 09:19

Definitely put the local school down - with putting all three choices as schools that are 50/50, you risk getting a rubbish school on the wrong side of town. Then put whichever two schools you want the most.

LouisaJF · 22/12/2015 09:27

I'm interested to know what your thoughts are. We only fall into the catchment of one school and happily that is our preferred one. It is our first choice on the application with the other ones as fall backs because this is where we really want him to go.

It all sounds good, but the school is oversubscribed. Last year there were 250 applications for 45 places. The school has an Outstanding rating from Ofsted and is in The Times top 500. This is starting to make me nervous that he won't get in. He did get a place in the nursery there, and a number of the other parents know their children don't fall into the catchment. I'm getting very twitchy that the competition will be tough.

Jesabel · 22/12/2015 09:32

What's your distance from the school and what was the furthest place offered on distance for the last few years? If you live 500m away and the last distance is always about 300m then you need to think of another option. If you live 100m away then you should be ok (but still need a definite back up option).

SoniaShoe · 22/12/2015 10:09

Yes you need to analyse the distances. We have most of that info on the council website (including a tool showing your distance from each school and how they measure it). Some years were missing so I emailed the council admissions team and they told me.

SoniaShoe · 22/12/2015 10:11

Thanks jesabel I know you're right but it's so hard to put down a school you don't actually want and not put ones you do want! You have to go with head not heart.

LouisaJF · 22/12/2015 10:42

Our council doesn't publish the distances of the places offered. We are probably 300-400 m as the crow flies.

BondJayneBond · 22/12/2015 10:47

Would they tell you the distances if you rang the schools admissions department?

They should have that information. When DS1 lost out on our first choice last year, they were able to tell me over the phone the distance of the last place offered.

Millionprammiles · 22/12/2015 10:54

Thanks for starting this thread, its timely.
For those who have submitted online forms to their LA - did you receive any sort of acknowledgement confirming the form was received? We've had nothing at all, no email, not even a message on the screen....

Sameshitdiffname · 22/12/2015 11:08

I'm not applying but for future ref sorry if this has been answered..

I plan on sending my son to an RC school, if I use them as my options and he doesn't get in one are they allowed to send him to a CoE school

I'm probably not even making sense

BondJayneBond · 22/12/2015 11:12

Sameshitdiffname - if your DS does not get a place at any of your preferred schools, he will be offered a place at the nearest school that has places left.

If this nearest school with places is a CoE school, then yes, they can and will offer him a place there.

Jesabel · 22/12/2015 11:45

Louisa - you need to contact the council and get the exact distances for your address, and for the last distances offered. If you are 300m away but the last place offered is always under that then you need at least one sure bet on your form.

Sameshit - put the RC school as your first choice, but also choose some back up options. Otherwise you could get allocated any faith or non-faith school based on it being undersubscribed, so it could be miles away.

LouisaJF · 22/12/2015 11:53

The problem is that I don't know what the sure bet would be. We don't fall into the catchment of any other school.

Jesabel · 22/12/2015 12:32

You need to know which schools were undersubscribed then.

What do you mean by "catchment"?

lostInTheWash · 22/12/2015 12:56

For those who have submitted online forms to their LA - did you receive any sort of acknowledgement confirming the form was received?

yes for both primary and secondary applications - both within a few hours. Secondary application was our most recent and it said that you had to have an acknowledgement e-mail else it hadn't gone through.

I suggest you go back to the website and see if it states about it then contact the admission department and check the application has gone through.

LouisaJF I suggest you get in touch with the admission department for your area and ask them some questions.

Last place we live you got in still if your DC was in the catchment area - there were a lot of applications and noise from people outside the just the published catchment area for the popular schools who few years earlier might have got in especially if they had older children at the schools. They had about 40 more applications than places but they were outside the published catchment areas - there was a whole new housing estate that apparently fell into no schools catchments - they got places at the least popular local school.

According to head teacher of secondary in our new area they had five only five people in local catchment area not get in and that was because they did late applications.

Other areas don't have catchment areas but work on just distance. Even in some stated catchment areas it can come down to distance form the school.

The admission department are best people to advise you on your local situation. They won't be able to tell you what will happen with your application but can advise what has happened previous years.

SocksRock · 22/12/2015 13:21

My friend won a appeal for Reception for her twins, but she only did because she proved the council had made a mistake - they had offered the last place (intake of 15) to a child that lived further away than she did. One of her twins should have been offered the last place and the other admitted under the excepted child rule for twins. So my DD1's year had 17 in instead of 15

However, I think she was almost the only person in county to win an appeal that year, reception ones are almost impossible to win.

Millionprammiles · 22/12/2015 14:08

lostIn - thanks, will do. Worryingly we haven't had any acknowledgement at all....

flanjabelle · 22/12/2015 14:46

Its too early to apply for dd, but I'm really worried as her catchment school is failing badly. It also has an awful woman as the deputy head. I'm honestly thinking of moving house to make sure she gets into a better school.

notquitehuman · 22/12/2015 15:20

Try not to worry. Failing schools often go through changes and improve. There was an inadequate school round here that became an academy a couple of years ago. It's now apparently very nice.

You could pay a fortune to move next to some amazing school and not get in. Or a school that's fabulous now might not be in a couple of years. My ILs spent a fortune to move to some village before they started to TTC, mainly because they loved the school, and it got closed down before their kids could start.

Enjolrass · 22/12/2015 17:17

I know people who moved to get into our secondary. But they didn't research well and lived close but not in catchment. They assumed it was a circle around school.

Pengweng · 23/12/2015 10:27

bump

notquitehuman · 23/12/2015 10:55

Oh yeah catchment areas are weird. Our area has a primary school that's one of the best in the country. Local estate agents LOVE to tout that certain areas are in its catchment because they're similar postcodes. Thing is, half the streets wouldn't be in the catchment at all, and they'd probably end up in a pretty bog standard school down the road.

Enjolrass · 23/12/2015 12:40

Thinking about it, our secondary appeal, showed me how much people don't know about admissions.

The first part of the appeal was about the school and the reasons they couldn't admit over 360 students. Then talked about catchment areas.

People were shocked to find out that half a street maybe in catchment but the other half not or that they could miss out on a place by a few meters.

Someone of the questions the parents asked at this point showed that they had no clue. Two parents kept trying had their appeal in the group meeting.

When you appeal the school puts its reasons for the number it admits first. If the panel agree they can't take more it goes on to individual appeals that are done in a private room

lots of parents didn't know this, some didn't know what time their individual appeal was, some thought if that if panel agreed the school can't take more than the number they have that their appeal wouldn't be heard.

We had from March to July to prepare and we all got the same information packs.

I know this thread isn't about appeal but it showed me how little people know about the whole process and don't really look into it.

Chattymummyhere · 23/12/2015 13:11

I applied online and had an email within the hour to say my application had been submitted and that if I needed to make any changes to make sure to resubmit otherwise the LA wouldn't get my changes.

Original poster

seamstressmummy · 23/12/2015 13:38

Festive bump

Glad it's helping. I would have definitely mucked up my choices last year if I didn't read the other one!

OP posts:

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