Relocating with teens, all schools oversubscribed!

[Moreish]

Aibu to think it’s ridiculous that all the ‘ ofsted ‘outstanding’ and most of the ‘good’ secondary schools in the country are oversubscribed? I’m not just going on ofsted, I’m going on the schools with the highest performance record too. They do vary wildly judging by the new government website.

We’d really like to relocate to a quieter area of the country for a better quality of life but really don’t want to take our dc out of a very high achieving school with no equal alternative.

Has anyone amanged to do it? If so how?

Well it doesn't surprise me that, like you, other parents want to send their kids to good schools, no.

From a taxpayers perspective surely the government aims to provide the correct number of places for the number of children actually attending schools. Having lots of open spaces at outstanding schools would be very inefficient.

Generally people move and are then able to put their kids on the waiting list at local schools. Often this means DC attending different schools, or being moved around as spaces open up.

How long does she have left? If it's less than 2 years I would leave her where she is. If it's more....then actually call the admission authority in the new area...find out where there is space and visit the schools. Ofsted isn't everything. You need to weigh up what you gain as a family by moving ....for example if you commute less and will spend more time with your child she gains....is it a cheaper area, is there more disposable income for clubs, trips and holidays etc can you inject these experiences into her life to make up for a slightly less academic school. Also good children will achieve wherever they are....

I wouldn’t relocate teenagers unless you are talking year 7/8. It’s far too disruptive. If you really have no other choice then be sure to inform the local admissions team ASAP and see if anything can be done. Sometimes oversubscribed schools will make exceptions.

Just realised the mistake I made there. Year 7/8 wouldn’t really be teenagers... so yeah, I wouldn’t disrupt secondary education unless the school they are in is awful or there’s absolutely no other choice.

Some schools can be oversubscribed, and still be the default school for a particular area though.

Larger towns with several schools are likely to have a divide between “good” and “bad” schools. This is perpetuated as Middle Class parents pivot towards the better schools and they become oversubscribed.

When there is just a single school in a town, and it is the default for the area you stand a better chance of getting DC in.