applying to secondary schools and moving house i n year 6

[cavolonero]

Help ! my dilemma is whether to move house in autumn or spring from London to Tunbridge Wells.
I'm a single parent and want my son to have a bit more freedom.
I fear i will miss the application process for Tunbridge Wells and all the school places will be allocated- they still have the 11+ there which he has not taken.
If we arent moved until July 2011- how will he be allocated a secondary school place and will i have any choice/say in it at all?
Can I use my mums address in Tunbridge Wells?

You can take a 12+ exam but only if spaces open up. You may find that more children are applying for each place at that point. You cannot use someone elses address.

Help ! I want to move to Tunbridge Wells this year but my son is going into year 6 next week and I fear I'm going to miss the whole application process.My garden flat isnt selling and I may have to take it off the market and re-sell in the Spring.
Surely all the Secondary school places will be allocated by then -and if we arent moved until July i definately wont have any choice.
Could i use my mums address in Tunbridge Wells - we may have to stay there if the move hasn't happened.

Look at the website. Many grammar schools do not have a catchment area. If that is the case apply now from your current address and move later.

You can then move in with your mother and sell flat etc don't panic it will be fine.

What you cannot do is pretend you are living in a place if they do have a catchment area.

Thanks - I fear that the catchment areas wont extend to London but its worth a try for those that maybe dont have them.
I'm still applying to London Schools too so its all a bit confusing for him (and me!)
Best scenario would be to move straight from primary to secondary and not an extra change of schools - should have done this in year 5 but had just started a new job!

Rent out your flat form now until spring

move in with your mother or rent a flat with the rental form your unsold flat

get your ds into year 6 in the area now

Moving now is best as ivykaty said - but then you would have to find a primary school for Y6 in TW or commute back to your ds's current primary school for the year. You haven't got a lot of time to decide - round here applications have to be in sometime in October.

October here in the Midlands aswell

I would move now

On our applications there was a section on moving house and addresses etc

You can sit the Kent test from London schools. My dd is, although she is unlikely to pass. The test is in two weeks time though, so you probably would have difficulty getting Kent to allow your son to sit the test, and not long to prepare him.

We are also considering moving to Kent at the end of Y6, which is why dd1 is registered for the Kent test. I think we may end up paying for secondary education. The problem with grammar school areas is that the comprehensive schools are actually secondary moderns.

Cant face moving twice to rented and then buying - need a clean break and peace of mind - its all too mad around this part of London - so if garden flat doesnt sell soon it prob wont during winter .

I went to a grammar school in Tonbridge and have friends who have coached their kids through the 11+ - theres no-way my ds would pass - not at short notice - but havent a clue about the other schools -

whats the difference between a comprehensive and secondary modern?

Dont the fee-paying schools also have entrance exams?
We're talking about £12k a year in fees arent we?

Its a big step for us as I'll be walking away from a secure job I love - to unemployment - until I find something that is.Is that a really stupid thing to do?

As others have said, you must not use your mother's address unless you are actually living there. That would be fraud and could result in you losing any place that is offered.

If you intend to move you should do so as soon as possible. If you miss the normal admissions round your choice of schools will be limited - it is likely that the only places available will be at the unpopular schools.

I'd move somewhere without a grammar system tbh
can't you just move into the catchment area of a good secondary? Does it have to be Kent ?

Second what bigchris said. I think you've left it too late for Tun Wells now. The competition is fierce, and the 11+ any day now.

Even elsewhere, the D-Day for admissions is around mid-late October, in that you'd have to be living somewhere properly (with proof) on that date. Depending on the LEA, you might also need to still be living there when the child starts at the school.

All good advice thanks - flat not selling and have researched the alternative to grammar schools - I thought parents were joking when they said all the resources were piled into the grammar schools - the alternative are actually secondary moderns but go under names like'high school' very poor results -ie 12% gsce pass rate as opposed to 100% at grammar schools.
My ds isnt academically pushy ,hes a dreamer,but would drop off the scale if not motivated.
My plan was to move to a familiar area where we both feel safe and he could have some freedom outside school,I wasnt thinking that his education was the main issue but with applications looming by next month it suddenly is.

Hallo
This is my first time posting on mumsnet, although I have read helpful many posts already.
My background; I have two DS (4 and 6), both at school. I live in a London Suburb. Last October we moved away to a small village where we rented, essentially for good primary, but particularly good secondary schools when we would need them. However, I suffered from such severe depression and found it very hard to cope in a rented property in a new area, (I could barely get out of bed, or do the food shopping), that after a term at school for my DS (then % Yr 1)my DH made the decision for our family that we would come back to London as I said that is all I wanted to do.

This initially seemed to help me and I had some very good counselling and antidepressants.

However, now that my DS (4) has started reception I have been blighted by the depression again, and am sitting in my bed as I write this. My main concern is that I do not want to be here in a London suburb for the rest of my DS's school lives or mine, and I wish that the depression hadn't been so utterly awful that I hadn't been able to cope with the move. But I worry that another move would be really damaging to them even though in the future. My DS (6) did Reception in one school, half a term in new school new area Year 1, and then back here where he has been since the rest of his Year 1 and now started Year 2.

I worry that my only choice now will be to move them at Secondary stage and I would really like to hear from anyone personally who moved school and area at Secondary, as I am concerned about the continuity they would have with friends. They are both (so far) very outgoing and make friends easily.

Thanks for reading this.

hmbsa

Sorry, first time user. Meant to post as a new thread.
Sorry

Sorry, first time user. Meant to post as a new thread.
Sorry

I'm sorry you've had such a hard time of it. I don't have personal experience but didn't want your comment to go unanswered. From seeing my children's friends who have had to move schools, the hardest time to move is in the middle of GCSE courses (or A-level courses). As many schools start GCSE courses in Y9 now, I personally would try to avoid moving children after the end of Y8, unless it's at the end of Y11.

hmsa, this sounds really tough. I would try and get yourself better first, and then see what you all want to do. There are lots of families living very happily in London suburbs - doesn't mean it is for you, of course, but perhaps give the counselling and ADs a chance to work, and a bit of stability to recover from what sounds like a horrid time, and then decide. Don't rush into something you may regret especially if it means moving away from people you know.

Thanks for your comments. All I feel like I want to do is to move back to the village we were in as I can see now how to make it work, but think this would be totally confusing for my ds's. I just don't feel settled in the London suburbs, never have really, but my DH refuses to think about moving the kids again for 3-4 years for fear of confusing them with friends and education.

Is there anyone out there who has moved kids around when young and they've been okay with it?