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Education

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Original poster

OK so what would you REALLY do to get your kids into a 'good' school?

125 replies

shimmy21 · 24/03/2006 12:24

If you had the money or the opportunity would you...
lie about where you live?
practise a religion you don't believe in?
move house?
buy a second investment property?
bribe the panel?
appeal on spurious grounds?

or any better ideas?

OP posts:

tallulah · 24/03/2006 18:52

When we moved house we only looked at those in walking distance of decent schools (didn't move deliberately to get into a school- moving for more room and nicer house) BUT they still wouldn't take our kids and we couldn't be closer if we actually lived in the playground! Ended up with a school 22 miles away (primary).

Had to put DD into a private school when she was refused a grammar place (long story often repeated- she passed the 11+- evil Head) & took the opportunity to move DS2 as well.

firestorm · 24/03/2006 19:05

same problem here tallulah, the one thing i wanted once we had moved house was to be able to walk to school. we have actually moved 5 minutes walk away from the alleged best school in town, but they didnt have places for my dd`s so i still have to drive them to school. their schools better imo anyway. i work at said best school so i should know

tamaman · 24/03/2006 19:10

I would move, and pay if I really felt I had no choice, but that's it. I would never lie about anything because I just wouldn't, but also because I would hate to put a child in that position.

Hulababy · 24/03/2006 19:13

We moved house and paid a premium to be in the right location/catchment. Visited the school but on visiting found it wasn't the school we wanted for DD. So she starts private prep school in September instead.

I wouldn't lie about anything to get into a school. Round here most appeals are pointless as the best schools are oversubscribed as it is.

IMO there is no difference in paying to move into the right catchment and paying for private education. Either way it is costing you to educate your child.

Nightynight · 24/03/2006 19:17

Emigrate.

xxxviii · 24/03/2006 19:31

would move house (can't understand why anyone wouldn't, within reason). None of the others.

drosophila · 24/03/2006 19:49

I remeber years ago the Guardian use to run a kinda problem page where individuals would write in with a problem and the following week the paper would publish other readers views/advise.

This one time someone said they wanted to send their child to a good catholic school but it would mean them practicing a faith they didn't believe in. What should they do?

One of the replies always sticks in my mind. It went something like this:

You will be lying to the school, your children to your community, to the church and above all you will be lying to God.

Always tickled me being a non believer.

Marina · 24/03/2006 23:30

We moved. Not just for the schools though.
We also ended up paying because we happened across an independent school that reflected our concerns about the National Curriculum and SATs. The local state primaries are all good or very good by our borough's standards but two of them we just did not like and we didn't get a place at the third. It would not have occurred to me to do anything dishonest to get one of those coveted places. But, certainly in my corner of London, panic about 11 + drives parents to desperate measures at 4 +.

Charlene1 · 25/03/2006 00:27

DS1 born - put name down for school dp went to. Nearest school was my old one. Over my dead body would he go there! I hated it, wouldn't inflict it on my child - even though it's 20 yrs on. Dp's school = v.popular, strict on catchment area. Couldn't afford to move into it then, so relocated to small village 20 miles away. Settled in, put ds in playgroup and preschool. He made lots of friends. Landlord decided to sell house, we moved 5 miles and I continued to take ds to preschool and dd (in a baby car seat) to playgroup whilst he was there. Didn't want him to miss out. This was by taxi at a cost of £12.00 per day, £24 pw, as I don't drive. Also cost of preschool. Moved back to village 6 months later, ds went on to village nursery, his friends started moving away, people considered other schools. That house got put up for sale and was getting too expensive anyway, so we moved AGAIN, back to our home town, and now we live in the middle of the catchment area for dp's old school, and ds goes to the nursery where he had been on the waiting list since birth anyway!!!
Was the grass greener? Don't know. Anyway, when we found out the deadline to apply for reception place was looming, we decided there and then that we would go "home" and back to the original school. We had been resident for 3 weeks at date of application and panicked in case no one believed us. DS has got his place for September though, and DD will get in on the "sibling rule" hopefully if we end up moving again.
I'd love to have a simple life...

janeite · 25/03/2006 20:54

We moved house to get dd into a good secondary school - would've moved anyway as the house was too small but we deliberately moved within a very tight radius to meet the catchment area. So glad we did - she starts in September.

AngelaD · 25/03/2006 21:06

you had the money or the opportunity would you...
lie about where you live?
practise a religion you don't believe in?
move house?
buy a second investment property?
bribe the panel?
appeal on spurious grounds?

or any better ideas?

Yes to all of the above if i'm being really honest but I think I would home educate if it really was that hard to get into the last decent school.

bluejelly · 25/03/2006 21:14

God am i the only person that wouldn't do any of those things? The local school would have to be absolutely horrendous to even think about moving... if everyone just went to their local schools then there wouldn't be this madness... it all seems quite hysterical to me... or am in a minority of one?

DominiConnor · 25/03/2006 21:20

Bluejelly shows us that we may think ourselves moral in acting for the best interest of our kids, even though it damages the system.
I plead guilty.

Societies are limited by these effects of scale.

ScummyMummy · 25/03/2006 21:30

I really don't think I'd do any of those things either, bluejelly. Hard to say for sure as am v pleased with my kids' school which is the nearest community school to our house.

bossykate · 25/03/2006 21:35

of the options listed i'd move or appeal.

bluejelly · 25/03/2006 21:43

Phew! Am not the only one...
I just wish the system was like it used to be in london in the ILEA days... each school had to have a balanced intake (band 1 25%, band 2 50% and band 3 25%) which meant that all the bright/middle class kids didn't get bussed/herded into one or two high achieving schools whilst everyone else fought over the left-overs...
Alternatively if everyone HAD to go to their locals schools, things would be a lot more balanced.
This illusory choice based system (and the cunning ways in which people are prepared to manipulate the system) is really undermining our school system (in London anyway)

bluejelly · 25/03/2006 21:45

(Oh god I have a feeling am going to be seriously unpopular after posting that one... )

chipmonkey · 25/03/2006 21:49

Bluejelly, get thee to Coventry! (Its's Ok, the schools are quite good there!)

bluejelly · 25/03/2006 21:53

donnie · 25/03/2006 21:55

dd1 starts at the local ( very good, over subscribed ) CofE school in sept.Which means dd2 will also get in.

We are already in the catchment for the excellent girls' secondary comp.

if she doesn't get in we will pay for private.

No lies.

Polgara2 · 25/03/2006 23:34

Bluejelly if you were faced with the school my dd would go to if we didnt move, you would have a different opinion I can assure you. It's of the 'over my dead body' variety!

Caligula · 25/03/2006 23:37

I think the problem is that in many areas, the local school is "absolutely horrendous". That's why parents are hysterical.

I never knew that about ILEA. No wonder the Tories hated them.

threelittlebabies · 25/03/2006 23:45

We moved when ds was 18m to ensure he got into the local Catholic primary (we are catholic) which in turn will ensure him (and now dd and any more) a place at the catholic secondary, and in turn at the catholic college. Am NEVER moving again

Charlene1 · 26/03/2006 02:48

Polgara, how did you get your name??

DominiConnor · 26/03/2006 13:42

The ILEA was a bit non discriminatory.
Yet with truly dreadful results.

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