If there is high demand - how are places in after school clubs allocated at your school?

[bubble99]

I got in a big girly strop about this today. Ten years ago I would have laughed at someone's world crumbling over a sodding recorder club.
I found a note in the depths of DS2's book bag on the last day of term offering places in a recorder club, 'first come first served.'
The note had gone in the day before and said that applications for a place had to be in by the 11th April, which was during the Easter holidays??? I posted the form into the school letterbox the day after finding it, confident that it would be found in time (some of our admin staff work during the holidays). I returned to school and was told that a) The school hadn't received the form ???? b) The club was full and DS2 was sixth on the waiting list. ie. no place for DS2.
All of the places had been taken on the same afternoon that the letters went out. Parents had looked in the bags at pickup time, read the note and gone straight round to sign their children up.
Am I just p'd off about this because I'm a slack mummy who didn't dig around in the bag beyond the usual homework? Or am I right to be p'd off that the lucky few had got in there first before the ink was dry on the letters.
There were 12 places for a possible 60 children in DS2's year, BTW.

[Mummia]

Agree Bubble99, hadn't really realised we will miss out on all of this too when the time arrives (I work long hours) assumed there would be some fair system but from my reading of some of these threads its a dog eat dog world out there in Year 1.

[rey]

Those who don't get a place one term go to head of list for the next term which seems fair thay way if you didn't manage to get your slip in early you are ahead of the mad rush the following term. Though we do have to pay for the clubs so they keep your money for the following term which saves returning money.

[charliecat]

First come first served at our school. waiting to see if dd2 gets a place on the music club myself. Given that most other parents dont bother to open the bookbags from 1 wwek to the next I think weve got it in the bag:)

[foxinsocks]

hello bubble

I think that's extraordinary - the bit about mums opening the book bags in the playground and going straight to the office to sign up. Surely that didn't happen? Only you would know the type of mum at your school but that seems a bit excessive.

Surely there's also a massive bias against those that work then?

I'm not 100% sure how it works at ours as virtually everything is always full (it's all making sense now - I should be opening their book bags before I leave the playground!!). I know there's a waiting list for gym club but for the boys, things like football and rugby are pay as you go (I think).

Why on earth do a club where it can only take 12 people if it's going to be so popular?