March 3 Sceondary results/Waiting

[AdventureTime]

This is my first post and I'd like to kick start he waiting thread.
DD hoping to get 1st choice grammar but has completely forgot about it all.
How's the anxiety/nervousness/ overall wait?

zebra, I am pretty sure you can ask for a full evidence of why you didn't get in.

pass mark - the pass mark is different for each school, and they can change it, but they tell you what it is before the exam. So, for the school we wanted pass is 216, if you pass you can apply for the grammar, if you don't you can't apply as you don't fulfill the criteria (although there is room to appeal in some circumstances)

The exam results though are tailored to suit the number and quality of candidates, it is an adjusted score, so we passed with 222, with the same paper and answers last year (or next) ds could have scored 230 or 214. They aim to place the pass line at a place where most of those who pass will then be able to go to the school.
So in theory, if they had a massive load of extra kids this year, that should have been taken into account in the pass figures, the pass line should have moved and still have been at a place where the right number were given a pass. So the system has failed quite badly this year.
(and of course, this is only the glos 11+, they are not all the same!)

Just wanted to say zebra don't panic just yet. It's only a day after allocation day. Places DO come up in the next few months.

A friend of mine got her second choice a few years back which she accepted as she knew first choice was a really long shot. Then in May she got offered her first choice, she was amazed. She still took the 2nd choice school after all that, but it was nice to have the choice.

Im in richmond in an educational blackspot did not get any of our 4 choices and been allocated a failing academy approx 30 mins away. Thankfully we have an Indy place but it will be a huge sacrifice even with a large bursary but the system is clearly not for for purpose , was advised to have a state option as a fallback option I now have no option but to basically take on the equivalent of another mortgage for the next 7 years grrrrrr

Teddingtonmum You are being a little economical with the truth there. It is quite right that Richmond has given many parents no option of a school place at all, let alone a place at one 30 minutes away, and the reason that there aren't more in that situation is that local parents have established a Free School, hopefully with a site announced soon, and it is scandalous. However you chose not to put down in your preferences the sought after and rated good (almost certainly outstanding when the results of the latest OFSTED inspection come out in a few days time ) comprehensive that you live in the catchment of, and you knew the consequence of that would be if you did not get the four you listed that you would be allocated to an undersubscribed school. Your choice, your risk, but you can hardly moan that the Council forced you into it by failing to provide a good local school, unlike many other parents in the borough. Many would regard you as lucky to have had the opportunity. Incidentally assuming it is TA you have been offered it is OFSTED rated as requiring improvement, whilst acknowledging it has improved, it is not in special measures or deemed to still be failing, none of the Richmond Schools could now be deemed to be failing.

What a nasty post. Especially since you don't even have a child in y6.

Teddingtonmum - I really hope your situation is resolved happily.

The problems of black holes and lack of choice through faith, single sex or whatever are indeed extreme in some areas and need adressing, but since politicians are in the business of listening to parental pressure (hence the current Lotteries debate, and indeed Free Schools) I do think it is quite important that people are absolutely accurate and honest about how the system did or did not work for them.

IF it is the case that a parent, any parent, got a worse allocation than they would have done putting their closest school, then accuracy is important: the problems need to be seen for what they are and not obscured by horror stories that don't quite get to the nitty gritty.

In a neighbouring borough there is much talk of the awfulness of how many people did not get their first prefernce. However, something like 85% got a preference from their top 3 - a number got none of their preferences. I know for a fact that at least 10 people put completely unreaslitic long shots as the first 2 places, sometimes more (fine - it's a good tactic!), and that the 3rd or 4th chpoice allocated is actually one they expected and are very happy with. I know for a fact that one family took the the 'if we only put one preference they will have to give us that' line - with predicatble results, and I know for a fact that the woman in our local primary school playground who is be-wailing the miles away bad school she has been allocated put down 3 selective and super-selecive choices and 3 faith choices for which she is ineligible, Despite having 2 well regarded / high performing comps within walking distance.

It is this woman who will end up on a radio phone in or the news...and the story isn't the real story of people who actually do not live in any 'catchment'.

Huge sympathies for anyone who is facing a miserable summer of waiting lists and appeals - for their sake it is best that facts are told in context. Good tuck everyone.

Teddingtonmum
I thought you wanted a boarding place anyway and you always knew Gordons would be a long shot.

Re my waiting list query - I emailed the council (so now I probably look like a loon fretting about schools, which I'm not, I'm very happy with our choice, I just wanted to be sure what I was possibly signing myself up for!) and got an answer from the head of the admissions team:

"If you return the acceptance with no ticks in any of the boxes then should a place become available at B for dd then the place at A will automatically be withdrawn. As dd is some way down the waiting list of B it is unlikely that a place will become available at that school but if it does it will probably be late into summer. In that case we will contact you before withdrawing the place at A to allow you the opportunity to decide which school you prefer."

Herc I am sorry that my post appears nasty but I know so many people in this borough who genuinely put down the six nearest local schools and get places at none of them, indeed no place at all, and I have huge empathy for them, not least because it happened to is. I have sat in front of our Council Cabinet to highlight the iniquity of the system. It is a very emotive issue in our borough which is why in the local thread you will find four threads on the schools issue of more than 1000 posts where in recent years many parents of both primary and secondary school children have expressed the stress of finding themselves without a local school place, Some primary school children haven't started school until Christmas and many who live in areas that are black holes of provision do indeed find themselves feeling forced to go private or move even if they can't afford to. However Teddingtonmum does not live in a black hole, she lives somewhere people move to to get into the local school. It had over a 1000 applications many of whom knew they had no chance of a place and was very very oversubscribed.

Teddingtonmum always intended to go for a Boarding School. I totally respect that choice. She also knew if she didn't make that school one of her six preferences she would almost certainly be offered one of the less popular academies some distance away. I know so many people that are genuinely the victims of unfairness that it does seem rather insensitive for her to don the mantle of martyr in quite such an emotive way.

It just seems very petty mean spirited and stalky to follow a poster into the allocation thread when you yourself are many years away from having a Y6 child (and have privately educated anyway, so never even went through the state process) just to be nasty to her. Why would someone do that? And it's derailed the thread too.

There's obvious some history of bad blood between you but to follow her into this thread and start it up all over again is bad form, no?

Whatever the situation, I wish everyone the best in finding a school they are happy with. There is lots of helpful information on the 11+ website at the moment regarding waiting lists and appeals - good luck.

unfortunatly shooting is right. teddington does live in an borough with blackspots. however where she lives isnt one of them. her post should have read ??? my local ofsted rated good +over over subscribed school was not the right school for my child. for personal reasons i did not want him to go there. (this is totally fine and we all have a right to our opinions.)i therefore put down our local ofsted outstanding school with shrinking catchment. which we are out of catchment for and other schools which we had little chance of getting . i have always really wanted boarding as it suits my personal situation .
teddington. it many ways you are lucky. decisions have been taken out of your hands. picking the indy which you really wanted is now a no brainer. even if it does mean poverty.Its still worth hanging out for turing though. i assume you are the waiting list. unfortunatly there are many in the area who live next to TA or HA who would cut of their right hand to have been in the catchment of the school you didn't want.
hope R goes well.

Hi shooting ,
I had a personal reason for not choosing Teddington,as you know but i am certainly not a martyr but I did put down Turing house and Orleans and if i got offered orleans to be completely honest i would have had to seriously consider my options but as fate would have it got a no DS got an indy offer but its for another 25% more than initially expected ie more than my mortgage payments so a huge commitment As a single parent haven't spoken to the other parents to see if everyone got Teddington but out of 261 places 103 went to siblings. Fortunately I only have 1 child so I can make the sacrifice I'm am having to move out of Teddington sob to raise the cash but not everyone has the means or the offer that we have and I would be distraught if TA was the only thing offered so despite having limited funds ive fought tooth & nail for an alternative. That's my pension gone to the dogs ....

its alright shooting I don't take it personal everyone just wants the best they can possibly get for their DC just thankful never have to go thru it again Amen ....

Teddington I hope your son thrives at Reeds. Everyone I know who has gone there has been happy. I totally respect your decision.

As it happens I have been through the state applications process myself with two DDs at 4 and 11 (and an in year application) and only once had an offer for a local school, which is why I do have empathy for others, and get involved with trying to put some pressure on the Council, and both parties to change things. The problem is that we know the Council monitor mumsnet (I know ) and will quote things back to try and reinforce their spin that 70% get first choice, 32% of applicants who disappear from the waiting were, like you, always going to go elsewhere, you can't please everybody and everybody who needs a place is accommodated etc. etc. conveniently ignoring all the angst you and I know is caused.