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Original poster

No offers from school 13+

76 replies

hattiebatty · 25/02/2014 13:33

Does anyone have any experience of not been accepted into a school at 13+?
We are in the unfortunate position of not having a place for our child for year 9.

All the entrance tests are over. What should we do?

The head at our school is useless

OP posts:

SonorousBip · 25/02/2014 17:16

This is definitely the head or deputy's job. TBH, this is one of the things you have effectively been paying fees for. Schools will be much more open with heads than they will be with parents. Critially, current heads will also have a battery of test scores to bolster the position - so they will not just be saying "actually, he's a good kid who had an off day" as you will, but saying "look, his CAT scores are x, he has done y in mock or test papers". If your head will not do it you have to ask who will - deputy, etc. It is irrelevant (for these purposes) whether or not it is their "fault", the school really cannot shirk the responsibility for this as they are the ones who have by far the best ability to sort it.

I would ask them in the clearest terms what they intend to do and then go to the Governors.

ShredMeJillianIWantToBeNatalie · 25/02/2014 17:56

Dead right Sonorous, good advice there. OP will PM you.

ShredMeJillianIWantToBeNatalie · 25/02/2014 20:45

mary 21 out of interest is it Akeley Wood you were thinking of in Buckingham? One of ds friends is going there in September, it sounds lovely.

Just5minspeace · 25/02/2014 20:55

Did you ask & then follow advice regarding an aspirational, best fit & then back up school? In over 20years I have never heard of a pupil who did not receive an offer if this was the case.
The Head should be able to find a place- a few phone calls should do it but you may have to alter your expectations. Good luck

Original poster

hattiebatty · 25/02/2014 21:16

We tried out for the less/non academic schools after taking advice from the school. There are other boys in the same situation from our school. I have never heard of a year 8 not receiving a single offer.

OP posts:

Just5minspeace · 25/02/2014 21:23

It does sound strange. Some students will be sitting on a number of offers, which although may not make you feel better at the moment, does mean that on Thursday, when most acceptances have to be in places will become available.
The Head will want a school for your son. For your son's sake & for the reputation of the school. Talk to him/her tomorrow and ask what they are proposing as the next step.
Try to keep calm in front of your son & reassure him it will all work out. He must have had a confidence knock.

LIZS · 25/02/2014 21:24

To be fair you are unlikely to hear of this situation occurring unless you or a close friend are amidst it , it hardly does the school well to say not everyone got their first choice or anyone received no offers ! Sounds like something has gone badly awry with the school's evaluation of pupils or perhaps the secondaries have raised their criteria but a good, well connected head would be able to anticipate that and advise accordingly.

inthename · 25/02/2014 23:37

Think the key to the problem is when you say your school has a new head. Previously at ds school it was unheard of to be in your situation. A new head came in and last year 2 ended up with no place and this years cohort have suddenly found that their dc are not reaching predicted standards. In some areas, it is because the senior schools have changed their standards but ime its whenthe new head doesn't have the relationship with the schools (the old head would have made phone calls and everybody would be placed, the new head tells parents that hes glad the dc 'saw theprocess through' but doesn't seem to be able to get even basic feedback as to what went wrong)
It sounds like you are going to have to ring all the different schools and see what they have, the admissions people are normally very helpful and will be sympathetic. As others have said, the picture should become clearer once offers have been accepted or rejected.

Dinosaursareextinct · 25/02/2014 23:43

Can't you get him a place at a school which doesn't do entrance tests?

AgaPanthers · 25/02/2014 23:50

Your DS is Y8?

Normally you would sit a pre-test in Y6 I would have thought?

Don't quite understand.

inthename · 26/02/2014 00:00

There are a lot of schools around that don't pretest and base their offers solely on CE marks, so unless all of the schools you applied for have a test in January of year 8 ( which many 13+ senior schools do, but a head would normally advise a back up that relies solely on a reasonable pass at CE). In some areas oversubscription is also contributing to dc not receiving offers, especially when its not unknown for some children to sit for more than 3 schools.

SadFreak · 26/02/2014 00:01

Does the current prep school prepare any children for Common Entrance? The exam week for that is usually 2nd week in June in year 8. places are then offered depending on pass marks. There may be some schools still willing to let you register for this.
You may have more luck looking for a boarding or weekly boarding place which will also widen your options with being able to stretch your area a little further.

wordfactory · 26/02/2014 07:56

Aga not for day schools in that area.

For example you'd sit for Berko, St Cols, all the Bedfords, MTs, Habs, Mill Hill all in year 7/8 if you're coming from a prep school.

wordfactory · 26/02/2014 08:03

Just had a thought from another thread Op. Have you tried Aldenham? They often have spaces and it's mixed ability. There's also boarding.

LAK11 · 26/02/2014 08:09

Try Aldenham although they had a record number sit for entrance at 11+ this year. Don't know about 13+ but in our experience there is always some movement as some students move abroad or go on to 'faith' schools.

wordfactory · 26/02/2014 08:11

Interesting Lak.

I know STABS, STAHs and Berko were over run this year too.

What's going on? Is the recession lifting? ...

BambooBear13 · 26/02/2014 08:33

I didn't realise this ever happened. I can't believe that every school is full however - no school could sensibly refuse a child willing to pay unless they at capacity? Has made me think twice

wordfactory · 26/02/2014 08:42

Bamboo the trouble is that even if selective schools are not at capacity, they won't fill up their places with less able students because it affects their results, which in turn affect applications...

However, there are some mixed ability schools that will take all comers if there is space.

There are always a few parents who get their DC to sit for highly selectives schools only (often against the advice of their HT), and are then disappointed.

Though it doesn't seem to be what's happened here. It sounds like OP applied for three schools and was advised by the HT that her DS would be fine for them.

Original poster

hattiebatty · 26/02/2014 09:32

I think part of the problem this year is that all the schools have had record numbers of applicants and the standards were much higher.Probably due to the millennium baby boom.

External tuition is also vital for at least a year before entrance tests. A lesson learnt too late for us.

OP posts:

ShredMeJillianIWantToBeNatalie · 26/02/2014 12:00

hattiebatty if the Head is hopeless is there anyone else with more experience at your current school that can step up? As someone already said upthread, no matter what happened I would expect the school to be on the phone NOW putting the case for my ds to get a place somewhere. At our school under the Head there's a Director of Academic Studies, is there anyone like that who could help?

ShredMeJillianIWantToBeNatalie · 26/02/2014 12:09

Oh and by the way, as someone who clearly lives in your area and has three sons at a prep school, I can tell you that all the parents I know through school would be HORRIFIED by what has happened to your ds. I know of only one girl ever (through word of mouth) who apparently didn't get offered a school on leaving at the end of year 6. And yes, it appears from the gossip that her parents didn't follow the school's advice and she was put forward for two schools that she had no chance of receiving offers from. But - the overwhelming feeling was huge sympathy for the girl concerned, and from what I can gather the school "sorted it". She hadn't done anything wrong, she hadn't "failed" at anything, her parents made a mistake, and it got sorted. I know this wasn't what happened with your ds, but it shows that no matter what, a decent school sorts things out. If not, in your position I'd be speaking to the other parents involved and to other senior staff/the governors.

Gunznroses · 26/02/2014 12:24

OP is it that your current school has made other other suggestions BUT you don't like those schools? I just find it bizarre that a Head will not bother to place a child anywhere, of course if your dc has sat a pretest and didn't get in there's not a lot the Head can do.

Gunznroses · 26/02/2014 12:29

The other puzzling thing is, OP (and i'm asking genuinely) if you're son applied to non/selective/non academic schools, then why would he need 1 year's additional private tuition in advance ?? what for ?

Most of the non selective school I know only require common entrance, and CE isn't till June

Gunznroses · 26/02/2014 12:29

"your" of course.

Original poster

hattiebatty · 26/02/2014 12:55

Even the schools that people class as non academic (they are in fact selective) have entrance tests in herts, if you dont pass the test you are not offered a place.

The trouble with our area is that there are lots of very academic schools and parents use the less academic schools as back up therefore the playing field is not balanced so you have to tutor.

OP posts:

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