HELP! Child starting secondary school 2024

[PatrickGammon]

Hi all,

My eldest is starting secondary school in September 2024. I have to apply for a secondary school by October (I think).

How do i find out about open evenings? Does the primary school get to know this info first then pass it on to parents? Or do I need to call up the local secondary schools? I don't have a clear preference for secondary schools atm.

I'm in Lancashire in case that helps the responses.

Thanks

If you look on the websites of the secondary schools near you, they will probably be advertising their open days. If not, you could always ring/email to ask.

Around here (South Yorkshire) all the catchment areas and admission priorities are on the council website and the schools have open evening info on their websites

Thanks, i'll ring around when they open back up for term

Ooh yeah, council website is a good start so I at least know the catchment areas. God this is overwhelming.

Our LA publishes an online booklet. It gives you information about the schools in the area and has a distance tracker that tells you how far you are from them and how far away they admitted in the last 3 years to give you an idea. Some of the schools list their open days on there too. Others suggest looking at the website.

I'd search something like Lancashire Secondary Admissions.

Once you know when the open evenings are, go and visit so you can get a feel for the ethos of the schools and which you think is a good fit for your child. Look at the admission criteria too, because catchment etc will be important in helping your decision.

I'd let the schools get a couple of weeks into term first! Firstly, because it's likely that the information will be circulated via primary school or go up on the LEA website by then. Secondly, because schools are busy at the start of term - and your query can wait a bit while they sort out new starters etc first.

School websites are starting to show dates for open evenings around here - usually mid-Sept going through to very early October. Look on the sites of the local schools and jot down the dates as while some will send letters to Y6 kids in the nearby primaries, not all will.

It'll all be online. No need to ring.

All the information will be online. Please don't ring the schools. Can you imagine if every parent did that (1000s and 1000s of phone calls).
I have seen advertising for open evenings already for schools.
There will be a list online of all the schools in your area so write them down and look on their websites for the dates.
Most do more than one open evenings/days. It can be good for parents to do a visit first and then another with your child. For school day open events the Primary school should give "authorised absence" for school visits. It's expected for the first few weeks of Year 6 that children will be out of class for school visits.
Your application form will be online too. If you need help filling it in ask at the primary school. They most likely will help (even providing access to a computer if you can't get online).

@PatrickGammon Every single school will already have its Admission policy on its own web site. It’s the law. It now cannot change for 2024. So look at the schools nearest to you to make a start.

My LA has a “school finder” facility on their school admission site. You put in your post code and up comes your catchment school or schools. Use this first. Then look for open days. Often the LA will list them. If not, look at the school web sites.

Before you decide which schools to visit, check your DC can actually get in! If it’s a CofE or RC school, they might prioritise that religion. The LA should have data on the admissions for every secondary school on the web site. This includes the furthest distance away a child was admitted. If it’s 3 miles and you are 6 miles away, think twice! Lancashire should also have guidance on secondary admission for you to read and a timeline for applications. Some schools could be direct application to the school so start with a shortlist and read up on the detail.

Always list your catchment school. If you prefer other schools, list them too but never leave out the obvious one. If your other preferences are full, you could get a random school you don’t want 15 miles away.

Lastly: start asking other parents. Ask DC to ask friends. Where are they thinking of going? There is always local knowledge.

Most do more than one open evenings/days. It can be good for parents to do a visit first and then another with your child. For school day open events the Primary school should give "authorised absence" for school visits. It's expected for the first few weeks of Year 6 that children will be out of class for school visits.

I think this must vary entirely by area.

None of the schools in my city have more than 1 open day and they are all evenings or Saturdays (no missing school required). How do Open Days during the school day actually work? presumably the existing children are trying to work (so can't be disturbed) and teachers are actually busy teaching so not available for questions. Is this a things for smaller schools maybe?

Yep round here you get one open evening at most schools and that's that, and then the local knobhead academy trust checks which evening its competitors scheduled and arranges theirs directly head-to-head (and it was done fucking intentionally).

Knobhead academy is not going on our list.

Thankfully we did this all last year for DD1 so have a recent idea of what the local schools are like (assuming they've not got dodgy concrete since then) and we're just looking at one other option for DD2 which has a good SEN reputation that we didn't look around previously.

Thanks for all the replies. I'll take a look on council website and take a look at the schools admission criteria. I have about 5 local schools in mind so I'm going to spend the weekend reading Ofsted reports and all the other things. Luckily we are in quite a good area for schools. Open evenings would be brilliant though as you can get a feel for the school, the teachers, the ethos etc
Thanks all, I'm gonna do some reading up at the weekend

@redskytonights apologies - I suppose it does vary depending on where you live.
I am London and pretty much all the schools do school day, evening and Saturday open events.
I suppose the point of the daytime ones are to actually see the schools "in action". You mostly got shown round by Year 8/9 children at the many schools I visited. The open events will be planned into the timetable.

You’re right, it is by the end is October.
Please don’t ring as schools will be dealing with the holiday backlog and new year 7 admissions next week - I know mine will!
Inatead, look on each school’s website or your local council may publish an online guide to admissions and a bit about each school. Ours does and it give data about admissions from previous years in terms of distance etc. and if there are any special application requirements for each school.

The schools will advertise their Open Days on their websites.

You need to look at the admissions criteria for the schools that are near you or accessible by bus or whatever. The Admissions Policy will be on their website - and the 'Oversubscription' section will tell you how they prioritise applications - usually Looked After Children, Siblings, Distance to school.

Go with your Dc to Open Days of schools that interest you, read their Ofsted reports (usually available on the school's website, but you can search via Ofsted) - and include one, usually your nearest comprehensive, that you would definitely be able to get a place in.

Then list the schools that you like in the exact order that you prefer - and include at least one school that you can definitely get a place in.

This is because if none of the schools on your list of preferences can offer you a place according to their admissions policy, the LA will allocate you any school that still has places after all the other offers have been made. And it could b a long way away or a less good school than your local one.

Hi

We are moving from Dubai to London . I need help. feeling so lost looking at process to apply and everyone telling us we are already late. we need a really good academic school for Year 9 Sept 2024 entry. DD12 is a very sensitive kid . How to apply for grammar schools? She is on Academic scholarship in her current school.

You are best off starting your own thread.

If you can pay to go private you will have more chance of finding somewhere as some private schools start in y9.
If not then you are reliant on a school having a place. Getting a place off a waiting list depends on your address usually.

When you start your own thread put relocating, london and y9 in the title to attract informed people.