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Original poster

Anyone else got butterflies waiting for primary school allocation??

52 replies

laurasmiles · 17/03/2009 18:11

Hi there, I live in Essex and news of our Primary school allocation for our first child, comes through on 1st April.
Everytime I think of it my stomach churns! I had no idea I would be so anxious to hear and nervous of the result. All the schools in our area are either very good or perfectly acceptable, but I think it's the process of picking three - it makes you feel anything less just won't do.
I'm not a great school fan and aginsied over the decision process ('cos I'm lousy at decision making on this kind of thing )
I'm just looking for a few others out there who can relate and are chewing their fingernails!!
Or are you all just cool as cucumbers - very if you are. tell me what your secret is!!

OP posts:
Original poster
laurasmiles · 21/03/2009 10:09

PheasantPlucker - I know I'll be exactly the same! I just wish it was over. Very pleased for you though - it's nice to hear so many good news stories.

SenseofTouch - when will you hear?

OP posts:
PheasantPlucker · 21/03/2009 11:52

Fingers crossed for you........

MANATEEequineOHARA · 22/03/2009 12:56

ARGH I don't KNOW when I will hear!!! (I am SENSESofTOUCH btw, I changed my name!).

I have just been having a search about online to try and discover when I will hear, but I cannot find anything!!! And the link saved in my emails to the site where I applied is no longer active now that admissions have closed!

PheasantPlucker · 23/03/2009 12:53

Dd1 had a hospital appt this morning, so I dropped her at school late, as morning Nursery mums were getting their dcs. I took my dd to the school office (year 2) and one of the nursery mums came to speak to the Office Receptionist.

She said she was worred as she hadn't got into the school but hadn't applied to any other schools There was an option to apply for 3 schools on the form, I am so surprised she didn't put anything else down. (I hope she gets her dc in somewhere near)

pinkkoala · 23/03/2009 12:58

we are in northants and will find out on the 1st april, my neighbour has had results of the secondary school places but she didn't get any of her 3 choices, basically there are too many people applying for good schools and not enough places.

we don't hold out much hope for 1st choice as out of catchment area and we come 6th on criteria list.

thinking of teaching reception yr at home, until we can move.

cilitbang · 23/03/2009 14:24

Its such an awful wait. We're in Kent, 1st choice is one we are totally set on, its ofsted outstanding, oversubscribed, we live just inside the old catchment area. School is in a fairly rural village location in the middle of two towns, not much else by way of built up area between them. We are on the outskirts of one of the towns and makes us just in the catchment area and apparently many have applied from further out than us. We are just under 2 miles away. Intake = 45, this year there has been 17 places given to siblings, which is lower than normal. I'm quite hopeful but still so, so nervous. This website is quite good, if you are after an indication just type in your postcode and the redder the school dot the better your chances of getting in to the school, based on previous admissions from your postcode and further. I've got a red dot but I'm not counting on anything until I get that email on 31st March at 4.00pm!!

Nabster · 23/03/2009 14:25

We are in Kent too but don't expect to know by email. I have 2 children there already and the Head has told me my DC will get a place.

cilitbang · 23/03/2009 14:42

heres another useful website to create a radius around a postcode. So put in the postcode of your chosen school and create a 2 mile radius and there is your 'catchment area' on the map, you can zoom in to see the individual streets. I know these 'catchment areas' don't exist anymore but still a useful tool to indicate which applicants will likely be more successful than others when based only on the distance criteria.

Original poster
laurasmiles · 23/03/2009 16:03

cilitbang - thanks for these website links - love it! Although I've spent a morning torturing myself imagining various scenarios. Our schools are 1st choice: 0.5km; 2nd choice: miles away ; 3rd choice: 0.6km. Although our catchment school - which we didn't put down,is only 0.2km.

I've no idea how close to the wire it will come though!

PheasantPlucker - I know it seems daft not using your three choices but what do you do if you seriously don't want them anywhere else? The whole thing's odd really, as the choice is largely out of your hands unless all your schools are undersubscribed.

What I can't work out is that ALL our schools are oversubscribed - so does everyone get something or not??

OP posts:
Nabster · 23/03/2009 16:08

Our school wasn't listed

Original poster
laurasmiles · 23/03/2009 16:44

Is it new? I think this website is a bit out of dat but if you know the postcode for your school you can still play around with the radius maps on the other if it helps.

OP posts:
cilitbang · 23/03/2009 16:56

Its pretty upto date, it is based on admissions the year before last. Not sure why your school isn't showing nabster they can't have been enough people from your postcode and further admitted to the school to make a 'dot' - but then again, you don't really need this because you are lucky in that you already know that your DC is going to be admitted anyway ie the headteacher has told you. Laurasmiles, your first choice is really close, I'm sure you'll be fine - good luck.

MANATEEequineOHARA · 24/03/2009 08:05

Ooh I like that site with the red dots!!! It showed that my preferred secondary school is red, even though that is some distance away (and not anything to think too much about for a few yesrs!)

However, my first and second choice schools primary schools for my daughter both come up blue!!! ARGH! (breathe and remember the sibling rule!)

mandypants · 30/03/2009 20:33

can any one help me i sooooooooooo mad my daughter is 4 and we have been refused and placed on a waiting list for the primery schools but no one as told me what to do now as i dont want her going to any schools near wher i live as they havnt got very good ofsted reports please help as i just dont know what to do

seashellsandpebbles · 01/04/2009 10:06

Hi Mandy I would ring up the schools directly - or better stll, go and see them and ask them where you are on the list and what the likelihood is of you getting a place. All is not lost because there is often a lot of movement at this stage. Then ring up the council and find out when you will hear if you've been allocated a place at a local school - this is not guaranteed.

Then Google 'primary school admissions appeals' and see if there is any possibility of an appeal - this is very difficult though because schools are so restricted on numbers that they can admit.

I think you can also remain on a waiting list of apply for transfer next year. You basically have to live in hope! Good luck and I really hope things work out.

Original poster
laurasmiles · 01/04/2009 10:13

Woohooo! Sorry to relish in it for a moment but I'm so relieved!! Ds got in to our first choice school. Obvioulsy no idea yet how close we came but it's such a weight off my mind. The sun is shining and I know where we are heading. It's a good day!

Wishing all those who find out today the very very best of luck. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed for you all.

OP posts:
HenriettaJones · 01/04/2009 15:05

Hi, sorry to hijack this thread, but I'm hoping I might find some sympathetic posters on this thread who would be willing to sign our petition for a new school in St Albans, Herts (even if you don't live here!) Please follow this link:

www.gopetition.co.uk/online/26564.html

Our area is so problematic that we had to apply by October and got our results in January (to give them enough time to get through all the subsequent appeals!) All the schools are oversubscribed, there is St Albans City and St Albans District, which includes several villages on the outskirts of St Albans. The County Council seem to think it is acceptable to send kids from the centre of town right the way across to schools on the outskirts.

We desperately need a new school in the centre of town, please support us!

Good luck to all of you with your "choices"(!)

There is a great website schoolguru.com which can tell you your chances of getting in to any given school in Hertfordshire, not sure if she does it for other counties.

With regards to the person who mentioned the radius from a postcode site, I also find that very useful! Although to give you all an example of how bad it is here, I have to plot catchment areas of about 340 metres rather than 2 miles to see where I'd get in to!

mehB · 07/04/2009 10:00

Hi, I live in Essex too. We have just moved but after lots of worrying managed to exchange just in time to meet all deadlines so our school application wasn't late. We applied for the 2 village schools, 1st choice our "priority admissions or old catchment" school and 2nd the other local one. Our catchment school is one of the most over subscribed in the area and as a result we haven't received either choice and have been offered one in another village. We moved to a village to be part of the community and now face travelling out every day. I have another child not yet at school so potentially would have children at different school. Very disappointed and worried. Got to see where we are on waiting list tomorrow and appeal. As school is so good I think people use other addresses to secure places.
Lots of people I have spoken to are disappointed this year but most have received catchment school - sadly not us!

mandypants · 07/04/2009 11:16

thank you very much seashellsandpebbles for your help

furrycat · 07/04/2009 16:22

Is anyone else still waiting? Or is it just us having-to-be-patient souls in Brighton?

norfolklass · 08/04/2009 18:35

Hiya

Nope we're in Norfolk (as if you couldn't guess lol!!) and ours don't come out here until the 22nd April (or 21st if you did it online!) so I completely feel your frustration!! I just want to know now!

MANATEEequineOHARA · 08/04/2009 18:46

I am in Devon and don't know yet either, and I was silly enough not to even check when we find out (nor can I find out by googling or anything). Argh.

RustyBunny · 08/04/2009 18:52

17th April for primary in Devon.

I googled 'devon primary school admission dates' & that was the first result - what did you google?

MANATEEequineOHARA · 08/04/2009 19:19

I googled the town. That was a bit silly of me! Thanks

GossipMonger · 08/04/2009 19:22

24th April for Bracknell!

On the basis we are catchment, ds1 is there and I work at the school, I am hoping ds2 gets a place!!