Moving from Germany to Bristol and need to find a place in an oversubscribed school.

[loubielou31]

We've been offered a quarter in Stoke Park, (very near Abbey Wood) which is not ideally located for good schools. (Actually the house is very near UWE Frenchay campus and about a mile from Frenchay hospital) There are two that don't look as bad as others in the area (as much as I can tell from reading ofsteds and looking at school websites) but like all other schools in Bristol and especially the good ones suspect that they will be at capacity. DD1 will be starting school in Reception in September and as school places for Reception have already been allocated we've rather missed the boat. (Quick move, last minute address, etc. etc.)

We're currently in Germany so I can't visit the schools until we move in four weeks. Should I apply now or wait until I've at least seen the school?

Can anyone point me in the direction of the government directive that gives Army children special consideration when it comes to school places? I have been repeatedly told that schools can go over there 30 children in KS1 for an Army child but don't know where this is written.

If anyone can recommend me a school that would also be amazing.

All advice gratefully recieved.

might be worth posting in PRIMARY EDUCATION section as some very knowledgeable people in there

Contact CEAS, amazing bunch of people who have the latest information regarding HM Forces schools admissions.
Good luck!

The School Admissions Codes for England

The School Admissions Codes for England have been changed and the new codes for admissions and appeals came into force on 1st February 2012. These will affect admissions from September 2013 onwards and appeals lodged on or after 1st February 2012. There are two key changes that affect Armed Forces Personnel:
allowing infant classes to exceed the statutory limit where the 31st child is a twin or from multiple births, or of armed forces personnel;
local authorities will need to set out in their admission prospectuses, how they intend to remove disadvantage to Service children regarding all local admission arrangements.

For more information and to download a copy of the School Admissions Code 1st Feb 2012 and the School Admission Appeals Code 1st Feb 2012 click here.

www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/schooladmissions/a00195/school-admissions-codes-and-regulations

Hi the area you are talking about is where my roots are. I am now married into the forces so have been away many years so not upto date with specifics etc etc.

That said I have friends who have all bought property recentlyish to get their kids into certain schools close by in the villages of Hambrook and Winterbourne. Neither would be in your catchment and would be a car journey away. I have no idea of the OFSTED reports etc but house prices are definately dearer in these areas so say because of the schools. If you are willing to drive a 3 or 4 miles then you may wish to investigate the following schools
Hambrook Primary School
St Michaels Winterbourne
Elm Park Winterbourne
Frenchay C of E

The general consensus I get from my friends still in Bristol is that South Glos seem to have better schools than Bristol. Like I say I have no knowledge how accurate any of this info is - but it maybe an area you wish to research fruther.

Hi you should get a letter from armed forces explaining why you are applying late, so you can include it with application that way all people dealing with the application in the local authority can refer to it.
We moved back in July, applied for reception place in inner London, were allocated failing school quite far away, but accepted it as better than nothing! but told waiting list kept changing. The day before start of term got offered place in oversubscribed outstanding school ! Although we are very close to it catchment wise, which was the main criteria.

You will be allowed to make late paper application and be given special consideration, also you can keep calling to find out waiting list, I did once a week and everyone was always very helpful .

And go and visit the schools, ofsted report is not the be all and end all!

Thank you for the list, queenofcake Hambrook and Frenchay were the two I'd seen. I'll look at the other two. I had resigned myself to having to drive every day. The prospect of parking fills me with more dread though.
I hadn't thought of CEAS. I will ring them on Monday. Thanks everyone.

A friend lived on the Emmerson's green Estate (just up the road from Stoke Park (where my husband's house was when he was there) and they sent their little boy to Black Horse Primary and applied for puckle church primary and mangotsfield school.

Black Horse where her DS went (aged 7) was fine I remember her saying and bearing in mind that your dd will only be in reception for 1 or 2 years, I wouldn't worry too much.

The school near Stoke Park and Emmersons Green are extremely over subscribed but I'm sure it's recently been announced that even reception classes can now go over the 30 if it's for an army child and applying late should not be an issue.

Oh, and get onto the quarter issue as soon as yuo can as there are never very many quarters either and people end up living in hirings.

One of my best friends lives in Emmerson's Green and I'd sussed out the schools. Pucklechurch school had been really kind and said that it wouldn't have been a problem at all to apply late to there. Then we got offered a quarter in Stoke Park. (We're going to accept the quarter because it's a nice looking house and it is on a patch. The two things I really didn't want were a three storey town house because the ones we'd looked at had a bedroom on the ground floor and the others on the top floor and I wasn't happy with the children sleeping out of earshot, and I really didn't want a hiring. Anyway, they are so short of quarters that if we turn this down we go to the bottom of the pile and it could be months before we're offered anything else, I don't think we'd have been allowed to retain our German Quarter so goodness know where we'd have ended up.)
Any way being at Stoke Park means I don't know what the schools are like. It's all a bit stressful.