Stoke Newington Secondary School catchment

[tosto]

Could anyone tell me if a Lordship Park address makes a Hackney secondary school place likely? I have always assumed that it would (very naive about school admissions I think - just thought as we are about 0.5 miles as the crow flies - through the park - from Stoke Newington Secondary School we were a sure thing!), but have recently heard of Stoke Newington residents having to travel to Camden after not getting any Hackney schools.

Thanks in advance if anyone can shed some light... I did look at Hackney admissions guidance but I don't understand the CAT bands which have different cut off distances.

The admission bands depend on your child's ability level compared to other Hackney children after an ability test in y6. A and B are the highes and at the moment A has, I think, the lowest distance. This is to ensure an equal balance of abilities in the school, but means that when the streets neaerst the school have, as at present, high proportions of high achievers, the top band places will fill up from them- current distances are about .35 mile. SIblings also get in with top priority before banding is applied which takes up a lot of places.
There's a new school coming on the Benthal site which will provide extra capacity in the north of the borough which might help you out. Also, Petchey has a lottery admissions system across a big zone precisely to get a wider range of kids in, and looks great atm. Hth, if disappointing.

Thank you, that's very helpful. I think the eldest is very likely to be A/B. The youngest has ASD (diagnosed, obvious, extra support in primary but no statement.. yet...) so I think we really need to think carefully about what we do in light of the potential logistical nightmare - really hoping the youngest will go to mainstream school and would obviously like that to be the same school as our eldest. Sounds like a good thing I caught onto this now so we can have a proper think about our options. Thank you again for taking the time.

Sorry, another question if anyone can help... looking at the admissions map, there are entries from the street and surrounding area at Stoke Newington School, and also for the Skinner Academy - does anyone know much about the latter?

That sounds optimistic! Don't know anything about Skinners, sorry. Looks this year as if SN catchment has got bigger again which is good. And there is always a lot of waiting list movement, with some parents choosing private.