7+ primary admissions in Surrey (state) - no places?

[AlexandraMary]

Is this true? I normally try to ignore playground gossip, and as I work I don't hear much of it anyway, but I've heard some horror stories about there being not enough 7+ spaces in Surrey for 2012. Has anyone else heard this? I'm told the school we had planned for our daughter will be so full of sibling places, that there are only five anticipated places for non siblings - and that it's the same across the county. It's hard enough having two children at two different schools (infant and junior) but would be awful if DD1 doesn't get a place anywhere close by.

Don't listen to rumours, class sizes expand at KS2 and there are extra classrooms already being built according to local press. However you may be best putting down at least one school which goes from 4-11 as theri applciations to places ratio at Year 3 may be smaller - but do check the SCC booklet for stats and priority criteria.

Thanks both. It's not like me to listen to rumour, but noone from my road has ever not got into this school, so it hadn't even occurred to me to worry about it. But a good friend got the 'raised eyebrow' treatment from the head of her infant school, and I've subsequently looked online to find that Surrey CC has published lots of documents showing just how few places there are.

We're in a slightly stronger position as our no1 choice is (JUST - by 0.1km) our closest school, so that puts us in admissions criteria 5 rather than 6. Our second choice is a church school 3 miles away but because DD1 goes to a church infants school we're higher priority there (even though we're non churchgoers). I don't want him to go to a crappy school really far away so our second closest school - the one we'd definitely get into - will probably be our third choice - but it's really not a good school which people go out of their way to avoid.

Thanks both. You've knocked some sense into me. I posted this in a panic late last night as I was tying myself in knots looking at PANs and google maps.

Sorry but in most instances I would disagree with LIZS belief that class sizes expand in KS2 in primary schools. As a norm, they do not unless it is part of the admission process for the school. Yes some places may be granted at appeal but definitely not at the normal admission point unless there is a definite agreed increase in the published admission number. Obviously junior schools can set any admission number they wish but they normally reflect the admission number of the infant school.
From your posts you seem to be making the obvious preference order to give you maximum possibility of getting schools that you would be happy with.

7+ is easier than 4+, because the council have known for 3 years how many places they will need. So they will have plans in place.

They may well be planning bulge classes. So always apply for schools in the order you prefer them - in case they put a bulge class in a school you didn't think you'd get into.

The problem with 4+ is they only find out during admissions how many places, in total, they'll need.

Sorry Admissions but I know for a fact that one popular school (not my side of the county) is having a bulge class added. I know its not general policy but Surrey is waking up to the fact that there just isn't enough school places for the pupils. (I've even heard councillors discussing the lack of secondary places in Cobham.)
All the OP can do is make the best of her choices, BTW do you only have 3 choices? I thought it was going up to 6?

Adding a bulge class is, of course, not the same as expanding class sizes. So both Mummytime and Admission are correct.

Thanks. Still just three options not six unfortunately. I will have a serious think about my third choice as I probably wouldn't be happy for her to go there - part of me would rather go private - but I don't know. Feels like all three options need to be really carefully chosen.

To just expand on what PRH has said. The published admission number of a school is the number of pupils that the school can take in each year group based on the facilities that are available to the class (in a primary school effectively the number of classrooms).
If the LA decide that a bulge class is necessary then they bring a mobile classroom on site in all probability to house that class, but it will not affect the admission number for any other year group in the school. The assumption is that this is a one off bulge class and it will not be repeated. However what LAs like Surrey are finding is that they are desperately short of places, that actually the extra bulge class is becoming the norm and at some point when there are 7 extra mobiles on site, the admission number should be being increased by 30 per year group.
The government has recently announced £500M of extra funding for LAs where the need is greatest, Surrey got £11,327,339 which should go some way to building new classrooms for September '12 - a new primary school classroom would typically cost £120,000 to £150,000.

It is so frustrating - such lack of forward planning. But thank you all for the advice and insider info :)

Situation in Surrey (as probably elsewhere) has been compounded by economic issues and job uncertainty forcing some parents who may have previously considered private schools to apply for and take up state places.

Although on the upside, the fewer children go private, the more representative the schools are of the demographic of the local area....