Primary school places !!!

[Mrsmost]

Is anyone getting nervous for the primary school places next week? It's all I can thunk about now , the 18th simply can't get here soon enough , I would be happy if my DS got any of his 3 choices but does anyone have any idea of his chances if getting in one of them if they are all within a radius if one and a half miles from our home. My ideal choice would his first choice which is a catholic school which is 0.6 miles from home but is always oversubscribed, we attend mass every week and had all forms signed by the priest etc but don't know how much of a chance he has if getting it , any advice would be great as am worrying alot now the date is getting nearer.

Thanks for reading and sorry for rambling xxx

i saw this thead and panicked as i havent had an email! i had to trawl back through my inbox to find my email from the council and it says we will find out on the 20th, we are out of catchment but have 2 siblings at the school so 'should' be ok, if not ds4 will stay home till a place becomes available.

bessie123 South Hackney. Where are you?

Well i know that in camden where i live, there is no were near enough reception places, so even if you apply you won't always get a place, and legally they don't have to offer you a place until a month after you are five, it may be different where you live but this is what happens where we are.

hi,
Anxious wait is over, unfortunately got the wrong result! Had 4 schools nearby, got allocated a school (which wasn't on the application) about 3miles away. What's going on? Surely, that is a mistake. Any thoughts/ Similar situations? How did you guys get on, I hope more luck then me. I'm certainly going to appeal or getting on the waiting list.
:(

I am in camden too sausage but won't do this nightmare till next year. Arent there still 7 children in Camden who haven't got a school place for the September 2011 entry?

We found out our places the end of March. Waiting that long was horrible so I feel for you all waiting longer.

We luckily got our first choice of school which we are really pleased about.
Since found out that it was really oversubscribed this year and alot of the class were siblings so it would seem we are very lucky.
Another child from DD's nursery lives literally round the corner from us and didnt get in. We live 5 minutes walk from the school. 0.2miles.

Your allocated school, how far is that from your house?

There is one school near me that is notorious for parents renting across the road to get a place with DC1s then quickly moving, but taking up the majority of places from afar with subsequent siblings. Despite all the furor around it, I don't think that the LEA can actually do anything.

yes still seven without a reception place and i have already been made aware of two friends very local to the new emmanuel school who put it as first choice with no school place, and lots of people have been offered their first, second, third choices. You have a a lot to look forward to next year.

it is already on the news. Let's be sarcastic, my son has the privilege to be part of 6220 who didn't get any of their choices. Let's wait for the letter.

"Overall, the admissions board, which co-ordinates school places for London, said that 78% of pupils got their first choice of primary school, while 90% got one of their top three choices, and 94% got one of their six preferences.

Families across London have now found out which primary school their child had been allocated for this September. Across England, many families will be finding out their allocation over the next few weeks.

Of the 100,000 pupils in London applying for primary places this year, 6,220 youngsters did not get one of their choices."

Just read that of the 6220, 4700 got allocated a school not on their list. So we are one of only 1500 with no offer whatsoever. Great.

1500 with NO place??? That's outrageous! It's not real surely??? Education for all is the backbone of a decent society!

Designerbaby
we are in Wimbledon too, which school is that please?
Good luck, are you thinking Ursulines/Donhead/Wimb High? ( sorry I didn't see if you have a boy or girl).
Good luck, have a large drink.

Kitsilano - much, much sympathies for the stress you must be going through.

Richmond?!! Am horrified but in a way not surprised. So many local authorities did not plan more schools/school places when GP lists and property sales (council tax collection!) clearly indicated there have been more families moving in - our area in Surrey being one of these culprits with the same problem last year. They've just found a site to "consider" building a new school. Not actually started work yet. The population - or rather, the school age population - is still rising. Bulge classes everywhere. Some schools have 2 bulge classes for the year! Other parents digging deep into retirement funds (and grandparents' generosity if lucky enough to be in that position) to opt for private school. Many independent schools chock full for the first time ever....

To the person whose sister is in North East Essex and has twins that have been allocated different schools 20 miles apart - I live under the same LEA. Tell her to appeal to both of the allocated schools using the new Twins rule where the other twin has to be added as the 31st pupil. Also, put Twin 1's name on the waiting list for the school that Twin 2 was allocated AND Twin 2's name on the waiting list for the school that Twin 1 was allocated - if you do that, then there is a high chance that either school will end up having a place for them by September because of the Sibling rules and movement.

North East Essex is TERRIBLE for allocations over the past few years.

chouilla my granddaughter also did not get any of her six choices and - same as you - Haringey's email (or "view the outcome" on their site, not sure which) says "We have been able to allocate a place at one of the schools named on your application form."

Haringey's website says you're automatically added to the waitlist if you didn't get your first choice. And she didn't get ANY choice - but they say she did. Anyone else? Any advice?

Herts changed their admissions criteria for multiple births about 2 years ago due to some excellent lobbying by the St Albans twins club and Tamba to ensure multiples were kept together. It's the main reason we didn't move out of area.

Keen to know if anyone else has been shafted by Islington and not offered any of their six? Devastated, my 4 year old by two days is expected to get two buses across Islington.

i am really shocked at the results some of you have got :(

If your child gets allocated a distant school, will that school give priority to any siblings, given many will live out of catchment?

Again, are any address checks done to prevent fraud?

Wow - reading some of your stories puts my slight disappontment at getting second choice - nice school, but loaction not as convenient - into perpective. Particularly all of those in Richmond - am on Kingston borders. NinjaChipmunk - I know the school you mean!

my first official sleepless night (due to schools anxiety, not just DD!). not helped this morning by DS saying out of the blue 'i would like to go to the green school mummy'. have deliberately not told him of all this as the chances of 'the green school' are less than slim.

i dont suppose that the LA can give results by phone oncethey are posted out tomorrow can they? i suppose one more wont hurt but want to be put out of misery and get thinking about waiting lists options etc

cant believe so many people arent getting anything - the whole system seems ludicrous

I am trying to get a handle on what is happening in Islington, in particular N. Islington and also Highgate/Crouch End which is basically Haringey.

Anyone in those areas not got a place?

Hi Prima,

I won't name and shame the school here, unless someone who was/is happy having been allocated a place there is made anxious by it. I guess they're attempting to be 'progressive', but I think that's hard to do successfully in a large school with such large class sizes and a lack of proper facilities.

My impression probably wasn't aided by the fact that my 18 month old burned her hand quite badly on an exposed scalding-hot water pipe while we were there... All in all, it was one of the least fun mornings of my life...

I'll PM you though, if you like?

We've got places for both DDs at Ursuline Prep. It's a faith school (we're not Catholic, but practicing CofE ? we weren't prepared to play a cynical game, leave our church (where we've been for over 10 years) and attend one attached to a school we wanted. And besides, there are SO many families who do, and having been playing the game long before we even moved to the area, we probably still wouldn't have gotten a place... Ursuline seemed to have a good Christian ethos without too much emphasis of the Catholicism IYSWIM) and had a lovely atmosphere. It's small, intimate and nurturing, and it's a ten minute walk from our house.

I'm aware we're very fortunate to have to option to go private, but it is going to mean sacrifices for our family (DH works for a charity, I'm self-employed) and when you start adding and multiplying the figures up, it's gets a little nauseating... !!

Where will yours be heading?

db
xx