Is anyone else waiting to hear what primary school their child has got into?

[HobKnob]

I'm biting my nails off here!

[olivertheoctopus]

Not til 1 May here! Secretly hoping he gets into second choice as altho it would great to get 1st choice (out of catchment) I'm worried that DS2 wouldn't get into the same school in two years time and that DS1 would end up at a different secondary to his primary friends because of the catchment. But I'm trying not to think about it until it happens as 1st choice is a v nice v good school.

[TuttoRhino]

17th here so hoping the letter will arrive on the 18th. We didn't manage to do an online application.

Not sure what will happen if she doesn't get into our closest school, as we'll likely wind up with a school the complete other side of the borough. We put down all 6 choices but they all have small catchment areas.

I did break down and call our preferred school and apparently they're expecting there to be less siblings this year, which is good. 70% of places last year went to siblings.

Aargh I just want to know it is going to be ok.

[Trinny2013]

We found out today and didn't get offered any of our choices. The school offered we never even looked at as poor ofsted

[tethersend]

Oh no, Trinny... That's shit. How many choices did you have?

Are you going to turn the place down?

[tethersend]

Speaking as a teacher, a poor OFSTED report doesn't necessarily mean it's a terrible school, BTW... Although it does mean it's likely to become an academy very soon.

[Iggity]

In north London and waiting for the 17th anxiously. I have now convinced myself that we have no chance of our first choice school....lots of crazy theories in my head! We are signed up to the texting service which will tell us when the decision is online. I wanted to go out for dinner or something that evening to take our minds off it and then check it once DS is in bed and either celebrate our console ourselves with lots of wine.

[tethersend]

That's a good idea- alcohol either way. Am doing that

[BambinoBoo]

Glad I found this thread. 19th for us here in Bristol. It's going to be a long couple of weeks! I have lost sleep over this especially as I only really would be happy sending DS to 2 of our 3 preferences but the 3rd choice was the best of a bad remaining lot.

[FuckThisShit]

Finally got around to looking and it's apparently the 17th here. I'm not all that stressy about it really, she's my fourth, the schools around me are all so good that I'm not fussed which one of the 6 I put down we get.

It was so different when my others started primary school - 12-15 years ago and that has made me realise that first choice is not necessarily the be all and end all.

[notcitrus]

17th here. Panicked in March as the 17th was the day after MN started threads about lack of places, finally got login to work, no offer... And finally twigged I was a month early.

My nearest 3 schools have just expanded so hope I'll be ok and the lack of places will be elsewhere in the borough. I admit I have been hugely relieved every time I find out a nearby family are Catholic. Though I also know Catholic parents who haven't gone for Catholic schooling as they don't want 20 kids of their nationality in the class and want their child to be forced to speak English at playtime.

[TheOneWithTheHair]

Looks like I'm the only one on the 15th. Not too worried as the school has sibling priority and dd is there already.

It was the only school I put on the form so he'd better bloody get in!

[Pyrrah]

17th here...

Lozario, I think we are in the same borough - or next door ones. I believe the online system goes live after 5pm.

We won't get my first choice - am playing the waiting-list waiting game on that one - but it's also quite possible that we won't get any of our 6 choices at all.

Being an atheist in an area with a lot of strict criteria faith schools and being hemmed in by a blooming big river means that we had a 45 degree angle of potential schools as opposed to a whole 360 degrees.

We were only 30 metres inside the 2011 last distance offered of one school and the birth rate, new developments and the fact the school has now become an academy and is setting their own admission criteria. Neither the school, nor the LA could tell me what last year's furthest distance was so the bets are off the table.

If we get none of our choices then I imagine the allocated one will be the dire 'special measures' school that takes a good 20 minutes by bus to get to and is in an area that I don't care to go into.

Will begin sacrificing to gods various on the 18th...

[LexyMa]

I'm starting to fret now as well. I put three choices on the form, didn't use the fourth slot because my second choice has been undersubscribed for the past couple of years and I was therefore thinking it was the safe choice. I've now spoken to a couple of parents with children currently at my first choice, which is 700m from our house and had a last offered distance of 1100m last year. It's rated outstanding, and the tour was very slick, but now I've looked further into the wraparound childcare availability and I've been told there is half an hour homework set every night even in reception, I'm starting to feel really daunted.

My second choice is rated 'good' and is in the middle of a deprived estate (prejudice seems to be the reason it's undersubscribed), but it is as convenient as #1 for us both in terms of drop off before our commute into London. HT is a 'trouble-shooter' type brought in when it was satisfactory with failing bits, and I thought she was fantastic (I got a personal tour and it seemed from the office manager's reaction to my call that not many prospective parents visit before application - the difference between good and outstanding educational outcomes for kids at this school is probably a lot more to do with how interested and supportive the parents are(n't).

Choice 3 is in a naice middle class area en route to another commuting station but we are almost exactly on the 2012 last offered distance so it is a bit of a random shot. The big unknown is whether there is a birth rate glut (and particularly a sibling surge) that could arse up my choices. Between choice 2 and 3 by distance there are another couple of estate schools that aren't much cop, and are a pain for drop offs which would constrain our wraparound childcare options massively.

[caffeinated]

Waiting 16th for us too. We shouldn't have any problems but you just never know.

[Lozario]

Pyrrah if we both end up at dodgy nobody's-choice school, I've got your back!! >pats can of mace in handbag<

We're playing the waiting game for our first choice too. So it's weird - I am in great anticipation for next wednesday's result but also realise it probably won't give us an immediate answer!

[Pyrrah]

I'm quietly confident I'll eventually get a place at 1st choice but doubt it will be in 2013, so I will be relieved if we get choices 2 or 3 just so I know she is going somewhere decent till we score on the other.

Are you out of area for your first choice?

[FuckThisShit]

I'm fairly confident that I'll get first choice, and I will be thrilled, but I'm also very happy with the others too.

Lozario and Pyrrah, I think I'm in the borough next to you two. Are all London boroughs finding out on the 17th? And is there a specific time that we can check online?

It's funny, I'm not at all worried that I'll not get a place for DD3 at one of the 6 I put down, but I am nervous at the same time for absolutely no sensible reason.

[Lozario]

FTS the email goes out at 5pm so I'm guessing it's online at that time too. I'll be leaving the DCs in the kitchen with a pizza whilst I quietly sob in front of the computer!!

Pyrrah it really depends on how many siblings they have for our 1st choice. Last year was the tightest year they've had (90 places in total and 50 went to siblings!!!!) but I think that's because it came 3 years after a bulge class, so that's an extra class of siblings than normal. If it lessens this year then we would hopefully get in by September. We'd be unlucky not to get in by then and if it comes to it, I'll take whatever they offer and move him Mid-Year to 1st choice. We're 580 metres away. Sigh.

Does anyone know how quickly you can find out your place on the waiting lists?

[FuckThisShit]

Thanks Loz. Yes, I suspect I shall do the same, probs with a glass of wine

[XBenedict]

19th here, trying not to think about it. I've applied for an out of area school as her siblings go there but because it's a faith school sibling attendance doesn't apply unless there's a tie. Feeling moderately hopeful.

[RaisingGirls]

16th here, we can log in on the website at 2 minutes past midnight apparently. So that's when it will crash, won't it?

Getting really nervy. Would love DD1 to go to 1st choice school SO MUCH, and as the 3 others we've put down are very popular, it's just as likely if we don't get into our first choice, that we will get the one school we really didn't want her to go to.

It feels like such a lottery. Was looking for a hand-holding thread like this!

[Quenelle]

We find out on the 30th. Our first choice is in a different LA but usually under subscribed so I have spent four months wavering between confident and not.

We have a three tier system in this county so I'll be here doing this again when DS is 8...

[RaisingGirls]

We have over 30 schools within a 5 mile radius of our home address. It's a smallish rural town, so that takes into account all the villages surrounding, too. The one we've put down as first choice is 1.8miles away (as the crow flies) but is still only our 13th nearest, according to the LEA website. It takes me about 7 minutes to drive there, but in doing so I pass 4 other schools en route!

[Periwinkle007]

I assumed everyone only got 3 choices, some people seem to get 4 or 6. Are they mostly big cities? I don't think I even know what the 6 schools nearest us are called!

[choceyes]

TheOneWithTheHair - another one who finds out on the 15th, and I know we are in the same areaish

First DC here, and our first choice is 0.2miles away and outstanding rated. If DS gets in there, he will know quite a few other children as all my friends/neighbours have their DCs there.
Second choice is C0fE and also oustanding, and is 0.5miles away. DS wouldn't know anyone there, but I quite liked that school, so wouldn't be too unhappy. Also they get better SAT results than the first choice school.
Third choice is catholic and is good rated, and is literally at the end of our street, so the nearest school. Only "bad" thing is that it's catholic and DH is very against sending the DCs to a catholic school (we are aethist/buddist, and DH is a teacher at a catholic school). But I go to a playgroup there once a week with the DCs are the staff are so lovely and I know all the teachers really well. So from my POV it won't be a total disaster as I know that DS will be well looked after there.

So I'm not too nervous. Only 3 choices here though.