How secondary school select children? How does it work?

[rrbrigi]

Hi,

I think if they go to a local secondary school than it is they decide on distance (who is closer). But it is only distance? But will they consider the child SATs result or the child levels that the teacher gives at the end of Year6?

And if it is a grammar school only the entrance exam count? Or will they look the SATs result and/or the levels that the teacher gives at the end of Year6?

And what if it is an independent secondary school?
All that I would like to find out how much the SATs result and the levels that the teacher gave at the end of the years are countable or if someone will do a good entrance exam still ok even if his or hers end of year result was not good.

Also I would like to ask who can sit on an 11+ entrance exam. Anyone or only those who are the teachers recommend?

Thanks for your answers.

Depends on the secondary school, but...

Anyone (of the appropriate age) can sit the eleven plus.

I have not come across any secondary schools that use SATs results to select applicants. Occasionally the SATs results are used to decide which children go into which ability set once they have a place at the school. More often, they are used to calculate the child's target levels for the end of Y7 or the end of Y9.

The secondary school places are offered before the children even sit their Y6 SATs, anyway.

Look at the admissions requirement of the local secondary school. Different counties operate slighlty different systems.

Some schools select on religion, others use a lottery, ablity banding or the eleven plus. However most select on pure distance.

Your LEA website will have all this information. If you have a child approaching the end of Primary School, you will get a booklet telling you everything you need to know.

Each school has to publish (or make available) its admissions criteria. If these aren't available from the school website then you can write and ask for a copy.

You can also ask for the furthest distance they have offered a place to, and (with 11+) for the lowest score they have offered a place to.

The admissions arrangements should be fair and transparent.

Get yourself a copy of the admissions guidelines for your area... there are loads of possible factors. Distance is one but there's also looked after children, special needs consideration, siblings. And then there's faith schools....and free schools...

I think some areas they try to get a mixture of abilities across their schools which presumably must use SATs - never heard of them being used otherwise. Grammar schools just use 11+ scores, some have catchments so if you're not inside then you have get a really high score to get a residual place.

Independents can do what they want, I think - you need to check with any you're interested in. Apart from their own entrance exams, some will have an interview. I think they get a report from the primary headteacher - not sure. They may also consider sporting or musical ability etc.

AFAIK anyone can be entered for 11+ but I don't know how exactly.

Some schools have a specialism and they are allowed to take 10% who have an aptitude for that subject ie DCs school takes those with an aptitude for technology, so DS sat a test and gained his place there, my dd then got a place as a sibling. Other schools in out area take those with an aptitude for language. These tests are based on aptitude not ability.

Our schools have a heriarchy of needs:

1st is looked after children
2nd is children with special educational needs best suited by that school
3rd is sibling link
4th is distance as the crow flies
5th is anyone else (ie from other LEAs)

So, sending your first child, if they don't fall into categories 1 and 2, is always fraught!

I think most LEAs follow roughly these rules.

I have never heard of a local authority school choosing a child based on academic results (which as someone pointed out SATs are sat months after the offer is made), afaik it's all the LEA admissions office who are independant of the schools, though to hear one mum of a precocious child at our primary, her son was hand-picked by the headteacher

grammar schools - you have to sit the 11+, anyone can sit it (even if you are out of area if the school policy allows it)

Most Grammars are hard to get into, they all have slightly different criteria, some do it only on the 11+ results, some have a catchment area, so anyone who passes can apply and then it is by distance.

Non Grammar - it does vary, especially now there are academies, but I don't think normal secondaries are allowed to select by results.
The normal procedure is by distance. Some allow siblings to take priority over other applicants.

The applications have to be in by the end of October in Year 6

As ThreeBee says, each school publishes their criteria on their website. It has to be clearly laid out, and they have to legally follow their published criteria

Independent schools publish their entry requirements on their websites as the majority of preps don't do SATS they carry no weight.
Commonly there are three parts the schools own entrance examination, interview with head teacher and report from current head teacher.

Secondary schools will generally choose on distance unless it is a church secondary, then they will give priority to children from their own church, then children practising in other churches/other religions, then all other children based on distance.

With Grammar schools it depends on where you are and on the school, where i am in Kent you have to put DCs name down to take the Kent Test in year 5 (the tests not til year 6) and then some of the grammar schools have their own entrance exams as well, the more popular grammar schools then choose based on how much they passed by, so the higher your child scores the higher up the waiting list they go, distance will only then come into it if there are 2 children with exactly the same scores. Anyone can take the 11 plus but primary schools will sometimes recommend not putting a child in for them if the school don't think they can pass. also note that some non-selective schools will give priority to those who have chosen the school as first choice over children who have taken the 11+ but not got into grammar.

Most independant schools have their own entrance exams, usually the 13+ (which is like the 11+ but at 13) some will use the 11+ and their own entrance exam, most will also want to see the childs reports or speak to their head teacher and interview the child. as lonecatwithkitten said most preps don't do SATs so independant schools dont tend to ask about them.

Basically SATs do not actually make any real difference to the child other than to let the parents know how they are getting on, SATs are more a judgement of if the school is teaching children to a high enough level.

Our closest secondary has no distance requirement. Anyone can apply. Apart from 10% who fall within their specialism, all applicants names go into a draw and are chosen randomly. It is very over subscribed.

Our next two closest schools go on distance but also select on ability too. So all applicants who can apply to the school sit a test. They choose the same percentage from each ability level.

Usually for state schools it is:-
Looked after children (ie.Foster care/adopted) and Statemented SEN children first
then ,
Religion or participation at particular churches
Distance from home to school and/or catchment
Sibling link
which can be in any order the school/LA decide but are published in advance.
Grammars have an entrance test and admission is by score achieved on the day but they sometimes limit the number from outside the area (ie. next county). No previous results or references are relevant unless you have to appeal. Anyone can apply but you may need to do so well ahead of the deadline for general admissions (some in Kent have already closed for September 2014 entry test).
Some comprehensives do ability banding to get a cross section of pupils.
Some areas (like Brighton) operate a lottery system.

Independent/private schools you would need to register soon to take a 11+ test in Autumn/New Year. Selective criteria will vary widely but SATs/NC levels are not really used in the private system ime.

Look at your local authority's website for local information.

Some schools do "banding tests" and the same I think happens in some areas.

For this all applicants sit a test, normally an IQ type test I think. Then the results are put into 3 or 5 or whatever bands. So for 5 bands, they offer 20% of places to students who get results in the top band (based on distance to school or purely random), then 20% to those in the next band and so on. This becomes very complex when someone turns down their place, as it has to be offered to the top person on the waiting list in their band.

SATs are a test of schools not students, and most secondaries ignore them.

Sometimes private schools will talk about "expecting pupils to have two level 5s", but this is only an indication for state school parents of the attainment standard needed to pass their own entrance exam/assessment procedures.

All schools are different.

Look at the admissions criteria of the particular school/s you are interested in.

Around here:

Children in care

Children with a SEN statement

Other children with medical or social needs
(e.g. a child in a wheelchair who won't have a SEN statement because his education is going fine but who wouldn't physically be able to access all the local secondaries)

Siblings

Catchment area

Distance within catchment