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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

No primary school offers

20 replies

Barelysleeping · 16/04/2015 23:10

Hi all - just need a bit of advice please... We didn't get any of our 6 choices of primary school (we are in London in Camden) which were all the nearest to our home... I'm thinking of phoning admissions in the morning to find out where we are in the waiting lists and add 4 more schools to our choices and then phoning the 6 schools directly to make sure we are on their waiting list. The email from Camden just states to wait for the letter before doing anything but also states to phone admissions to add schools to our list in the first instance... Am I being to hasty or should I get onto admissions straight away? Most people I talk to say to get on the phone tomorrow...

OP posts:

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odyssey2001 · 17/04/2015 00:16

Get on the phone first thing tomorrow. Worst case scenario is that they refuse to take your call and tell you to wait for the letter. If so, you have lost nothing other than about five minutes of your time. Good luck.

prh47bridge · 17/04/2015 00:26

Have they offered you another school? They must come up with an offer somewhere even if it isn't one of your preferred schools.

forago · 17/04/2015 00:29

sympathies - this happened to us 6y ago with my ds1. its fucking shit. we went private in the end which meant a big lifestyle change. but I don't regret it for a minute if that's any help

Original poster

Barelysleeping · 17/04/2015 00:57

Thank you all... prh47bridge - nothing on email to say another offers come in but maybe too early or need to wait for letter... I think I'll do as Odyssey says and just get on the phone in the morning and make a nuisance of myself..

OP posts:

ReallyTired · 17/04/2015 01:33

What a hellish situation for you. I knew a couple of people who had no offer of a place at this stage. Your lea has to find you a place somewhere by September. It makes me angry that some parts of the country have free schools they don't need where as parts of London and my town a couple of years ago have insufficient places.

I hope that you get a place through continued interest.

Greeneggsandnaiceham · 17/04/2015 09:13

Oh no!

Get on the phone to Camden and Islington and go on waiting lists of any school anywhere. We live miles and miles away from New End but got offered that at one point. Could you get to Whitehall Park school on the old Ashmont site? If so put that down. Are you islington side of Camden?

I have friends with children at Carlton and they are very happy. Does that not even have places?

You have my sympathy. Be proactive now.

Greeneggsandnaiceham · 17/04/2015 09:27

Also I doubt you will get through to the schools, Camden is still on Easter Holidays.

MangoDaiquiri · 17/04/2015 18:05

Poor you. See what they say on the phone. You should be on six waiting lists so you might be high up on a few of those. The last few years they have definitely had schools with vacant places after offer day.

Not sure where you are in the borough, are all six Camden schools? Worth adding yourself to the waiting list for some Brent (who have extra places this year along the Camden border compared to last due to school expansions and a new free school) / Barnet / Islington / Westminster schools, depending on whereabouts you are?

Original poster

Barelysleeping · 19/04/2015 00:47

We are near the top of the waiting list for one school and high teens to no chance on the others. Will definitely add some Barnet schools to list as we are right on the border. Speaking to a few other parents today it seems there are quite a few people in the same situation... Fingers crossed for May now when apparently we'll hear about the next 'round' of places...

OP posts:

PenguinsandtheTantrumofDoom · 19/04/2015 07:37

If you literally have no offer at all, and nor do quite a few parents, I'd say there is a reasonable chance that negotiations are going on behind the scenes for a bulge class somewhere. That might not be one on your list, but it could be. A bulge class could easily convert 'somewhere in the teens' on the waiting list into a place, or result in a huge number of people ahead of you changing school and bumping you up a lot.

Fingers crossed for you.

MangoDaiquiri · 19/04/2015 11:05

So high up on one sounds promising. I am sure people will reject their places for private. I know of two people in north Camden who have applied to state schools (not sure which schools they have got as haven't seen them this week), but I think both will end up giving up their places for private. If they end up doing a bulge I wouldn't be surprised if Kingsgate was chosen since they plan to expand that school to 120 intake next September anyway.

GreenEggsAndNaiceHam · 19/04/2015 12:53

Yes , yes. I think Camden are probably planning a bulge class. They did something similar about 3 years ago- reception children without a school place where put in a church hall or similar, then transferred to Primrose Hill en mass for year 1. That's probably why they said wait for a letter-you will have a place- but go on waiting lists anyway.

What side of the Borough are you on? I know there was a black hole for schools around Fleet a couple of years back, but then the new Free school opened.

GreenEggsAndNaiceHam · 19/04/2015 12:55

Mango, I've been thinking about you! Was your admissions for this year, or last year? Did you end up with what you wanted- did it work out?

meditrina · 19/04/2015 13:04

Some parts of London do not have enough places. Some boroughs are putting on bulge classes every year.

But no offer at this stage isn't panic stations yet. All boroughs routinely wait for the numbers to settle down a bit before working out how many additional places they are likely to need.

The only real solution is more schools. But that's difficult in London as there are so few suitable sites.

MangoDaiquiri · 19/04/2015 17:14

(waves at greeneggs), it was last year. DD is currently in reception at what was our third preference and we have moved house and now live nearer to the allocated school where DD is doing well.

meditrina, Camden have earmarked a new site for the Kingsgate expansion in the north west of the borough, which may well be nearish the OP (not sure where OP is exactly). They are increasing PAN from 60 to 120 next September, which of course isn't much help for the OP at the moment.

JaniceJoplin · 19/04/2015 17:19

There were children in our old borough who were not offered ANYTHING until Sept. Absolutely shocking state of affairs IMO. There are 114 with nothing this time around. Last year the waiting lists hardly moved at all. We were on 4 lists and only 1 moved all summer.

Frydmaja · 27/04/2015 07:00

Hi Barelysleeping.
Just joined mums net as someone pointed out your thread.
Can you please write to me in private your details or contact me?
I am in the same situation as you and am going to speak to various people to try and open a bulge class

Dorisdolalee · 27/04/2015 17:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Dorisdolalee · 27/04/2015 17:58

Whoops I meant to start a thread!

GreenEggsAndNaiceHam · 27/04/2015 20:14

frydmaja and Barely, have Camden not told you anything about what is happening? Has a bulge class been mentioned by them? I cant believe there isn't something being planned behind the scenes, and of so, why not tell the parents?

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