Primary School Applications

[RKP1975]

Hello to all

I am new to this site and would like some information on the primary school application process.

I am applying in Camden, I live in West Hampstead. I have researched the local schools and also been told by a local headteacher and a couple of local teachers that all local schools are pretty good and a "bad" choice can't be made. My question is this if there are only two schools that my daughter has any real chance of getting into and I have no desire to apply for a faith school, what other schools should I apply for in positions 3-5 on the application?

Thoughts please.

Many thanks!

Fill the rest by closeness/ convenient bus route. If you end up not getting your first 2 choices you will be on the waiting list, but whilst you wait you will want a convenient journey.

Thanks shakemysilliesout.

A further question if you don't mind... if you can't get into your closest schools because of distance, surely logic dictates that the only schools you may get into on distance are "bad" schools. So do you suggest putting these schools in the application regardless?

Thanks again.

Thing is, even if those schools are "bad", it is better to get a "bad" school that you can reasonably get to every day than a "bad" school right at the other side of the borough.

Less popular doesn’t always mean bad. You definitely need to put the two you think she has a chance of getting into somewhere on your list. It doesn’t have to be 1 and 2.

The others on your list could be other schools you really like but are less likely to get into or schools that you could get to but are likely to be undersubscribed (a school you don’t like that’s easy to get to is probably better than one you don’ like but is miles away).

Do list the schools in order of your genuine preference though, not because you think you are more likely to get into one if you put it higher on your list.

Thank you. So if you don't get one of the schools from your application, are you offered a place in any school in the borough or the closest one?

If you don't get into any of your choices you will be offered the nearest available school that still has places. (But it could be quite a distance away).

As stated before, I understand that the schools around here are all pretty good. However, quite depressingly, our main concern is wraparound care. Currently nursery closes at 7pm, the local schools organise after school provision to 6 or 6:30. Does anyone know whether childminders would pick up from a specific school and look after for just an hour?

I would think it would be rare for just stvsn hour. Most childminders wouod pick up from a particular school but at normal finish time.

What Alexander said. I don’t know if many childminders would do pick up at that time. You’d be better off getting a childminder to pick him up from school at normal time.

Depending where you live in W Hamp you probably have a few options to apply for. Beckford, Emmanuel and Kingsgate are all in West Hampstead (infants for the latter, with juniors on another site). You have said you aren't interested in faith schools which does make things tricky in Camden! Malorees in Brent has admitted children from outside their catchment area for the last few years, if you are close to the Brent border that could be an additional option to put down. New End is also a possibility as is Belsize Abacus (though they still aren't in their permanent home, kids get bussed to Kings Cross every day) and I'm not even sure the Police Station plans have been approved yet).
I think you would need to opt for a childminder to collect directly from school to have care until 7pm.
Good luck!

Bear in mind that a bulge class being created, or recent school expansion meaning more siblings exist in a certain school, can alter local admissions areas hugely, which then has knock-on effects in surrounding schools.

Example from London - I applied to my two nearest schools and expected to get into the second, but put down the next four handiest non-Catholic schools just in case. Turned out school 2 didn't have a bulge class for the first time in 4 years, so there was a huge waiting list. We would have got into school 1 in the previous 2 years but it had just doubled intake 2 years earlier, so this was the first year of having younger siblings of 60 kids not 30 (average 2 years younger), so didn't get in there.

School 3 is next to the borough boundary and woodland on 3 sides so not many applicants from those directions, so its admissions area is mainly a figure-8 shape surrounding schools 1 and 2. So a bunch of kids walk past schools 1 and 2 to get to school 3, which fortunately is very good.