Really worrying about primary allocation

[DumbleDork]

Please tell me I can’t be the only one who is worried about primary school allocation?

Our first choice is the school where DD attends pre-school. It’s 0.8 miles from our house but isn’t our catchment school.

Our catchment school is 1.2 miles away and we’ve put it as our 2nd choice.

Now I know in the grand scheme of things it really doesn’t matter which one she does to but I’m really worried about it. And I think DD is too as she keeps talking about the blue jumpers (which are at our first choice school).

It wasn’t ever this worrying when DS went to school as we live literally next to school. As in over the back of our garden fence but have since moved and that school is 8 miles away so had to go for the closer ones for DD

Have you checked the allocation criteria to see which category you'll be placed in? You can check for previous years the categories where applicants have been successful.

I’ve no idea how to access this? I didn’t even know you could

It should be on the local council website.

What's last years maximum distance offered for your first choice? We missed out on ours by 20m (300m catchment) but were 3rd on the waitlist and got a place over the summer. I believe 4 spaces came available in the end.

The admissions booklet our LA produced had a table in the back listing every school in the LA, how many applications they had, how many children were offered places by a cut off date, and in the case of oversubscribed schools, what category the last admitted child was in. e.g. in the last admitted child column it might say distance 0.4 miles, or late applicant.

It’s the sort of data where if you manage to find the last few years worth of admissions booklets you can get a feel for how likely a particular school is to be oversubscribed, although it’s no guarantee of anything, because things like new housing developments or an unusually high number of siblings can mean more applicants than in previous years.

newschoolnewname

I’m hoping new housing developments will factor into us getting our first choice then. As there are around 200 new homes literally opposite our catchment school.

But I cannot for the lift of me find any information on previous years school allocations

So...last year our first choice school was as follows:

Furthest from school allocation was 2.5 miles so that’s not an issue as we are only 0.8 miles away.

There were 60 places available. 52 applied for first choice:

17 sibling & catchment together
20 catchment alone
5 sibling alone
10 distance.

For 2 choice allocations for the same school there were 23 applications

0 sibling & catchment together
12 catchment alone
1 sibling alone
10 distance.

Then for 3rd choice for the same school 34 applied.

0 sibling & catchment together
15 catchment alone
0 were sibling alone
19 were distance.

So 109 in total.

Allocations results were:

Higher preference offered:
0 sibling & catchment together

20 catchment alone
0 sibling
27 distance

Places offered:
17 sibling & catchment together
27 catchment alone
6 sibling alone
10 distance

There were only 2 refusals based on distance.

So in total:
17 places were sibling & catchment together
47 were catchment alone
6 were sibling alone
39 were distance.

I can’t make sense of any of this

Then for our 2nd choice which is catchment:

Furthest from school allocation was 1.2 miles and we are 1.2 miles away.

There were 60 places available. 56 applied for first choice:

13 sibling & catchment together
32 catchment alone
8 sibling alone
1 staff
2 distance.

For 2 choice allocations for the same school there were 17 applications

0 sibling & catchment together
6 catchment alone
0 sibling alone
0 staff
11 distance.

Then for 3rd choice for the same school 22 applied.

0 sibling & catchment together
3 catchment alone
0 were sibling alone
0 staff
19 were distance.

So 95 in total.

Allocations results were:

Higher preference offered:
0 sibling & catchment together
5 catchment alone
0 sibling
0 staff
26 distance

Places offered:
13 sibling & catchment together
36 catchment alone
8 sibling alone
1 staff
2 distance

There were only 4 refusals based on distance.

So in total:
13 places were sibling & catchment together
41 were catchment alone
8 were sibling alone
1 was staff
32 were distance.

We put distance for our reasons for school choice 1 and catchment and distance for choice 2

I’ve not time to look at all that properly now, but the data I’d be focusing on is the places offered.

The 1st / 2nd / 3rd choice stuff is only really relevant if an applicant meets the criteria for more than one school.

Sounds like you'll get furthest choice. You're well within furthest distance offered. The second choice it sounds like you wouldn't get. You were on the edge of furthest distance offered last year and there are more new homes. Catchment is the area within furthest distance offered.

I meant first choice!

I’m just wanting it to be the 16th now

I'm getting anxious too, and I hardly know why, since I had great difficulty choosing between the many schools nearby. We're in the minicatchment area for the one I like, so should be fine.

But the suspense is making me question my choices and wonder whether I should have chosen the big shiny academy instead!

I'll be fine once it's settled.

I'm anxious as we have to apply for juniors and the wonderful infant school mine go to is out of catchment. In terms of numbers in the year groups and general historical trends we should be OK (plus as it's KS2 infant class sizes don't factor into it) - but I will believe it when the notification comes through on the day. Nothing I can do until then.