Reason for not getting place - Class Size vs School Full

[RednaxelasBaubles]

Wonder if anyone knows what the difference is? We got 3rd choice which is catchment and not great. Wondering what to do next.

On offer letter it says choice 1 refused due to "class size" but for choice 2 it says refused due to "school full". What's the difference?

Realistically it's the same thing I suspect. It would imagine the most obvious answer is "class size" relates to a school that has a PAN of 30, the legal max for infants, whilst "school full " relates to one that has classes of fewer than that but has still allocated all their spaces.

In practical terms it's the same thing.

(Though in appeal terms it might be different, if one school does not have classes of 30 in infants/ks1.)

Thanks! Choice 1 has PAN of 60, choice 2 PAN is 75.

Ah! I suspect both will end up being ICS appeals though, as a PAN of 75 will probably mean mixed classes across at least some of yrR/1/2 - most likely 3 classes of 25 in yrR and then 5 of 30 each across yr2 and 3 with one mixed.

How do you find out the reason? Our portal just says ‘no offer’ ..

@HolmeH

How do you find out the reason? Our portal just says ‘no offer’ ..

The answer will always be the same though - you didn't get a place because the school offered all its places to people higher than you on the ranked list of applicants (ranked by admission criteria). School full, class size, no offer are all ways to say the same thing!

If you want to check what criteria they assessed you under, to be sure it was correct, your letter that comes through soon should do that if the portal doesn't. If it doesn't, the LA should be able to tell you (for LA admissions schools) and the school if it is it's own admissions authority.

@HolmeH

How do you find out the reason? Our portal just says ‘no offer’ ..

Assume it depends on LA. Ours just says what you got allocated

We are really happy with second choice, it wasn’t really so much second choice in terms of school, rather we literally chose between 3 schools we loved based on distance! It’s about all we could really do to separate them out!

I’m just curious as we looked at the distance data for the last 6 years & we’d have got into our top choice, closest non catchment school every single year .. yet we’ve got into one further away & it’s not full this year apparently when usually it is. I know it’s all chance but I love a bit of data 😂

@HolmeH

We are really happy with second choice, it wasn’t really so much second choice in terms of school, rather we literally chose between 3 schools we loved based on distance! It’s about all we could really do to separate them out!

I’m just curious as we looked at the distance data for the last 6 years & we’d have got into our top choice, closest non catchment school every single year .. yet we’ve got into one further away & it’s not full this year apparently when usually it is. I know it’s all chance but I love a bit of data 😂

Sounds like first choice full but you'd be near top of wait list. You've been al

You've not got first choice as too low on ranking. But could be near top.
You got 2nd choice as it's not full but you pout it down.

Hi,
We didn't get our first choice either this year.

Does anyone know how to measure the distance in a straight line of how far we are?
The letter just said higher priority issued.

TIA

Higher priority doesn't necessarily mean distance.

Check what the priorities were for that school on your council's website. It's usually something like:

1. Looked after children
2. Child with ECHP naming school
3. local siblings

then can be any combination of factors - religious/baptised, catchment, distance, siblings etc. It may be that 1st/only children in catchment were priority 6 and they only got to priority 5.

Meant to add that we missed out on our road's catchment school by about half a house. A few years later they restricted admission to children within our council tax area (the school is closer to the border with another area), so we would have got in easily.

They measure from a specific point in the school to your front door. Again, depends on the council, so you would need to ask them.

@DreamQ

Hi, We didn't get our first choice either this year.

Does anyone know how to measure the distance in a straight line of how far we are?
The letter just said higher priority issued.

TIA

@DreamQ The LA should have a note on the admissions documents about exactly how the distance is measured, but if it's straight line, then it is normally done by a very accurate GIS system which measures from the nearest access gate of the school to you to a nodal point in your property. You won't be able to match it using Google Maps, for example; it will probably go down to the cm if needed.

Some LAs put the mapping system online so you can check the distance they have used - Surrey do, for example.

If the letter doesn't say, you can ask the LA for the distance.

So our school is priority Siblings then catchment. So children living outside of the catchment area with siblings already at the school get in first.
It's different for all schools I think.

Thank you for your responses.

I will just have to wait until the mad rush on Monday.

Hi- we got the same reasons for missing out in our first and second choice.

I think I’m
Going to phone the council tomorrow and see how I go about adding our name to waiting lists. Does anyone know if you can do this to a school that you didn’t originally apply to? Can I now ask to be allocated a different, undersubscribed school?

Our third choice isn’t terrible but logistically and being such a small school, it’s not my choice really.

@Mangomoonlight yes, you can ask the LA to put you on the waiting list for any school, not just the ones you applied to, though some LAs do limit the amount of lists you can be on. Abs yes you can ask if there are schools with free spaces, and then apply to them.