She's heading into year 6 and I'm panicking!

[Undertheumbrella]

About high school!
I think I have an idea of where I want her to go, it's the local school where most of her friends will be going. Walking distance. Not a Christian school and to be honest it's never been the best school but what's classes as the best really?!

She is happy to go to that school even though her closest friends wont be going but alot of her circle will be.

But I don't know what I'm meant to do...when do I start 'looking' at high schools? Do the council contact me when it's time to apply or do I get anything from her primary school?

I know that you can have a choice of 3 schools....do I put down 3 schools or can I just out down the one we want and leave it at that?

Im sorry for the abundance of questions and flapping but I'm about of a panicker

Thanks for any advice, help and or virtual slaps you can offer!

Watching with interest.
DC doesn't want to go to local secondary and I am not very well informed about other options.
DC is an only child, and about to go into Y6 too.

Hi I'll try to help , you usually can apply from around October time if you look online at your local authority it will tell you the open and close date for application. usually from mid September local high schools do open evening so go to those with your daughter before filling in your application form then you put them in order if preference .

You can put down just 1 school if you wish but if there is no room then the local authority pick for you where there is space .

Typically schools will hold open evenings in September/October, though COVID May still impact on that. Check the websites for any schools you might want to look at.

Don’t rely on the primary school or council contacting you - all the information will be online if you Google your council’s name and ‘secondary admissions’. Applications will close on 31st October.

The advice is that you should always use your choices. If for whatever reason you don’t get a place at your first choice, you will be allocated the nearest school with spaces after everyone else’s applications have been dealt with. You could end up with a school you don’t want miles away, when you could have had a closer one if you’d listed it as 2nd/3rd choice. You’ve nothing to lose by listing other places, but very much could lose if you don’t.

If you don’t put other options and don’t get your first they then allocate you to the least popular school. One family did this in the mistaken belief only putting one school meant more chance of getting in there. Big mistake. Instead of getting the next in line decent comp everyone else out as back up they were allocated a school in special measures the other side of town.

@Undertheumbrella also I recommend applying online when you do as you get an email to confirm your application and another with her school place when it's allocated

Are you in England? Just wondering as you mention high school and that's generally. In Scotland? Apart from the few counties that operate middle and high schools in England.

The process is different, that's why I ask.

The Secondary school application window is 1 Sept - 16 Oct of the year the year your child is in Y6. I’m pretty certain that this is across England, but probably best to check your local authority’s website if you are in England. I don’t know about other countries.

It is probably wise to fill all three options, although I appreciate that it is difficult to know much about schools without open days etc. If you don’t your local authority could allocate you a place anywhere!! Contact some schools in September, or look on their website, and see if they have any virtual open days planned.

Oh thank you all for help already! I've just had a quick look on my local council page and it's not been updated since last term but I'm sure that will change. Il put the 3 choices down, and Il go to open evenings too to see which me and my daughter prefer....thank you all for your help, I might be able to sleep a little better tonight

I'm in England yes. It's either high or secondary school here...

Secondary applications normally open Sept 1 and close end October, and there are likely to be open evenings/mornings in Sept, though of course Covid allowing...

You won't get anything specific from the council, though you may get a note or reminder in a newsletter from school. You should be able to (and encouraged to) apply online.

Always fill your choices, and in genuine order of preference, though the bottom one should ideally should be a "banker" - one you are pretty sure of getting into even if you're not so keen, as otherwise if you get none of your choices you will be allocated the nearest school with spaces which may be some distance away and not a school you would have chosen. Putting only one choice does not increase your chances of getting that school in any way.

Check your local LA website for admissions criteria, and how places were allocated this and previous years for an idea of distance to which places were allocated.

Have a look at each school's GCSE options, they will be on their website or you can ring them up. There's a glaring difference in our local schools with two basically going down the btec route and only one offering what we were looking for, full GCSEs. Also imho having a sixth form is a massive bonus because the subject teachers will be the same, and so the standard will trickle down from the top.

Logistically, buses etc and how the child will get there is an issue to look at, but for us we've gone for one further away in order to get better options in the future

You should list 3 of your choice in case there is no place for her at the first preference. Otherwise you could end up further away at a less popular one. How likely are you to get a place there, based on past years?

Like you, Umbrella local council page only has 2021 application info up.
One school DC is interested in has nothing about 2022 applications on their webpage, and we are very undecided about other options.
I think we need to really start looking!
Doesn't help that lots of friends are going for local school which has, of late, had many issues.

Schools will probably update their websites and add info about open days over the summer.

The local authority will likely send a leaflet home in schoolbags explaining the process early next term.

For most schools all you need to do is rank your 3 favourites with the local authority, then wait.

You always apply to your own local authority even if some, or all, of the schools you prefer are in a different local authority.

Some schools ask for an additional application form to be sent to them, as well as the normal application to the local authority.
This can be for things like proving baptism or church attendance for faith schools, but it can also be for registering for aptitude tests, or fair banding.

Some schools near me operate fair banding. Everyone who applies sits a test, and they use it to make sure they have a spread of abilities- by taking an equal number of low-achieving vs high achieving pupils.

Some schools will have a percentage places set aside for pupils who do well at aptitude tests for things like sport, music, art or languages.

Some schools will have linked primary schools named on their admissions policy.

Some schools are selective and require an admission test to be passed (grammar schools). I think the date for registration for those has already passed.

to be honest it's never been the best school but what's classes as the best really?!

This sounds a little blasé to me.

What is important to you in a school?

• that the children make good progress academically?
• strict or more relaxed ethos
• pushy academics or whole child focus
• level of homework
• good pastoral support (if your DD is likely to need it)
• good SEN support (ditto)
• any specific extra curriculars of interest
• any specific GCSE subjects (eg do you care about 2 MFLs, or creative subjects)
• travel time
• where friends are going

Having thought about these issues, look at the local options (that you actually have a hope of qualifying for) with them in mind. Sometimes the 'least good' school can be the best for your child, and sometimes not.

You are allowed to list your preferences. You may not get your top choice, but you definitely won't get it if you don't list it.

@idontlikealdi - high school is a massive Yorkshire thing. I’m in West Yorkshire & pretty much every secondary school in my council is a high school. We don’t have middle schools etc, they are 11-16 years like secondaries. It’s just the term used!

My OH is from down south & was bemused when we moved here by the term high school .. he thought it was very American! 😄

[quote Bobholll]@idontlikealdi - high school is a massive Yorkshire thing. I’m in West Yorkshire & pretty much every secondary school in my council is a high school. We don’t have middle schools etc, they are 11-16 years like secondaries. It’s just the term used!

My OH is from down south & was bemused when we moved here by the term high school .. he thought it was very American! 😄[/quote]
My little corner of W Yorks has first/middle/high school, but it’s very localised, not even across the whole borough (Kirklees). 21 first schools (YR-Y5), feed into 2 middle schools (Y6-Y8), feed into 1 high school (Y9-Y11) plus Sixth Form). It’s an old and unusual system, dictated by the size of the first schools (many are tiny and couldn’t accommodate a Y6 )but I really like it. “High” school and “Middle school” don’t have any standardised meaning, schools are either “deemed Primary” or “deemed secondary”.

Yes go to the open days and judge it from there. Don't worry about it until you've been there. Personally I think the decision should rest with parents rather than the child, because they don't developmentally have the judgement yet to weigh up academic results vs facilities vs ethos, so it's not fair to put that responsibility on them.