Late application to primaries in West Kent/East Surrey/West and East Sussex!! In a pickle..

[CityGirlGoesCountry]

Hello lovely ladies, name changed regular here needing a bit of advice.

We have very recently planned a move to near Cowden in West Kent this spring, my DS is due to start school this September - and so all my carefully planned choices here in London are about to go out of the window.

I find myself with a list of the nearest schools within 3 miles of the new house, and they're across four different councils!

So, I've been on the phone to Surrey, West Sussex, Kent and East Sussex today to find out about the respective processes for late applications. They vary wildly from simply emailing my interest in each school to the admissions officer, to filling out the admissions form from scratch, to approaching schools direct.

I know this is good in a way, as I get lots of choice where I might otherwise have been stuffed but it's making my brain ache, so stressed ATM!! So, any opinions on the following schools, an even how they fare against each other if anyone knows would be hugely appreciated! (I've asterisked the faves/most local)

Surrey:
*Dormansland
Lingfield
Felbridge

West Sussex:
*Blackwell
Estcots
Baldwins Hill
The Meads

Kent:
Hever
*Chiddingstone Primary

East Sussex:
*St Mary The Virgin (Hartfield)

My son is going to be young for the year (August born) so aside from obviously wanting a school that get's a reasonably good Ofsted, I'm mainly interested in smaller schools with nice pastoral/spiritual care. And to be local as poss for friends etc..
If there's any you want to recommend then also gratefully received.

TIA!

Crikey girls, this advice is all golddust!

I did read that Cowden is in the catchment for Kent grammars, however in principal I think at the moment I am against forcing the issue if DS/DD wasn't bright enough for it anyway. So we'll see.

So I have my shortlist to view - only question now is; do I get the forms off so heis on the list at them all anyway, or view first to see what they are like??

I would send off forms now so that you are at least on the school's list of potential candidates. (I'm not sure how many schools you're allowed to choose on the application form, but as a late applicant it might not apply anyway). Then go see them and decide for sure.

And if you get any school on your preferred list accept the place - you can always turn it down if you get a place at a school you like more. The waiting lists move very quickly over the summer and you can check where you are on the list at any time.

Nothing to offer, but marking my place as we too are thiking of relocating to this area and have just-about-to-go-to-school children (though looking at the thread, the system here in Scotland seems much less, erm, fraught, so maybe we should stay put!).

When did getting into grammar school become so competitive and difficult? I don't remember it being like that in my day! Does everyone have to get outside coaching to get in, or only the quite bright, but maybe not bright enough children???

Isanything - Sussex has a comprehensive system - generally these are very good, for instance Uckfield Community College has an oustanding OFSTED and both Imberhorne and Sackville in East Grinstead are good.

If you do want a grammar education for your child and are looking to apply to Kent, your only option is one of the super-selectives, which choose their pupils based on score only. This year, for example, the cut off for The Judd School in Tonbridge was 415 out of 420 and for Tonbridge Girls Grammar out of area places was 407. Skinners' School in Tunbridge Wells was 410. Tunbridge Wells Boys and Girls Grammar schools only take out of county pupils (excepting siblings of existing pupils) if they are undersubscribed, which they never are!

For Sussex parents I don't think it's a case of tutoring not quite bright enough kids as these won't make a super-selective anyway, but more a case of working with an already very bright child to make sure they can peform well enough on the day to gain a place at a Kent grammar school. It's a daft system.

The reason it was mentioned, isanything, is that the OP is moving to a corner of Kent which borders on to several different counties. Kent has grammar schools, Sussex does not. If she is keen on grammar schools it would be a good idea to pick a primary school at the Kent end of her area.

So they get a go at the kind of papers they'll face without going in cold..? I do think if a child is bright, they should get a fair crack at the 11+ system with a bit of coaching, but if they're not, I feel sorry for those children who are put through hours of stressful tutoring, especially as they'll probably need to keep up throughout grammar school anyway.

This is why I'm not sure I want to aim for something so far away when he's only 3 - it's a long time aiming at something that may not come off. Would like to find out what kind of children I have first I think.

So excited about the move now that I feel I have a handle on things!

oops x-post "So they get a go at the kind of papers they'll face without going in cold..?" was a qualifying question to Peas

"So they get a go at the kind of papers they'll face without going in cold..?"

Yes - I don't believe in over tutoring as it is counterproductive in the long run, but you do need to give the poor souls some idea of what they're facing.

Kent state schools are allowed to do one practice paper of each type but that is the extent of their preparation, so it's not much.

Really? That's good, I suppose it would be a bit remiss of them not to given the number of grammar's in the area...

Can you be miles out of area and still get into a Kent grammar if you score highly enough in the test?? eg Do children from East Grinstead ever get into Kent grammar schools?????

Presumably, it would actually be easier to get one of the scholarships to somewhere like Lingfield Notre Dame? (Not to mention easier to get to).

ps sorry for hijack - asking as a matter of interest for my ds! Hoping he'll fit into Sackville, as it's opposite his primary school, but he is extremely academic and not very practical, and I'm not 100% certain Sackville is set up to make the most of this combination.

Yes it is possible so long as you score above the cut-off mark, which changes from year to year - basically they take the highest scoring childen up to their maximum intake number (around 110-120 pupils depending on the school) regardless of where they live. So you could live in East Grinstead and score in the top 120 applicants for your chosen school and gain a place at Judd or Skinners'.

Tonbridge Girls Grammar is slightly different as they have a higher cut-off mark for out of county candidates.

I understand that children from London boroughs and some from as far South as Hastings have places at these schools.

God, I sound like the biggest 11 plus bore ever - it's just I have been through the process this year so it's all very fresh in my mind!

Isanything - Sackville was our chosen comp if we hadn't managed to get a place on the 11+ roundabout. I quite liked it, certainly above Beacon in Crowborough.

That's good to know, ShellingPeas. I certainly haven't met anyone who went to Sackville and didn't enjoy their time there.

This must be making you feel , Citygirl, but believe me, those ten years will be gone in a flash and you might as well give a bit of a thought to secondary now.

Hope we haven't scared the bejasus out of you!

Oh it is stressful! Especially as the only Kent schools (for easier path to grammar) I'm keen on are oversubscribed and too far away!
A scholarship to Notre Dame would be just the ticket!

Anyone have an opinion on St Mary's East Grinstead? Need a 3rd choice after Blackwell and Estcots!

Don't bother putting St Mary's down as a 3rd choice - it's always oversubscribed (the only C of E school in East Grinstead). I'd put down The Meads as your third choice, as if you are close enough to get to Blackwell or Estcots, then it isn't much further to drive to The Meads (same side of town). Or, if you want to put down a school the other side of town, then I'd go for Halsford Park, because that's more likely to have space than St Mary's (although is 2-form entry, if you still aren't keen on the idea of a slightly bigger school). I should imagine to apply to St Mary's you'd also have to apply direct to them, because of their CofE status (along with providing proof of your avid church-going habits, since you are out of their catchment area).

ps do make sure you visit the schools before you put the order of your choices down! How you feel about a school when you visit it I think is quite important - what suits one parent and child will not necessarily appeal to another.

Brill. Thank you again

Can I ask a slightly hijacky question? How does the CoE thing work when the only school in a village is CoE (if you're not a church-goer, I mean)? It seems as if loads of the primaries in the SE are CoE, so if you're not, and you live in a village, do you need to ship your children elsewhere, or will they let you in anyway? I'm not averse to a bit of a nativity play/hymns/Bible stories and so forth, but not a church-goer, and DP is Jewish, so just wondering, wrt a potential move south.

V different where we are in Scotland - you choose 'denominational' (ie RC) or non-denominational (so, I guess Protestant, though not a CoS school per se) in your catchment and just tootle along and sign up or put in a placing request for a different school (which gets a bit more dicy, but still sounds much simpler and less angst-ridden than down there).

Sorry for hijack...

CofE primary schools have to let children of any (or no) faith attend. If you are from outside the catchment area and want to get in, or if the school is hopelessly oversubscribed, I think your religious background and church attendance record can help or hinder at that point. You normally (at least in this area) have to apply to the school through the normal route (ie inform the Local Education Authority) and also fill out a separate form sent by the school itself. You don't need to go through this double process for non-denominational county primaries. So, if you're living in a village with a small CofE primary school, it's highly unlikely you won't get your child into it. You might find it more tricky if you live several villages away and everyone wants their child to go there.

Thanks isthereanything, that's very good to know.