Placing request Largs Academy1

[Freckles1969]

Can you live in West Kilbride and send your child to Largs Academy? Do they accept placing requests and is there a school bus?
Thanks

I don't know about Largs, but you aren't entitled to use school transport if you are a placing request pupil. That may or may not affect your decision to apply.

Thanks, yes that makes sense.

Go on to Ayrshire’s website (are they North?) and they will tell you when placing requests should be made. Some LA’s open applications from September, others are later.

Some LA’s also publish statistics showing how many requests have been made versus how many have been successful etc

Thanks Queen I'll give that a go 👍

Iive in Ayrshire and used to work at North Ayrshire Council.

I seem to remember that in West Kilbride you had the choice of either Largs or Adrossan Academy

I live in West Kilbride and have a child who goes to Largs Academy and we are happy with the school.
It varies from year to year but generally more than half the kids from WK Primary go to Largs. You do have to make a placing request and Largs is generally oversubscribed so not everyone is successful.
As the children aren't going to the catchment school there is no school bus and parents are responsible for arranging and paying for transport. Most travel by train and then walk from the station (25 mins). The timing is ideal in the morning but there is a long wait for the train on the return journey, so more kids are collected by car, particularly if the weather is poor. Also, the rail service can be unreliable (there is a tunnel that floods fairly regularly), so you do need to have a back up plan.
Hope you find this helpful.

@ElephantOfRisk

I don't know about Largs, but you aren't entitled to use school transport if you are a placing request pupil. That may or may not affect your decision to apply.

Is this definitely the case for all council areas?

Yes I think all LAs have that as standard that placing requests don't get transport to school.

I'm pretty sure it's universal. I think sometimes they allow pupils not entitled to transport to pay to use it, but even if that's the case, I wouldn't rely on it. That facility was taken away at my boys school. Not that they were able to use it as it was in the opposite direction. While mine attended a non catchment high school due to bullying, I had to commit to driving them there everyday. Public transport required long walks, many changes and was regularly cancelled. At one point I was able to share with another local parent.

Thanks, very helpful!