Secondary School Outside Area

[curli]

Hi

Sorry if this is a bit long.

I'm new on here with sons in Year 5 and 2, we live in Swindon.

I have been looking at secondary schools in readiness for next year, have visited 3 in recent weeks and here is my dilemma:

School in catchment area has appalling results, scruffy pupils as uniform is not particularly enforced, lots of suspensions and expellings and such things as having no toilet doors and CCTV and smoke alarms in there. If felt like an institution rather than a place of learning.

Schools ouside the area have far better results, more discipline and just have a better feel about the place, sorry, hard to explain but there is just no way on I want to put my child in the local school. He is also one of the youngest in the year.

When it comes to applying next year if I don't put my local school but put three others, if he doesn't get into one of the others will he just be put in the local school?

Has anyone else had this dilemma?

Thanks

Sharon

P.S. Moving MAY be an option but would be very hard financially, if not impossible hence my looking at other options.

He will get the nearest school that has spaces after all the allocations have been made. If the local school is oversubscribed he will be allocated a place somewhere else within the LA (which could be worse! ) so think carefully. This is how it works in our area.

I am also in Swindon and Ds1 attends school out of catchment but not out of Swindon.

We put three choices, not one of them was our catchment school- I would have kept him home rather than send him there!

Do you mean you are looking at schools outside of your catchment area? or outside of Swindon completely ? because Swindon does have some good secondary schools.

I'm looking at schools outside catchment but still in Swindon. Yes, I do think Swindon has some very good secondary schools, just not where I live!

I don't want to offend anyone, whose child may go to my local secondary, by putting school names on here (and am not sure I should?) but I live in Liden (east side of Swindon).

So I am guessing the school you looked at is 'D' or possibly' 'C'
As it happens my little sister goes to 'D', and It is one of the most depressing buildings to enter.
She has done well there, however, that is more down to her nature! - I would not have considered it for Ds1.

Are you opposed to a religious school because St J would be manageable from your side?
Or the other 'C' in Old Town maybe?

We are North Swindon, so I think we have a slightly better choice.

It's a nightmare isn't it, I remember the stress of waiting to hear if Ds got into our school of choice.

Hi

Yep, it was 'D'! I am not opposed to St J, but we are not particularly religious so not sure we would be able to get in there, although may be worth looking into the criteria more closely.

Have looked over towards west Swindon and Purton schools as that is the area we are looking towards moving to (but, long story, dependant on promotion etc). If we don't move will probbaly look at the Old Town and Wroughton options as they would be closest.

As understandable as it may be surely if you take a place out of catchment you will be denying a child in catchment for that school a place. Why would that be fair?

But aren't all catchment given priority though? That's how it works where I am (not Swindon). So Curli's DC would only be offered a place once all the catchment children had been given theirs.

Yes I suppose so. So their would be no harm in applying I guess.It would just not enter my head to apply out of catchment as it would feel like I would be takiung someone elses place.

I wouldn't bother applying out of catchment either if my catchment school was a good school. It's not. My eldest went there and ended up moving after a couple of unhappy/unproductive years. I would not let my next DC's go there in a million years.

I don't see it as taking a place from someone else, as anybody more 'entitled' than me (in catchment, older siblings etc.) will be offered their place first.

But some of us don't have any choice where we send our children, so saying " I would not let my child go there in a million years" becomes a pointless statement.

My dd is in catchement for a dire school, it would feel wrong to apply elsewhere, perhaps not rationally though.

Ok, I should have said "I would not choose for my DC to go there in a million years". If they don't get a place where I want them to go then they may well have to. My point was that it's not wrong to apply out of catchment because you'll only get a place once the catchment children have been catered for anyway.

We applied out of catchment, got offered the worst school in catchment (because it had spaces). Held on til the last moment, prepared to home educate and got into an out of catchment school at the last moment. I am very pleased, but she did miss all the induction days, which was a bit of a drawback when she started. You should be prepared to end up with no choices though, I think we were lucky. You might be better to put the best school in catchment somewhere on your list.

Some areas don't have catchments. Here doesn't, except a couple of schools. Mostly there is priority for the closest school, which means you will get it if you put it on your choice list, and there aren't enough people closer/of higher priority to fill the year. However you can apply to any school, and might get a place there. From my DCs primary they regularly feed 3 schools.

You aren't taking anyone else's place, if they live closer they will get a place before you (except for sibling rule).