Options advice please!

[christine34]

Hi, please help if you've been through options process before!.... do you HAVE to put a 2nd choice? Also, can you put a 2nd choice down that is the same as one of your first choices in another column? e.g. may complicate things!! Lastly, in your DC's experience, do they tend to get first choices more often than not? MANY THANKS.

We had to pick new choices but we made a note to say 'please give preference to moving 1st choices to different option blocks before choosing from reserves'

My daughter got her choices and it is a small school.

By luck, one of her reserves was well over subscribed, so she stood no chance of being given that.

Thanks, Kez, that's very well worded! Glad your daughter got her choices.

Its really difficult isn't it. My daughter had known which subjects she wanted to do for some time and, when she brought the booklet home and they all fitted perfectly, I was ecstatic.

Then we read the book and realised she'd have to pick reserves! There was absolutely nothing else she wanted to do. To be fair to her, that was understandable - she was level 6 in all but one of her 1st choices and level 5 in everything else. Some choices she wasn't even allowed to pick due to being level 5 - Triple Science and Spanish.

She wanted me to go in and beg for her to not have to do subjects she felt she was poor in and would struggle to pass but I said that we couldn't do that as every child had to be equal - just make a note and see what happens.

As I mentioned, it can be lucky sometimes that the reserves turn out to be the most preferred and then they don't want your child to have their reserve and add to their numbers, making their problem worse.

I think options have been a worry forever and a day. When I was at school...errr...ummm....30 years ago, I wanted to do all three sciences and it was impossible to even bid for. I found alternatives but had a friend who wanted to study medicine and went ballistic! She still had no power over it though - she had to miss out on Chemistry and study that one at O level when she did her A levels.

Good luck on it all working out.

Interesting reading, Kez! Yes, is very difficult! I can't remember it being like this when I was at school around 27 years ago!! I think we'll just tackle it if the situation arises that he can't do his first choices.... many thanks, Kez, will hopefully work itself out in the end....

We've been td it is very rare NOT to get first choices - usually only happens when not enough choose a subject to run a class.
Medium size comp ~ 1250 pupils with 7 forms per year group.

DD very reluctant to put a reserve down as she only gets 3 options, and wants to do all 3 at A level. We will probably put a note on the firm tio that effect.

Thanks for post, circular. DS had 1st and 2nd choices for half of columns but came home today and school had said they have GOT to have 2nd choices for all columns but there are NO other subjects DS wishes to take! So Hard!