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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Offers Day 1st March 2012

776 replies

gazzalw · 06/01/2012 18:44

Anyone else feeling like we do about the impending Offers Day?

Not at all a foregone conclusion that DS will get into any of first five choices (all selective, two 11+ passes, one 11+ result due this coming week) so rather up in the air.... Sixth choice is okayish but DS has talked it down to the point that he is now desperately hoping it's not his one and only choice! Otherwise DS is being quite mature about considering that he could end up at any of the schools and is already thinking about which friends from primary school he is likely to stay in touch with etc.....

It all feels a bit as if life is on hold till 1st March.....

OP posts:
mooze14 · 29/02/2012 16:31

i see so they will just emailing it then ( no point sitting by refreshing page like a mad women all night ) i shall close down the site then and revert back to clock watching lol

kravings · 29/02/2012 16:33

Stressed6 - I received an email from Tiffin as well (2 days ago), but no mention of a waiting list. It was a generalised email saying that the results will be posted, 2nd class post, on 1st March and if we haven't received them by next Tuesday then we should contact the school.

Are they sending different emails to parents - does this signify different results?

aaarrrgh - can't take it no more - going through different emotions from worry to anxiety to depression to anger!

Popoozle · 29/02/2012 16:36

Even though DS2's first choice school is our catchment area school and he is more likely than not to be offered a place there, I am still feeling very twitchy today waiting for the offer!

DS1 goes to DS2's second choice school (we have moved since DS1 started there), so it wouldn't be a complete disaster if he was offered that one BUT he has his heart set on going to one place, where the vast majority of his friends should be going.

Both schools are good results wise so really shouldn't be as stressed as I am!

We are only allowed three choices here, I'm a bit Shock that in some places you apply for six schools & may not even get one of those. Sounds a nightmare Sad.

mooze14 · 29/02/2012 16:37

i reckon they just lottery do it so not to clogg up to many systems phone lones etc ??? can imagine that its going to be busy... i just linked my emails to my phone and double checked appeal procedures ( pretyped the letters via a template ) ready to go if the outcome is worse case .. what borough is everyone in , im ready some scary stuff of no school places being given and none on the list ???? is this really right?

mooze14 · 29/02/2012 16:39

i had to apply for 6 schools.. which clearly stated ...

AS A PARENT YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE YOUR CHILDS SCHOOL ONLY TO INDICATE A PREFERENCE!!!!

as soon as i read that in the booklet i gave up !!

busymummy23 · 29/02/2012 16:40

I understood it to be that a text/email would arrive advising you that you can now log on to eadmissions to view the offer. I'm not sure that eadmissions would actually put the allocation on an email??? This time tomorrow ladies & gents....................................

Mutt · 29/02/2012 16:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mooze14 · 29/02/2012 16:46

ah i see busy mummy...
on the pan web site for me to read it said notification of your outcome will be sent via email, the email will inform you of the next steps .. ...
so i guess they will stagger out the emails therefore prevent ( or hope) that the site isnt over run?

Popoozle · 29/02/2012 16:46

Good god mooze14, they may aswell just do away with the applications altogether then & draw straws to see who goes where!

Good luck to everyone for tomorrow Smile.

mooze14 · 29/02/2012 16:49

i know POPOOZLE i was shocked at the very statement but there it was in black and white front page of the enfield admission guide .. maybe it is a bit of luck of the draw???

im very very worried

Popoozle · 29/02/2012 16:49

I'm not in London so it may be different but, yes busymummy23, when DS1 was allocated his school place in did actually say which school in the e-mail.

mooze14 · 29/02/2012 16:51

im guessing that you except the place or not via the eadmissions site? or do we recieve written conformationa s well?

Popoozle · 29/02/2012 16:56

With DS1 we received written confirmation aswell. We didn't have to accept the place as such, it was "this is your school". If we hadn't wanted the one we'd been given then it would have been up to an appeal rather than saying no to the place IYSWIM?

Your system sounds so much more complex though, so it could be different.

teacherwith2kids · 29/02/2012 16:59

"Good god mooze14, they may aswell just do away with the applications altogether then & draw straws to see who goes where!"

Well, no, the statement about expressing a preference is true. You cannot say 'I choose X school for my child' and expect to get that place if you do not fulfil any of the entrance requirements. (That may sound obvious, but believe me, some parents do think that the school applications process means that they can put down a school miles away and that they should be given a place 'because I chose it for my child').

The process is that you express a preference for the school you would prefer your child to go to IF you fulfil the entrance requirements / oversubscription criteria. So, say, you have 3 schools that you might be given a place in - the application process allows you to state which of those you would prefer your child to go to IF a place is available for them.

One of the great myths of school applications is this myth of 'choice' - there may only be 1 school your child could possibly get into (especially if you live in a rural area), and there will be many, many schools that you could theoretically 'choose' to put on your form where you cannot get a place. It is accurate to say that the purpose of the application process is to allow you to express a preference IF you should be in the lucky position of having more than one school where a place could be offered.

minesawine · 29/02/2012 17:03

Ealing has said that the website will be available from 5pm tomorrow and has apologised in advance for the fact it will probably crash due to the number of crazed parents trying to log on.

CustardCake · 29/02/2012 17:06

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mooze14 · 29/02/2012 17:07

i know one lady at our school that actually didnt put any realistic choice at all!!!!

so what would this mean..

i feel like its a bit of a game .. i did 6 schools .. all catchemnt as checked and listed them in criteras of

  • how easy to get to for my child i wasnt to worried at the school rating as such as im still a firm believer of learning begins at home ( morals behaviour etc).. for me it was more the journey of being safe there and back if they were to have after school activities etc.

so for the lady who put absolutey insane choices that werent in the borough or catchment would she be ( lucky ) and get the realy top schools??

we had to do 6 schools

busymummy23 · 29/02/2012 17:09

thanks Popoozle. I must have understood it incorrectly. Quite confusing though - log on/email/text! I just didn't expect the email to contain the allocation..I read it that it would just be a prompt to log on. I guess email would prevent a system crash but much more work from an admin/IT perspective?

I feel myself getting far too intense and looking far too deeply into this....I'm beginning to worry myself (and bore myself)! Going to pour myself a glass of wine................

CustardCake · 29/02/2012 17:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Popoozle · 29/02/2012 17:20

teacherwith2kids - I hadn't considered that some people might apply for schools where their child does not fulfil the entry requirements or that is very far away and expect to get a place. We have three comps to choose from here, although all of the secondary schools for the County are in the application booklet. It wouldn't occur to me to apply for a school at the other end of the county because I know we wouldn't get in, therefore we applied for the local schools we wanted. I naively thought everyone did that.

mooze14 · 29/02/2012 17:21

thankyou custard cake thats what i wanted to know
feels like some parenst try to ( cheat) the system .. yes some of the schools well most have metal detectors at the door but surely this means that the realise its a promblem??
i really feel for the teachers to be honest sometimes they dont get enough credit

Cat2405 · 29/02/2012 17:27

Are we all planning to also be on here as we wait for the emails? Could do with the support, if I am being totally frank about it!

Blu · 29/02/2012 17:27

I have listened as playground gossip has buzzed around the fact that so-and-so has been offered NO school, or only a poor-performing school miles away, and this is proof of how the whole system is failing and the local authority is terrible and what an awful position they have been left in....and then you find out that despite there being a very good comp on the doorstep they have listed every selective and faith school (as non church goers) and a top performing over-subscribed comp 7 miles away (In London) and neither of the perfectly OK local comps.

Blu · 29/02/2012 17:28

Cat2405 - gazza will be handing round crisps, olives, alcohol and oxygen masks. He is hosting a thread party.

Avantia · 29/02/2012 17:29

We were given 6 preferences but only put two down - as in catchment for one and just outside the other .

We were not going down selective route so only had a 'choice' of two.