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Secondary education

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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:
bizzey · 01/03/2012 20:00

Longest night EVER

frenchlady · 01/03/2012 20:31

hello can anybody out there help me as i am trying to get my son ready for the 11+entrance exam..can you recommend any material to use to prepare him in maths , english and VR. Or if you could recommend a good tutor.thank you .

LittenTree · 01/03/2012 20:35

frenchlady you need to post that separately in 'Education' or 'Secondary Education'- I may disappear on this thread!

LittenTree · 01/03/2012 20:36

IT may disappear! I may also disappear as I have been watching this for far too long- esp as we knew the good news at 7am today!

Zed4 · 01/03/2012 20:41

Hi BoobyBrown - too right I am relieved! It was a big dilemma for us , should we send them to separate schools or should we keep them together and needless to say every-one had an opinion! My gut instinct was I wanted them to go to the same school as I didn't want one to feel he was getting less than preferential treatment by going to a diffeent school - e.g. comprehensive as opposed to a grammar. Then when one passed a grammar test and the other didn't we resigned ourselves to them going to different schools. But today we found out they are both going to the same school and I think it will suit them both. I don't envy you having to go through this again. I think the process has aged me by about 10 years. I am pleased for you that you are happy with the offer you got and wishing you (and any-one else that has to go through this process again) the best of luck!

mooze14 · 01/03/2012 20:49

can you accept right away?

mooze14 · 01/03/2012 20:51

hi french lady , depends what grammar selective it is..
nvr and vr need to be learnt .. some work on atthey packs some gls assesment and bond type ones..

bajanstar · 01/03/2012 20:55

What a long 6 months.... we live in Brent and selected 6 schools - figured we would probably get our 3rd preference. Logged onto eAdmissions @ 5:30 this evening and our son offered 1st preference. Wonderful! Had a couple of texts from friends who haven't been offered ANY of their preferences - it's a stressful time for everyone. Good luck to those who will find out tomorrow :0

thegreylady · 01/03/2012 21:04

Dgd got Clement Dane's her second choice but probably the best given her first choice [Watford Girls' Grammar] is a longish bus ride away and none of her friends got an offer from there either.
Definite celebrations in order as really didnt want any of the others.

mooze14 · 01/03/2012 21:11

nobody i know yet has EG??..

CeciC · 01/03/2012 21:30

Hello everyone, congratulations to everyone that got offered one of their preferences and sorry for the ones that didn't get none.
My DD1 got her first choice Grin and so most of her friends. "thegreylady" my DD and you DGD will be in the same school as she got offered St. Clements Danes as well. We have tried to accept the place today, just in case we forget to do it, but we can't. We have to wait until tomorrow.
DD is over the moon!!!

maxabella · 01/03/2012 21:33

well done every one who are happy with their offer, for those who are not happy you could think of appealing, remember if you do appeal you must say why you want your child to go to the preferred school, e.g academic ability, sen needs, bullying etc etc, and not slander the school you were allocated.

Original poster
gazzalw · 01/03/2012 21:37

Blu, Graveney was 4th choice and DS got 3rd choice so don't think we can go on waiting list for Graveney and do we want to? Think maybe we are being precious...think we've just been a bit upended and once it's sunk in we will be very happy with the result we've got but DS is feeling a bit disappointed at the moment.....Oh to even get the choice of a grammar school, hein?

OP posts:
bizzey · 01/03/2012 21:50

gazzalaw..spoke to you before on school issues...???why did you put Graveney 4th if you really wanted it 1st ..confused!??

minesawine · 01/03/2012 21:55

Yey. First choice catholic school. Two years of going to mass and sucking up to the priest have paid off. DS is so pleased and so am I because it is a fantastic school. I was very worried and had no second choice. Boy am I glad it is over. time for a very large wine

Good luck to those still waiting to hear.

thegreylady · 01/03/2012 21:57

CeciC just wondering if your dd is at the Russell primary school[I wont ask anything else :) ]

whiskersonkittens · 01/03/2012 22:03

I think you can go on the waiting list for any school, a higher, lower preference or even one you did not put on your form. All the advice tho is to accept the offer you have to make sure you do get a place.

11+ prep - have a look at www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/11plus/index.php
it is a great help and has location forums for specific information on each LEA

whiskersonkittens · 01/03/2012 22:04

PS DD got her first choice, over the moon

CeciC · 01/03/2012 22:08

Hi thegreylady No she is not, she is at CHP. I am so glad the most of her friends got ST Clement Danes, as they have been talking about it for soooo long. Some of her friends have sibbling at ST Clement Danes so they have a place. We don't know all the class, but most of the girls in her class got St. Clement Danes. They are a very nice group of girls, and it will be very nice that they can keep up the friendships, even thought when they start secondary they will get new friends. Who nows, my DD and your DGD might become friends Smile

Original poster
gazzalw · 01/03/2012 22:08

Bizzey not sure if we did want it first....think we wanted the best of all options and not possible..... DS got 95% in WT so not sure he would have got in with it as first choice anyway.....

OP posts:
classicsgirl · 01/03/2012 22:11

Hi just to say thanks to all who have posted and kept me sane over the last few weeks! I'm very sorry not everyone has quite what they want, but from having been through this a couple of times before, 1 March is only the beginning as there really is a lot of movement in the London schools.

DS surprised (and delighted!) us all by getting our first choice grammar despite failing a previous one which meant we thought he was borderline, so i have to say 11+ does seem a lottery, even though this time it went in his favour.

Gazzalw, two years ago we were a bit where you are now - we were offered 2nd choice girls school - having missed grammar despite level 5s all round...- but DD decided Graveney (3rd choice) was real preference, which we supported as that is where DD1 is (although she didn't get a sibling place). So we put in late application for Graveney as she had done better than we expected in the test, and it was treated as a new application, so that's where she is now. One advantage of Graveney is that they are consulting on a new admissions policy which will give preference for all siblings, even those who get in on the test, so if you have younger ones coming through, that may influence things.

marriedinwhite · 01/03/2012 22:12

For all those who might be feeling upset and disappointed today, quietly reiterates post of 4th February.

Really sorry for all disappointed children out there but ......

"Funny how things work out. DD was offered her 2nd choice first, we accepted our first choice of independent and the 2nd choice state (which we did not intend to accept), we then got the first choice state school and were delighted.

We chose really carefully and thought we were making the right decision. Even though we got our first choice it was a disaster for dd and at the end of Y8 we moved her to what was initially the 2nd choice indy and overall 4th choice on the combined list. She is now absolutely thriving.

I think the moral is don't be too disappointed if it doesn't turn out as you would like it to because you don't really know what will happen in the future and we wouldn't have dreamed that in spite of all the visits, all the agonising that our original 4th choice would have ended up to be the right choice. Although I would say that if the HT of our 1st choice had told the truth at admissions, it would never have been our 1st choice."

simdani · 01/03/2012 22:16

DS was offered Graveney - last choice...is that good? Don't know...really wanted a grammar...DS passed all exams...and Graveney is so far - it will take 1 hr travelling by bus...

Original poster
gazzalw · 01/03/2012 22:25

Well it might not be a grammar school but still impressive! Go for it!

OP posts:
bizzey · 01/03/2012 22:30

Some of us true catholics go to to mass for real reasons and not to get our child in to a school...

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