Specialist Schools and Catchment Areas

[TeaOneSugar]

Sorry if this is a dim question.

As I understand it Secondary schools now specialise in certain areas of the curriculum, PE, Maths and IT etc.

How does this effect admissions procedures? or does it effect them at all?

For example dd's strengths are in english, art and the more creative side of things, she certainly isn't sporty or mathmatically minded.

If she wanted to attend a local school which specialises in drama and arts, would she have a better chance of admission with good results in related subjects or does it just come down to catchments.

It's all changed since my day.

Short answer is: check with the school.

Long answer: it still comes down to catchment generally, though some academies occasionally have special arrangements to admit a small proportion (usually 10 %) based on 'aptitude' in a particular subject. Eg, in my area, there are two former private schools turned state academies. One admits 10% on linguistic aptitude, one 10% on musical aptitude (it's a cathedral choir school). But neither of them have a catchment area, entry is basically a lottery but everyone has to take an entrance test and be assigned to an ability band, and they admit a proportion from each band. So very different from normal admissions arrangements.

More normal is my local comprehensive-turned-academy, which specialises in performing arts. Admission is purely on the usual distance, sibling etc criteria, and interest in or talent for performing arts has no influence on getting a place at all.

So its pot luck then, seems a bit daft to me.

Same where I live, all secondaries seem to have a specialism, but none have admissions on that basis. Some of them are also single sex, so if you have a sporty girl it is tough as the sports school is boys only!!

If I remember rightly, there was money on offer if they became specialist, this I guess was the motivation rather than any real desire to educate in this area.

In my area it makes no difference whatsoever to admissions criteria.

What the specialism does mean is, for example:

(Drama-Arts specialist) everyone is supposed to take at least one GCSE in the arts area

(Maths-computing specialism) lots of money which the school spent for better IT facilities across the curriculum (even for things like cooking they have nice computers to look up recipes); did not mean advanced or accelerated opportunities.

Specialist schools are all winding down as there is no longer any money associated with them.
The science ones are still supported ( a bit) but the rest are pretty much gone
and academies are not generally "specialist" schools.
It was all a labour guff idea
and is being undone by tory guff ideas

Thanks for answering my question.

To use a very well worn phrase the funding for specialist schools status, which the vast majority of secondary schools had, is in the general school budget now, but it is strangely difficult to identify.
Many schools are still doing work in their specialism area but in terms of admissions it usually has no connection to admissions unless it is one of a small number of schools who admit a percentage of pupils on aptitude to music or drama or something like that.

I work in a sports and technology college and the effect is that we have marvellous new sports facilities and lots of sports clubs at lunctime, plus the tech dept is quite high-profile (more than in a lot of school) and all students have to do a tech subject (eg textiles, food tech etc).

It has no effect whatever on admissions as it is in effect the local comp (hideous phrase) so that would not IME be appropriate.

I guess if you are in London with a wide range of schools within walking distance then it might be a different story.

makes little difference round here. If- and tha'ts a big if, you do fall into an area that will be "catchment" (based on distance, we don't have formal catchment areas) then you can maybe use that to help choose.

5 yrs ago when DS was applying the local excellent comprehensive girls school (best comp in the area by miles) obtained a language specialism and there was a language aptitude test that bumped you up the criteria as they selected 10% according to this. However it wasn't in place 3yrs earlier when DD1 applied and had stopped 3yrs later when DD2 got to secondary age- bonkers!

The other posters are right in that there is no extra funding attached to the specialism now so schools won't be making a big deal of them, but there are still some useful facts attached to the historical nature of specialisms.

Schools could (though not all did) choose to admit up to 10% of intake based on aptitude (not attainment) for the specialism BUT ONLY (I'm pretty sure this is correct information) if 'arty/tech/sporty/vocational' specialisms NOT academic ones.

Example, ALL of the schools in our county have/had a 'specialism'. The performing/visual arts ones do all have the option to take 10% based on aptitude, which would include a letter from dance/drama teacher from outside of school etc etc, 'tech' specialists schools do Sat morn classes based on IT/tech for yr 5s with a test at the end, sports specialist schools would accept playing sports at county level as evidence of aptitude etc BUT maths or languages specialists cannot take anything other than 100% on usual criteria. I don't think there ever was an 'English' specialism (though I'm not sure).

In your case, you need to find out if there is a school with a specialism that would suit your dd; is it travellable to? and do they still take 10% on aptitude? Then you can look at applying for one of those places.

There is also the case, as other posters have said, that these schools can still have an ethos of that subject/specialism having a high priority/good resources/excellent teaching which could be a useful guide for choosing a school. Eg, two comps I know of across the road from one another have almost identical GCSE results but as one is a Language specialist their ebac results are much higher; they have always made dcs do a language at GCSE, unlike the other, and therefore will be already geared up to teaching what is now more or less a requirement for all schools to provide once again.