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Secondary education

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

Original poster

decision on 1st March? Anyone want to sit and sweat it out with me?

417 replies

MsIngaFewmarbles · 17/02/2013 17:27

Urgh I am starting to feel queasy. I just want to know now. PFB (dd1) doesn't care which school she gets into and dh is being irritatingly pragmatic.

Is anyone else twitching nervously?

OP posts:
ChippyMinton · 03/03/2013 15:57

Smile Have you got the secondary school angst or taking an interest because of RR?

Copthallresident · 03/03/2013 16:44

I am at the other end of the secondary angst, one in 6th, one in uni but the initial angst enough to trigger an interest in improving the situation for those that follow.... and also a local interest in RR, as Sara Palin would say "of course I take an interest, I can see it from my house" Wink

PureQuintessence · 03/03/2013 17:22

Copthall, argh, I cannot express myself. The kids at ds' school are complaining about this sort of behavior, which is why they are likely to refrain from it, I meant.

Copthallresident · 03/03/2013 17:48

Pure My tongue was firmly in cheek Grin Actually it's my geraniums I am worried about, and the mothers in their 4 by 4s, if the road outside St James's at morning drop off is the shape of things to come for our surrounding roads Wink

steppemum · 03/03/2013 18:07

Hey (been lurking, ready for next year - yikes)

This thread has made it into the Sunday Times!!!

There was an article on secondary school places and writer said she just had to read the thread on about it on mumsnet

so who is she Grin Grin

Snowballed · 03/03/2013 18:36

For those of you in Richmond - I don't suppose any of you know what the cut off distance was for GreyCourt?

Copthallresident · 03/03/2013 18:57

Snowball Not yet but I am sure you will find it will be on the New Schools For Richmond thread as soon as any information is known. RISC are aiming to compile as much information as possible on how the allocations have panned out as part of their new aim to hold the Council accountable for it's forecasts. It looks as though for instance Twickenham Academy has filled up on allocations as nearby parents who didn't get their preferences were offered the more distant St RR. Are you involved in this round or thinking ahead, if the latter LBRUT will have accurate allocation maps nearer the time (this rounds allocation maps were of course not accurate since they were based on a round dictated by links).

Copthallresident · 03/03/2013 19:10

For information this is what is known about preferences cabnet.richmond.gov.uk/documents/s24966/Appendix%20A.pdf As you can see Greycourt was not oversubscribed on first preference but was popular further down the preferences which suggests it will have had a catchment this year.

Julezboo · 03/03/2013 19:34

Quint - Is it worth Appealing? We found out just before xmas we didnt get our first (and only) choice for DS and he was number 36 on the waiting list (we are out of catchment!) but we appealed and he was offered a place in Feb :) x

Julezboo · 03/03/2013 19:35

we now have 4 years to sell our crap house and move nearer to schools!

PureQuintessence · 03/03/2013 19:50

I dont think there is a point appealing for us, the school we got is a Faith school, was our third choice, and there were nearly 700 applications for our second choice, where we are nr 41 on the waiting list, and 5 miles away from....
Glad it worked out for you, Julezboo! Good luck with the move....

Original poster
MsIngaFewmarbles · 03/03/2013 19:59

Holy crap my OP was quoted Shock

I would be interested in reading the whole article but don't have a subscription. Hey ho.

OP posts:
musicsavedmylife · 03/03/2013 20:21

1st Time on mumsnet ,so please be apologies in advance.
Last year,I applied for 2 schools Graveney in Wandsworth and Dunraven in Lambeth.I did not get in, those were the only 2 choices i put down.I was then allocated St Gabes in Lambeth which i rejected and then the local authority tried to allocate me Stockwell which when i phoned the school to reject the offer had no record of dd,so i asked for it in writing.I appealed to both Dunraven and Graveney schools and won the appeal for Dunraven.I also did a very very late application (JUNE) for Chestnut Grove and she got in,as i pointed out that i was aware that all the specialist Art places had not been filled but the next day i got a letter saying i had won the Dunraven appeal.At my appeal I also stated that I was aware of the FAIR ACCESS RULE /LAW.Its complicated and risky and works better for secondary school places than primary.

inthewildernessbuild · 03/03/2013 20:28

Quintessence just replying here in case anyone can correct me, but my assumption is that unless you ask to be removed from the waiting list you are automatically on it, for any application which was HIGHER PREFERENCE in your original list for Pan London. I would check with your local admissions team and G though. It is not like a private school where you can register a special interest; I think any free spaces which come up for waiting list have to be allocated in a formal way in turn to each deanery. They advise you to accept the place you might not want, but you are STILL on a waiting list for your preferred school. The letter from your local authority should make this clear.

I am ringing up our first choice tomorrow to check we are automatically on waiting list, just in case, so I need to find this out too!

EllenJaneisstillnotmyname · 03/03/2013 20:40

That's definitely not automatic in my LA. You have to send a form back to the LA asking if you want to be reconsidered by any or all higher preference schools (which takes place after acceptances or rejections have been received by early April) and then have to apply to each school if academy or the LA if community school to go on their waiting lists after start of April. For my DS1 I happily accepted the 3rd choice school and declined to be reconsidered or go on waiting lists as the others were long shots and I wanted an end to the uncertainty.

No idea what your local policy may be, but safest not to assume anything. Smile

nicecupotea · 03/03/2013 21:08

It used to be 12 o'clock lunchtime that they sent the e-mails in Herts. They've obviously changed it to 5pm because the admissions office was deluged.
Guess it allows time for the dust to settle.

Snowballed · 03/03/2013 21:10

Thanks. I know last years for GC but Kingston sent out the cut off distances with offer letters, was just wondering if Richmond did. I'll give them a call tomorrow re waiting lists :)

Blu · 03/03/2013 21:13

In the PAN London situation, yes, you automatically go onto the waiting list for every school higher than the one you have been offered, and you stay there even after you accept the offer that has been made to you. there is soime cut off date after school starts, after which you have to notify schools that you wish to remain on the waiting list.

At this stage you can also put yourself on to the waiting lists of schools you didn't apply to on the first place.

There is always loads of movement over the next few months and even through the summer.

Yellowtip · 03/03/2013 21:30

Do all counties LEAs send e-mails? I've just got back from being away for a few days and haven't got an e-mail and can't log in to the online system (it just says my password is wrong and that it will send a reminder but I've asked for one three times and it's generated nothing). I'm pretty confused.

inthewildernessbuild · 03/03/2013 22:26

Blu and Quint I was just looking at the Hounslow Secondary brochure pdf (of which the school I mentioned is part), and it does seem to say that Faith schools manage their waiting lists in their own way. Whereas in Ealing (my borough) it says the stuff about higher pref being automatically kept on back burner. So please check Quint.

Monday is going to be a day of frantic phonecalls for most people isn't it, I pity admissions teams Hmm

Dancergirl · 03/03/2013 22:52

OP - you are famous! Your thread title is in today Sunday Times!

julishka · 03/03/2013 22:56

Musicsavedmylife, thanks for your interesting post. This sounds like the situation I am in now. Had six choices and was allocated a completely different one. I had to reject immediately. I know this school well enough to be definite...no way. Now I will have to run around and put my daughter on waiting lists and launch appeals. How can you find out if all the specialist places have been allocated. My daughter did so many tests (art ,language, LA...) poor girl. One language test where she had to work out the patterns of an alien language...so strange. She is fantastic in observational drawing and bilingual. The whole process has been exhausting and I must say I am slightly traumatised.

ChippyMinton · 03/03/2013 23:00

dancergirl are you able to cut and paste the article please?

ChippyMinton · 03/03/2013 23:24

Thanks, but because it's subsciption only I can only read the first few lines. Never mind Smile