secondary education - not privates school choices

[dementedma]

Ok, so where can I find threads about secondary education that isn't an angst ridden should ds/dd go to this private school or that private school?
Ds attends local state school. Does anyone else on MN do this or is it just me?

Your DS goes to the local state school? You mean the one nearest your house? You don't your DC to school on the other side of town?

Yep, it's just you.

Most of the state school threads were pre CAF submission, and no doubt there'll be a few after National Offer Day next week. If you did only apply to the local school then you probably had all parents from your primary doing the same, and no real need to look for any info/handholding from an online forum. I guess it is different if you are the only parent from a primary school looking at different schools from the local one.

Wait until 3rd March when the offers come out, I expect lots of angst ridden threads about catchment areas and appeals for first choice places denied etc etc. Some parents going for private places are doing so as well as applying for state schools (me for one!) and would rather get into their local perhaps very oversubscribed or selective faith state secondary to avoid paying fees. Both my kids are at a state primary. Private school offers came out about a week ago hence all the private school stuff I think. There are plenty of threads about secondary school in general, especially state secondary education. Admissions is just a hot topic at the moment. Angst unfortunately isn't just the domain of the private sector, just wait and see what comes up after 3rd March....;)

Also the whole process is different. With private schools you do have more of a choice where you apply so there are more variables to deal with. If you have a realistic choice of two state secondaries and you know people who have children at both, you probably won't need to post on MN.

But you don't have real choice in the state sector.

We applied for six naice state secondaries, didn't get into any of them, and frankly had no chance either due to catchment distances.

Whereas if we applied for six private schools, you could get into all of them.

For state schools you can either (maybe) start praying while the child is still in utero, or you can move house. So there's much less room for debate.

Why apply for six schools you had no chance for?! A waste of your and the LEA's time surely? You must be in the catchment area for at least one school.

Wait a week and the threads will all be about state schools and appeals.

Hide the education topics for a few weeks if you don't want to see the glut of admissions threads - it's the pretty much the same timetable every year, with state school threads dominating at applications deadlines and offers days, and private schools in February-ish when 11+ offers (and competitive 13+) offers are made.

demented

There was a hilarious thread about Eton a while back. Go on, treat yourself!

It will all be state schools and appeals next week.

Fortunately there is only one secondary in our small town and it's good. DD1 is there, DD2 will be going there. It's 200 yards from our house. So no, it isn't just you. When we bought our house the school was borderline special measures, but it's improved out of all recognition. At the moment I'm stressing about GCSE options instead - options evening on the 24th of March - so I may be back for that.

I thought it was a legal obligation for the entire 8% of the country who privately educate to be on MN

My ds goes to the local comp up the road (and it's not even Outstanding) and my siblings' children all went to very-not-naice comps and went on to Oxford and Cambridge.

Thank goodness there are a few of us around. Does anyone else find some of the threads baffling? I wouldn't come on here and suggest suitable candidates for head teacher for any of my local schools (despite being a teacher on a school leadership team!) and I certainly don't fret over my children's chances because they 'only' study European languages that aren't dead!

I find it all baffling four and a little shall we say 'over-involved' but hey ho.

I love the 'hand written letter' thread though

I know. It's a window in a world...

Mind you, I managed to silence a group of Surrey-broker-belt-mums at Christmas by mentioning that I didn't do my children's h/work for them. Might as well have said I starved them and sent them up chimneys. I am clearly slack mum.

Makes two of us then. I am clearly terrible lord and master too.

I'm sorry - I don't understand. Do you mean you aren't supposed to send your child up the chimney...??

application form in this LEA is three schools

pretty much guaranteed catchment place
over 90% get their first choice even if its not catchment

the joy of no segregated state schools round here !

Nor down mines, apparently mimble It's the Yummy mummy mafia gone mad!

Come on Talk fess up. I bet you handwrote your application on pretty notepaper with fwuffy kittens and said the headmaster cake

sent the headmaster cake. Just saying 'cake' wouldn't do it.

busted !
I did offer to be a governor

"I say you sir, are a cake!" snigger

Signing in: my older daughter goes to a non-leafy comp which admittedly isn't the closest to us (we're in SE London) but is the one after that and has a huge catchment area because people still huff about it. I couldn't even manage angst with her application - with her sister's I can't even remember which day we hear, because it's such a given.

Oh for Pete's sake! No mines either? That's it. We're going to have to get in to Westminster as it's the best school in the world (we actually went round and it isn't...).

We don't even have a beaten-up old Volvo. Really, I should be excommunicated from MN.