How many parents don't really have a school "choice"?

[BedsitBob]

DS is in Y5 so thinking about 2ndary school. There is lots of discussion on MN about what to look for in a good school, making decisions between 2 schools etc.

However, the situation where we are is that actually there is no choice to be made. We are in a town with catchment areas with priority given to living in catchment and attending feeder schools.

Considering schools in our town (or reasonable striking distance outside) we have

• our catchment school (with priority to DC from primary school DS attends) which DS is 99.999999999999% likely to get into

• about 5 other perfectly fine (at cursory glance) schools, all of which he has approximate 0.000000000001% chance of getting into

• the town's undersubscribed, badly failing academy which would be a complete nightmare to get to anyway.

I can't see any point in doing other than writing our catchment school for Choice 1 and leaving the rest of the form blank. But apparently that is a huge no-no on MN! Should I really be looking at the no-chance-of-getting-into schools to pick out the one I like best?

Surely we can't be the only people who really don't have a genuine realistic choice?

2/3 of Secondary schools are now academies.

the VAST MAJORITY of children go to their catchment school because their parents cannot afford for them to do anything else.

parents who care may get heir kids into the next school along if the local one is really dire

but ONLY on Mumsnet and in Michael Gove's head does choice actually exist.

I put all except one of our catchment schools on my form and was offered the one I didn't put. Finally managed to get into another school out of catchment.

I am in London, and had a genuine choice of 3 schools - though one admits on lottery, so would have been a matter of luck. Obviously there are many poeple who have no realistic chance of any school other then the closest comp, and that may well be dicey.

However: the distances given are for the first round of offers only, not the second and third and waiting list places that spread the catchment a bit wider throughout the summer. If a faith school admits a small number on non-faith places - well, they have to go to someone. SElective stream or scholarship? Again - someone has to get them.

And if one of the long-shot schools really does suit your DS much better than your dead cert, for demonstrable reasons, and he would be disadvantaged if he had to go to the dead certs school - well then that is grounds for successful appeal and you would presumably lok stronger if you had included the sought-after school higher on your list than the allocated dead cert school on your application.

Of course it is best to be realistic - we get to express a preference, they don't call it a choice.

And it is also important to list your schools in actual order of preference - if the long-shot schools are your real favourites, list them first and your dead cert local last. If you list your long-shot favourites below your dead cert local you will be offered the dcl even if one of the long shot favourites could have given you a place.

You get to express a preference, you don't have a choice as such.

Put your preferred school down as option 1.

Next preferred as option 2.
etc.

As option 6 put down your safest bet acceptable school (usually the catchment) if you haven't already listed it higher up.

I was tempted just to put down the school DD1 ended up with, and more tempted to put down just that school for DD2. Actually I know people who just put down that school this year.

Me! Live in London and have a choice of two all boys schools for my son.

Am absolutely not going to waste my time filling in all six options on the form - it just involves a lot of correspondence and pointless testing for the pupils.

Only 3 schools on the form here and
the SCHOOL never sees the form
as prh47bridge endlessly reminds people, list number means nothing if the school os legally applying the admission code.

We only get 3 choices to put on the form here. There was a choice of Upper for DD as we didn't want our catchment school and because it had expensive new buildings, lots of parents wanted it, leaving spaces in the one we wanted.

With Middle School for DS there wasn't really a choice as we weren't in catchment for the one we wanted, so predictably didn't get in. This means there was no option other than a C of E school (our local Middle school) which is quite annoying when you are not a religious family.

Choice at 6th form bigger as we are on the border of another area which doesn't have 6th forms in the schools so has 6th form colleges. The bus to on goes from outside our house so very handy.

We live on the county border between 3 counties, and if you don't have a car, then you have no choice.

There is the catchment school (which thankfully is excellent, and a free school bus for that).

Otherwise, all the other schools are 6-8 miles away, and are in different counties. To get there, you'd be walking along busy A roads, with no paths for pedestrians. Two of the schools have no public transport at all, and the other has a bus which would drop you off at the school about an hour and a half before school starts or 40 minutes after school has started. And that's if you got in. Last year, the school was oversubscribed, and despite it being our next local school, in the opposite direction to us, is a large town which tends to fill the school. We'd be further out than those who live on the right side of the town for that school, so would be unlikely to get in anyway.

The only other alternative is to stay in county and go to the big town 12 miles away. Unfortunately, the first bus of the day does not get you to the town until 40 minutes after school starts, and even then you'd have to get to the school!

Hence, almost everyone here goes to the catchment school, and I'm likely to only put our catchment school on the form in Sept, as I don't think I could physically get DD to another school.

We live fairly rurally and although there's a bus to the nearest city, city children have priority over all those schools. Our catchment school is the only one that the council provide transport for, so we had no choice unless we were prepared to drive her and we both work, so not really practical.
Our form only has 3 spaces. We put our local school first and then filled it up with the 2 of the city schools. We knew we would get the 1st choice so it was all a bit daft really.

I live in an ex mining town. We aren't Catholic so the only real option is the local Academy. The next village along (4 miles) has an outstanding secondary, but but not many bother to opt for it from our town and it's probably over subscribed as it serves another village which has a massive new housing estate on it. Besides our local secondary is on track for outstanding on it's next inspection.
The other schools are all too far away, and all served mixed communities so all very similar IMO with no totally middle class areas.

I don't get the fuss, my sons school was Satisfactory when he started, then Good, now it's in Special Measures. They can change so quickly under the current Ofsted. And heads can go bad so very easily!

So OP I'll just be putting one school down on my DC's forms.

Well we are activating our choice by travelling to nearest outstanding, avoiding local option. Considerable annual petrol/bus cost but we think worth it. Aa do nany other oarents. Its not a catchment sch in reality and nsny kids travel far to get there. Wd like a better local choice but not prepared to compromise on dds' education. Doesnt feel much of a choice to be honest! Think only works in london and other big cities where travel options much wider/shorter.

No real choice for us.
DCs are at the feeder primary for the closest. It's outstanding, highly recommended by every patent I know with a child there.
The other one has just gone into special measures and had an awful reputation before that.
Some parents are now considering school 3 on the basis that they'll now have ££££ pumped into it, new management team etc, so in a couple of years it will be a great school

I'll go and see both, but I can't imagine not choosing the first.

"Well we are activating our choice by travelling to nearest outstanding, avoiding local option. Considerable annual petrol/bus cost but we think worth it. Aa do nany other oarents."

Think what would happen to the local option if all the committed parents who destroy the ozone layer by driving past it went there...........

Oh bugger off,Hak. You dont know our circumstances! Assume you never use a car?!

Yep- I use a car. That was only a subsidiary point. Not saying you shouldn't do whatever you want- but the "local option" is never going to get any better if the committed parents all go elsewhere.......

There is only one school our area is in the catchment for. Unless you pass 11plus or can afford private there is no choice at all

My parents were of that view, deeply committed to the greater good, which,while very admirable, can be not so good for the individual affected. And i had a piss-poor sec education as a result courtesy of local bog standard sch of low aspiration. Over my dead body will my kids go to our local equivalent. I sincerely hope it improves but its failure more due to local private options and local housing/riral transport policy than a "rival" comp.

My son has a statement (soon to move to EHC)...

I get to state ONE preference and if the evidence does not support that preference he will be given the nearest appropriate school. Rights to appeal and all that of course.

Yet there I was in a school open evening listening to some arse man moaning - 'oh it's ok for those bloody people with a statement because they get what they want'

Ha ha ha - same school showed me the door when I mentioned his full time statement.

Yep- I use a car. That was only a subsidiary point. Not saying you shouldn't do whatever you want- but the "local option" is never going to get any better if the committed parents all go elsewhere......

But why should those "committed parents" put their children at risk of a poor education which 'may' improve? I wasn't prepared to run the risk that one of the three primaries within walking distance of us 'might' improve if we sent our children there and got involved in the school.

We opted to home educate for primary. Several people said the same to us about how the school would change if parents like us got involved. Not one of those three schools has performed well in the entire time that DD would have been there.

She is now choosing to go to secondary school and we only applied for schools we (and she) would have been prepared for her to attend. I am not going to take the chance on her education by putting her in a 'might improve' school. If she hadn't got one of those schools we would have continued to home educate until a place became available at a school which was already proving itself to be capable of providing a decent education.

As others have said you should add other schools to reduce your chances of ending up at the school you want to avoid. Also, if you really like one of the schools where you think you have no chance of a place you should make it your first choice. You never know. This might be an unusual year that allows you to get a place at this school.

We live in the London suburbs. Population growth is so high (also population turnover) that it has become unrealistic to say DC should attend 'local option', because school provision does not match school need in any sensible way, whereas public transport is excellent.

The other people with choice are those able/prepared to move area to one with less of these problems, but it's hard to know what happen in future - would be a pain to have to move for primary and again for secondary, and very expensive.

OP, do follow some of the advice here, so you're covered if something unexpected happens with your first preference.

and hope that you are not in a new build house that is not IN a school catchement

I agree that there are areas where there is not much of a choice to be made. However even in OP's post she has a choice with chances the catchment school or the appalling school. Ok most will go with catchment school but that is a choice to make.

I live in one county close to border with 2 others so actually yes for my children we have a choice. We also live in an 11 plus area. That is another choice to take or not to take. With my oldest 2 we opted out of the 11+ area and they got to a 2ndary in another county ds is in a Grammar school in our county and dd3 is taking 11 plus this Sep if she doesnt pass we are looking at a 2ndary school in county as it will suit her better than others.

This current year 6 there was only 3 who got first choice, 1 who was allocated wrong but ended up staying in school he had been allocated. of the other 11 students 1 was not offered any of their choices, another had wrongly filled in form and again was not given any of own choices (had only put one on too) and the last 9 was offered choices 2-4 This was in March. By now most are in 1st or 2nd choice schools the 2 without any choices 1 is in a school not on list but one she is VERY happy with (and was given option to go to 2nd choice after but decided to stay with this school) and the other won appeal so is in first choice school. Out of the 15 it is usually a spread of 6-9 schools they go to

For us for certain yes I would say there is a choice,. It may not be the ideal choice but yes it happens other places bar MN. I do not think that this is unusual in England but then nor do I think it is unusual in areas to only have the 1 " choice" with realistic possibilities.