reserve list

[Ina1977]

Hi, It's my first post so please be gentle with me! I am writing this at an unearthly hour so I apologise now for spelling/grammar blunders!!

I am not experienced/too familiar with Common Entrance but dh has been told that after 1st March you can only hold one offer so if there are going to be any places released it will be during March. Our dc has been put on the reserve list for Sevenoaks and I would love to hear from anyone with any experience who has been through this before,particularly for this school.

I thought 13+ offers went out before Christmas, so I wouldn't expect much change at this stage, unless they are awaiting for co-curricular scholarship offers.

You could be holding into a place at Sevenoaks but your is DC going for an academic scholarship somewhere else, friends had a place at a very big name super selective but their DC got an academic scholarships after Easter into a less academic school and they took it despite the fact that they lost the deposit they paid out for the super selective, they didn't seem to mind. Some schools do hold their scholarship exams as late as May for September entry. Also in Kent of course there is Cranbrook (same area as Sevenoaks in the grand scheme of the thing) a well regarded boarding state grammar school that's starts at 13+ I know nothing about the state sector or when offers are made but if they haven't offered out their off places yet I guess you could be holding onto a place at Sevenoaks but really hoping your DC is going to get a free/significantly cheaper place at Cranbrook.
Have you spoken to the admission dept at Sevenoaks? Luckily we've never been in this position but friends who have at a whole raft of school always say that generally admissions depts are pretty helpful they are human after all. They can give you a rough idea of where you are in the waiting list, and also in their experience what the chances of a place coming up is.
Good luck.

Yes, this is true. Parents have to let the ISEB know which school will be marking their child's CE papers on 28 Feb. My DS was promoted from the waiting list at his school during the first week in March.

Not in the system, but I could imagine places will also be released after state school national allocations day, when people who have secured a free grammar place give up their fall-back private place.

But teenandtween at 13+ there aren't many free grammar places available except for the likes of Cranbrook which currently have their intake then.

Oh sorry, duh. Forgot CE was 13+.

Wanders back to comprehensive land ....