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Secondary education

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

Original poster

Anyone else waiting for offers day - March 2nd here?

523 replies

cece · 22/02/2015 11:12

We have put an out of catchment school as first choice. Second choice is our catchment school. Some years we would get into our first choice, some years we would not. So we are anxiously awaiting the email...

OP posts:
minifingers · 22/02/2015 14:06

Me!

Have only put down three very oversubscribed schools.

Really want our first choice as he's been offered a music scholarship (but no guaranteed place - so confusing!).

Really really wishing this week away.

miffyandsnoopy · 22/02/2015 14:37

Yes! I am dreading it, we have 3 schools in our town and we have put the one furthest from us, also the oversubscribed popular one first and the one nearest to us the one with a bad reputation and poor results last. My child really has his heart set on his first choice, and I keep trying to prepare him for the inevitable, and play it down. I do believe we may have grounds for appeal so plan to go down that route if the offer is as I expect. But still.... cant wait to get this process over with!

tiggytape · 22/02/2015 16:53

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
cece · 22/02/2015 16:55

I won't mind the second choice one, as DD is already there and doing really well. But the one we have put as first choice just suits DS1 much better. He is very different to DD and he is more challenging lively.

OP posts:
ragged · 22/02/2015 16:59

Dreading it because it reminds me DS is going & I'm sure secondary will be a disaster, wherever he goes.

TheFirstOfHerName · 22/02/2015 17:00

Yes, waiting to hear about two places:

DS3: feeling confident we will get first choice (sibling).

DD: feeling hopeful we will get first choice (cross-sibling) but willing to wait on continuing interest list if we don't.

tiggytape · 22/02/2015 17:01

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MirandaWest · 22/02/2015 17:02

We're waiting. Have applied to the catchment school and can't see any reason why DS won't get in but will still be good to know.

mankyscotslass · 22/02/2015 17:02

We are - we only had two choices really, so hoping for the one DD wants most, though she would be OK really with either.

The one we put first is the all girls school with a good reputation for academics and building confidence in the sciences. The other is the new build community mixed school, specialising in performing arts and sport, which is still trying to build itself up after amalgamating two failing schools - the facilities are impressive and the results are slowly improving, but the teachers admit that it's trial and error there at the moment, and I don't want DD to be a guinea pig.

I keep thinking I filled the online application out incorrectly - DH dd the last one for DS1!

Last time round with DS1 there seemed to be a lot more angst - the children and the parents- but DD's friends all seem pretty chilled about it.

Original poster
cece · 22/02/2015 17:09

I guess I am lucky that I am OK with our second choice, which is what I expect to be given. I will, however, go on the waiting list for our first choice and see what happens.

TBH I think it's unlikely we will get into 1st choice. I have a friend who lives in catchment who has been told she will probably have to go into the waiting list as it is very popular...

OP posts:
tiggytape · 22/02/2015 17:11

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ragged · 22/02/2015 17:20

You haven't met DS, Tiggy. Grin
Gosh I wish I had the luxury of just worrying whether it was a good school or not.

ChippyMinton · 22/02/2015 17:23

3rd and final sibling waiting here. She will probably get a place at her older sibs school but it's by no means guaranteed due to distance, oversubscription etc. However she has her heart set on a different school, which we put down as second choice. The plan is to accept whichever is offered and go on waiting list for the other. That way, if she gets a place off the waiting list, she will have a genuine choice to make.

18yearstooold · 22/02/2015 17:30

Sibling priority here and we are only half a mile away from the school so no concerns about dd2

A lot of her friends are out of catchment though so she's worried about being separated from her friends -I don't see that as necessarily a bad thing

Dd1 made a whole new set of friends when she went to high school even though she went with existing friends so i'm quite relaxed about it all

ChippyMinton · 22/02/2015 17:32

Ragged, once you have an offer, maybe find out what the induction process is like and who else is going from his primary?

sunnydayinmay · 22/02/2015 17:32

Part selective area here - DS1 should have a high enough score gor his 1st choice, but no guarantee. He won't get in on distance, and has his heart set on it so fingers crossed.

He has actually put them in his order of preference, which is against general thinking around here, so the most sort after school is second on his list. His first choice is most people's third choice. Hope this plays in our favour.

And, yes, it is very complicated...

tiggytape · 22/02/2015 17:50

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TheFirstOfHerName · 22/02/2015 18:00

sunnydayinmay do you live in S W Herts? Many of my friends with firstborns in Y6 are quite concerned to find out where the cut-off scores will fall after last year's jump.

sunnydayinmay · 22/02/2015 18:07

Yes, SW Herts. It is going to be interesting. We have 262, with R as first choice, then WGB and then StCD.

I know a 282, 280, 273 etc... All after the grammers.

graceM · 22/02/2015 18:12

Hi, well I'm waiting for offers day but for primary school, not secondary, but as I already have a ds at secondary I understand how it can be an anxious time. For me at present I have my daughter in year 4 at an out of catchment catholic primary, I've applied for my ds to go to the same school but despite being siblings we are classed as out of catchment so aren't priority two, we are priority four so it really is 50/50 as to whether my ds will get a place, I'm on tenterhooks, and I have to wait until April to find our argh!!!! lol.

TheFirstOfHerName · 22/02/2015 18:37

262 is a great score. Well done to your DS. Smile

We have put WG first (sibling) and R second (distance).

TheFirstOfHerName · 22/02/2015 18:41

ragged I was dreading DS2's secondary transition. He has ASD and ADHD and he found primary school very challenging (and vice versa). Secondary school has been relatively smooth sailing. He is much happier and rarely gets into difficulty.

Original poster
cece · 22/02/2015 19:50

My DS1 has ADHD as well. I'm dreading how his behaviour is going to be perceived.

OP posts:
ragged · 22/02/2015 19:54

DS doesn't have SN or medical needs, so those aren't factors in how he'll settle in.
He's a right royal PITA and adults often take a strong dislike to him.
One factor may be very different about secondary ... we don't have to deal (so much?) with parents who take a dislike & tell their offspring to dislike him. So other kids can decide for selves whether to be his friend.
If he actually makes friends, that will make a huge difference to whole rest of his experience.
But whatever... what will be will be.
I would rather dread it and have things turn out fine than the other way around, iyswim.

TheFirstOfHerName · 22/02/2015 20:03

ragged He will also have different teachers for each subject, which helps a lot. Even if some of the teachers have limited patience with him, they only have to see him two or three times a week. Also, there's a much wider pool of peers to find friends from.

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