GCSE options...what if first choice of subject is full?

[NoonarAgain]

dd is moving into year 9 at the local comp. The vast majority of her year group are either at the school already or at a different feeder school. dd is not part of the usual intake so has missed out on all the transition stuff, including GCSE options forms.

I knew these deadlines were looming, and emailed the school and rang them 3 times, expressing my concern that we shouldn't miss option deadlines. I received no reply, but was reassured by an office employee at the school that we would not be out of the loop and to wait til 2 March for the formal offers to come through.

we now have the paper work and the offer through, but dd's absolute passion- drama- is listed as one of the oversubscribed subjects that cannot be guaranteed (i've heard on the grapevine that photography is already full so clearly they are allocating places already).

would it be a good idea to attach a covering letter with the options form, explaining that dd is very committed to drama and that the drama dept is a key reason for choosing the school, and also expressing a wish that she should not lose out due to being relatively late handing in her form (due to not coming from main feeder school).

if i need to start quoting equal opportunities at them then will, lol , but wondered whether a covering letter would be a good idea at this stage to try to preempt being refused a place.

any thoughts?

I don't see how the cover letter can hurt.

thanks ragged.

does it seem odd to you to have the options forms deadline before national secondary school places offers day? this arrangement seems to penalise new students or students coming from a non feeder school. (at this school, 1/3 of the students join at year 9, btw) i'm annoyed that my dd may now be at a disadvantage.

i don't know whether to draw attention to this issue in my letter (" i am keen that my dd should not miss out as a result of being given her options form 5 weeks after the majority of students") or... just focus on a more flattery based approach- i.e. "dd is moving school mainly for your fab drama dept" .

which approach would be best?

Both actually.

My DD attended an assessment day for the BPTC recently at a college in London. She was horrified to find out that scholarships were available but they were not listed on the web site. She saw a leaflet in Reception but the availability of scholarships had not been notified to potential new students, only those already at the law school. The closing date was the following day. She complained, politely, and they put the deadline back by three days. Not a lot, but sometimes mentioning something is unfair does make people think about how they administer their school/college. You might also be successful in getting her on the course. Seems such a pity that you chose a school for its strong drama, and are then denied it. You can, of course, do lots of drama outside school but doing a GCSE is always useful if she is good at it.

thanks milly. i think that dd is one of probably half a dozen students who will be submitting their options much later than the majority (out of 300 or so students). they may well not realise that this is unfair, as you say, as it affects so few students.

I would just phone and speak to the head, explain about the deadlines etc, your letter might just get to the "office" and might not be acted upon.

Yes I would ring, otherwise someone may just get put on their 'too difficult' pile where it could stay buried.

Phoning might get action but I would also put it in writing. As it is, you have the advantage that you can quote your original e-mail "expressing my concern that we shouldn't miss option deadlines".
Keep the paper trail going, and cc everyone you can think of!

It certainly won't be any harm to add a covering letting explaining what you were told and that DD is passionate about . Also, if you can quote any plays, entertainment or clubs she has taken part in recently this would add weight to confirming her interest and commitment. If the school really can't give her drama, they will want to work with you to ensure she gets her other options.

My DD's school told us that were a subject was oversubscribed they would look at effort grades if it was already a subject being taught and present commitment, ie attending clubs inside/outside school, taking part in extra curricular subjects like concerts (if musical), plays & dance (for drama).

Hope it all works out.

does it seem odd to you to have the options forms deadline before national secondary school places offers day?
National offers day is only for admission to Y7 so it isn't related to GCSE options. Are you in an area where some children transfer from middle schools as this may be different.

If an option is oversubscribed, there should be some clear oversubscription criteria written down e.g. priority will be given to children achieving a certain NC level or proven aptitude or where an option has been listed on the form.
For example at dds school for Triple Science higher priority is given to children achieving the highest NC levels at the end of KS3. For others, if subject A is oversubscribed, children placing it as their first choice would be given a higher priority than those placing it as a lower choice.
I hope this helps.