1st March offer day - anyone else nervous?

[NynaevesSister]

I am really sure we will get one of our six. But I just don't know which one. And I am now really worried I put them down in the wrong order. Our first choice had a stabbing incident after applications closed.

[PatriciaHolm]

Submitting an appeal has no affect on waiting lists, they are completely separate.

[RJsMa]

Does anyone know if putting an appeal in affects position on or offer from waiting lists?

[RJsMa]

I was confused also about the change. I was told it was because of the fact the added the later applications to the list.

[maz99]

Yeah, I figured... just phoned them and my daughter is 34 on scholarship list & 33 on normal list.

I'm a bit confused how you've dropped down in the list, since the lady on the phone explained that the normal waiting list is created by random allocation.

She also said that they still haven't received all responses from over 2000 applicants, so the waiting list positions are going to change and after Easter is when it will become clearer.

[RJsMa]

I called the school

[maz99]

RJsMa, how do you know your waiting list position already? Did you get it from the school or the Education department?

[RJsMa]

Has anyone moved on the KD list we've gone from 30+ last week to 40+ yesterday. I'm desperate we've been allocated Evelyn Grace

[PettsWoodParadise]

Bromley have a timeline in their moving onto Secondary booklet. April is the first reconciliation. In full it says: Tuesday 15 March
Deadline for:
• Applicants to respond to offer online or using offer letter reply slip.
Friday 25 March
• Deadline for requesting an appeal.
April
Reconciliation
• Bromley admissions will begin to re-allocate, in waiting list order, any offered places no longer required taking into account late applications with exceptional circumstances and proven changes of address received 3 December to 1 March.
May onwards
• Processing of applications received from 2 March, according to availability.
• Changes of address, late applications without exceptional circumstances and requests for additional preferences received from 2 March now taken into account for waiting lists.
• From 18 May waiting list information available from School Admissions.

[user1456259671]

Does anyone know when second offers are realised, we got our second choice but still hoping for our first. We are in the Bromerly borough.

[NynaevesSister]

One of the mum's I talked to today said the school mentioned the intake would be 300 at the open day last year that she went to. So maybe I just missed that! She was shocked it was as high as 360 though.

We have our second choice Forest Hill. I was surprised that no one else in the class is going but quite a few got KD this year and also quite a few got Harris CPC.

We automatically go on the waiting list for KD. So we may end up there. My decision is whether to appeal. We have grounds I think. I will ask one of the experts here for advice.

[PatriciaHolm]

I would imagine its finance related then - funding is per pupil based...!

[maz99]

PatriciaHolm, the school we're talking about doesn't have a catchment... they accept applications from anywhere in London as long as the student can get to school on time. So the bulge wasn't something the LEA requested - it's what the school requested.

[PatriciaHolm]

It's entirely possible that in sept/oct, the school didn't know it was going to be asked to take a bulge. Until all the applications are in, the lea won't know for certain how many children want spaces.

Realistically it shouldn't come as a massive shock if they have done their planning correctly, but that doesn't mean they had informed the high schools that they wanted them to take a bulge. Our primary has just been asked to and primary applications closed in January.

[maz99]

Yes, KD was our first choice & Harris CP our 2nd... got our 3rd choice - a place at Harris Girls... which I think might be for the best as the idea of 360 in year 7 isn't sitting well with me

[BoboEK]

We have been offered KD NynaevesSister which we have accepted for now I must add (We do have another option) but I also liked FH (we are close to you also sydenhamhiller !)

[NynaevesSister]

Sydenham Girls is an excellent school. Yes we are close to you.

Are you thinking of KD? I absolutely loved Forest Hill School too which must be close to you.

No the stabBing didn't put us off. At the end of the day it is something that could happen to any secondary in London.

[sydenhamhiller]

NYNaevesSister and BoboEK: must be a near neighbour of yours! I am on the Upper Syd rather than Dulwich side of Kingsdale.

I am also surprised at the news of the 'bulge' class, as I went round 2x in September and October Open Days for my DC2 in Y5, and there was no mention of the extra intake. It was also a surprise to my friend who has it as 1st choice for her Y6 DD (they got 2nd place Sydenham Girls).

Re the stabbing: of course it is shocking, but the reality of London is that some teenagers carry knives (one child brought one into my Y6 child's class at their SE primary last year). I know lots of students at the school and they are very happy with their experience there, and it's a shame if one excluded child tarnishes the whole.

I'm also interested in how KD are going to manage the bulge in terms of class sizes/ space...

[NynaevesSister]

Whew! Was wondering if I had just managed to be oblivious to it all.

Did you put it down as one of your preferences?

[BoboEK]

NynaevesSister I am unsure how a extra 120 will be handled as well as although the site did look big during the open day I can't imagine how another 4 extra on top will work..........and Yes it was not mentioned at all during the speech by the head.

[NynaevesSister]

Oh but there is an old disused classroom block in front of the new gym. They must be doing that up or re building?

[NynaevesSister]

I am 100% sure that wasn't on the website before the application deadline. As it was our first choice I researched it thoroughly. Or so I thought! It's just such a big jump. From 8 to 12 classes. All the schools around here expanded or got bulge classes starting from the 2004/2005 year group too. So not surprising. Still astonished at how huge that intake is.

The website says the new pupils will be accommodated in existing buildings so that must mean it is a one off. Otherwise they would have to build. I just can't see where those classes will be housed. There were no empty classrooms on our tour last year.

[maz99]

NynaevesSister, I only saw that the PAN had increased when I went on to their website to check for details regarding waiting lists. I can't see how they will cope with that increase - plus it may be something they end up doing every year onwards.

[JustAnotherMumAndDad]

Sorry, I mean for children born in 2004/2005 -- that is, the kids that are now moving on to secondary this year!

[JustAnotherMumAndDad]

This year has been a "bumper year". Our primary, which has two classes per year normally, had three classes as a one-off for children born in 2004. This was to accommodate the large number of extra children when a number of Eastern European countries joined the EU in 2004; it seems that the proportion of young couples who moved to the UK (and specifically to our part of NW London) in that year and became pregnant was high (although I can't seem to find the chart now that showed that; it was used as the argument for adding a third class).

The extra class was agreed based on a promise from the local borough to provide funding for new buildings and extra facilities, to expand the school to always have three classes. The funding did not materialise, so the governors refused to do it for the next year and they went back down to two classes. The "extra" class was somehow shoehorned into existing facilities, and has made its way through the school; I bet the school will be breathing a sigh of relief that they are leaving this year!

[NynaevesSister]

Maz I missed that Kingsdale had expanded its intake. An extra 120 children - so another three classes?! How on earth will it fit them all in as the years go up?