1 in 3 London kids don't get 1st preference - gross UNDER estimation?

[FanDabbyFloozy]

The official stats suggest that in London, only two thirds get their top secondary school, the worst outcome in the country. I think this is a vast under-estimation actually - I'm sure it's probably half.

This fails to consider those children who sat selective exams to get into grammars or other selective (full and semi) schools in September/October, didn't get in the top few so didn't write it down on the CAF. It also fails to count those children who can't get into their local school because they're the "wrong" or no religion.

In an ideal world, Londoners would put down their ACTUAL first choice school, not the ones that they think they'll get, just to demonstrate that parental choice is a fallacy. I'm tempted to write down my real choices in order, not the ones that I'm going to get based on exam results. Am I alone in finding parental choice to be a great big lie?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36527159

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-34778514
London schools' overperformance in pictures. Partly probably due to funding discrepancy tbf. And also due to high proportion of immigrants who do much better.

Parents put down crazy, unrealistic choices, though.
There are lots of very popular schools; lots of parents put the super-popular schools as first choice - they can't all physically fit in ...

Which borough has mostly selective schools? Barnet and Sutton? Even those have good non-selective schools, surely?

Kingston has grammar schools too but I think people are now talking about the Coombe schools quite positively and I believe there are a couple more.

There are several superselective schools in my area (London) which people put as their first choice before knowing whether their children have passed the entrance exam. They're really hard to get in to - that has to skew the results, as a lot of them won't have got into their first choice (but may have got into their second or third). Also there are some really small catchment areas, and parents who will put down their kids for those schools even though they might live a couple of miles away, just in case.

We're looking to move out of London. There are many good schools around the country.

thecat was thinking of Kingston, Sutton, plus a few round Bexley and Bromley, which all means most kids in south London are in reach of a grammar if they score well - but as said above, parents don't know if their child has passed the actual tests, only pre-tests, by the time they apply.

The majority of Londoners DO put down schools in actual choice order.
Because many Londoners do have more than one feasible nearby school (because schools are so close together) they may well put a 'wild card' as choice number one. And because Londoners get 6 choices, they may well put 4 'wild cards' and end up with a perfectly reasonable 4th or 5th choice.

It makes no sense to say that they don't get first choice if they don't include a grammar that the 11+ was failed for. That is the nature of selective schools. How can you get first choice in a selective if you are not of eligible ability? I have a very high achieving child, and we have 4 super selectives within reach. For various reasons we didn't bother with applications to the super-selectives and sent him to the good local comp where he is flourishing in the top sets and streams. Had we applied to the super selectives, this could have been 5th choice. As it is it is 1st choice - and either way we are equally happy with it. (we put down two other schools for which we would also have been happy with and have a v good chance of getting into - none faith)

Finally, the 'first choice' stats are done according to offers on National Offer Day. London has a highly mobile population and many near-by schools, so places on waiting lists can move a lot before September. Many many people get first or higher choices in the end.

London schools perform better on average than in any other area of the country. There are, of course, black holes, as there are elsewhere in the country. But in RL London parents are much happier, and fond the whole London secondary transfer process a lot less angsty that MN would demonstrate.

Because of course the people on MN are those with tricky situations.

"But if you're silly enough to raise kids in London you get little sympathy from the rest of the country."

T4gnt: any reason to be gratuitously rude to the OP?

FanDabbyFloozy: you MUST put your schools in your actual order of preference, if you do want to have a chance of your favourites. Putting the 'dead cert' schools lower down the list, even in last place, does not disadvantage your chance of getting the place at that school.

However placing a favoured 'wild card' or even 'maybe' lower down than your 'dead cert' 'catchment' school means it is a wasted listing - they will give you whatever school is highest up your list and can offer you a place. So even if the 'wild card' might have offered you a place, you won't get it allocated because you have placed it below another school that offered you a place.