Is it too soon to start a 1st March (secondary school allocation day) support thread?

[teddygirlonce]

DD has six good options on her CAF - we will be happy if she gets any of those six but there are no other local schools we would be happy for her to be allocated/offered - and private schooling is not an option.

So just a bit nervous and already counting down the days until we find out which school she's been allocated (if at all).

Thanks justgiveme. Have logged in. We got 2nd choice - even with very firm medical needs for 1st choice (DS is epileptic and receives DLA). Hmm. He's bit upset, his friends that he'a grown up with and are used to his funny moments mostly going to 1st choice school. Oh well. Am surprised, tbh.

We got our first (and only!) choice - no real surprise as it's the only school anywhere near here. DD is at a private primary and now we need to decide whether to leave her there for secondary or move to the state school.

Sorry to those who didn't get what they wanted. Good luck with whatever you decide next.

We got our 1st choice. I am happy, but most of her friends are going to my 3rd choice school. So far I only know one other person who got in, know her from outside school though as she goes to the other primary in our area.

I didn't stay up, the website is still closed.

Getting quite nervous now. DS is adamant he's going to his first choice. It relies on a bit of a gentlemen's agreement being honoured for him to get offered a place. There's nothing in writing though.

Gentlemen's agreement? That's not how admissions work.

First and only choice here. So relieved.

We'll just after I pressed send we got the email to say he'd been offered his first choice.

Phew.

He used to attend a feeder school but it closed last year. The new school isn't a feeder. The head said verbally that they would honour applications as if they were still at the school,but the admissions info wasn't changed. That would have never stood up at an appeal.

First choice Grammar here. So relieved.

First choice, so relieved! Now to do it all again with DD2 who is in year 5!

Congratulations to all who have heard and got what they wanted.

To anyone disappointed this is just the start. Between appeals and CI / waiting lists you still have a chance and the fat lady has only just started clearing her throat.

We are still waiting just checked online again and still nothing. Roll on the next few hours...

Just checked online here to be told there has been a problem posting the offer to the website and to wait for the letter! Fingers crossed we get an email - don't think I can cope with waiting for the post 😕

We filled all 6 options even though some of them were some distance away as we have a school relatively close to us (thankfully NOT the nearest) which is under subscribed for very good reason. I wanted to give dd every chance of getting in somewhere else

Tried to log on to website to find out and it crashed -no email yet either

Just praying she does not get THAT school -violence, drugs, teenage pregnancies, unchecked bullying and couldn't give a damn staff are the BETTER things I've heard about it. Its got its own police officer on site Sorry ranting, just nervous

There is only one school near me, DS is currently in feeder so (almost automatically) had his place confirmed today.

I am reading these posts & feel your stress BUT part of me thinks that I don't have a choice where DS goes to High School (we're still 3 tier).

So happy DD got 1st choice!! If only she knew before she went to school!!

We can only put three down (but we live rurally). First choice allocated here, GS, selection test passed - it is actually our closest school distance wise so I would have been surprised if it wasn't allocated. Our GS is definitely an old fashioned community school (like the one I went to) rather than like the others I read about on here. If your mark is above the cut off point and you live in catchment you get a place.

There is an out of catchment scramble for any remaining spaces, that is where the tutoring comes in generally.

I went through this last year... I'm in London and the results weren't available until the evening (6pm ish).

Initially we got our 3rd choice, but 3 weeks later we received a letter stating my DD's position on the waiting list at the 1st choice school. Then a couple of days later we got a letter offering a place.

This school is very oversubscribed and I just wanted to show waiting lists can move quite quickly.

In fact, the waiting list was still after my DD started year 7. As she told me quite a few times about children leaving to go to other schools & new children starting - mainly during the first half term, but there were a few that still arrived only weeks before the end of term.

So for those of you who didn't/haven't got your first choice... stay positive... a lot of things can change between now & September... or even later.

Hope everyone is ok this morning

We were in your position last year, got our 4th choice but went onto the waiting list of the other 3, finally got offered our 1st choice after 2nd allocation so if you do not get your 1st do go on the waiting lists ! they do move !!

I have just logged in to accept our offer - I don't need to accept it apparently, it is offered and the school have been advised and I only need to contact them if I want to appeal.

I suppose it cuts down on admin.

Just got our email - DD has got into our first choice (which is where DS goes).

I think we accept by default as well. The email didn't say either way so I am guessing there will be more info once I get the postal confirmation.

No point in appealing as we will have no grounds for it - we knew DS would be in the bottom category for admissions and he wouldn't have got in for the last 2 years either.

That doesn't matter for appeals. Appeals are not just about correcting mistakes. You can win an appeal if you can show that the disadvantage to your son from not attending this school outweighs the disadvantage to the school from having to cope with another pupil. His position in the admission categories is irrelevant.

Appeals are notoriously unsucessful in Birmingham. They even emailed applicants to warn that out of 1000 plus appeals last yr only around 2 percent were successful.

Birmingham is low but not that low. For the 2015/16 academic year they heard 1,063 secondary school appeals of which 8.2% (87) were successful. That is somewhat below the rate for England as a whole - that was 26.3%. At the other end of the scale, in three authorities (Knowsley, Sunderland and Gateshead) over 90% of appeals were successful.

The head said verbally that they would honour applications as if they were still at the school, but the admissions info wasn't changed. That would have never stood up at an appeal

If you could prove the head said that it would have been a very persuasive case for appeal. You had been given a reasonable expectation.

TO ANYONE WHO WANTS ADVICE

I would echo what was said up thread - if you are thinking of appealing and want advice, please start your own thread with the word "appeal" in the thread title. I will keep an eye on this thread but I won't be reading every post so a request for advice on here may be missed. If you start your own thread I will definitely look at it. If I don't respond it is because you have already been given good advice on your thread and I don't have anything to add.

My email says

The Headteacher of the school concerned has been informed of this allocation and will make any further arrangements regarding your child's admission. We hope your child settles quickly into their new school.

but I logged in anyway .

BCC emailed last week to say out of 1075 appeals gor sept 2016 only 2.9 were successful - so about 30. That sure feels low