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).

[notsomanky]

I'm getting nervous too. DS2 is waiting to hear where he has been allocated.

I already have DS1 at an all boys school, DD at the all girls school, and DS2 would like to go to our closest mixed sex school, so that has gone as first choice.

He would definitely get a place at DS1 school, but he is a very different child from DS1 and we feel the mixed one is a better fit, so we are anxious!

[Sillysausages007]

DD already has a place at a private school for secondary, but I applied for state as a "just in case" scenario. However I simply couldn't bear to put down our catchment school which is underperforming, undersubscribed and failing. We got a choice of 3, so I put down those schools which in, an ideal world, I'd be happy she went to. Realistically I think she'll probably get our local, failing school. So then we have to think about the school fees .... eek!

[MrGrumpy01]

I'm aware you only get one offer of a place but I wonder if everyone is. I have heard people talking about how much their child loved a school and then put it after the school that we are pretty much guaranteed a place at (my 3rd choice) Obviously they may have actually preferred their first choice but I did find it concerning that someone was really not aware of how the system worked. And if she wasn't it could mean others think the same.

[atheistmantis]

We've taken a risk and only put one school, we are confident though.

[MrGrumpy01]

I did that for primary for my youngest.

I am pretty sure that there will be people who only put our 2nd choice down. If they live in that area that is pretty much their only choice, especially for those that live out in the sticks.

I had to dump one of my choices to allow me to put my banker down, if it all went wrong and none had places I would most likely have been offered a place at a school miles away that is really not good.

[justgivemethepinot]

There's all sorts of hearsay and rumours about the admissions process I'm afraid.

[atheistmantis]

Somebody I know has done the same as us and only put one school for their son, whereas we have put the relatively safe bet (sibling, feeder school, living on the doorstep) they have put a school 20 miles away because the head teacher has guaranteed them a place.

[MrGrumpy01]

Oh no. That has the potential to go horribly wrong.

A 20 mile trip there and back isn't going to be much fun either.

[MixedGrill]

It is the same in every LA in England. The admissions process in state schools is subject to law, so the same everywhere. No one gets a choice of offers.

Except sometimes a brand new school takes applications outside the CAF in its first year, and applicants might get a CAF offer and the new school offer.

[Girlwhowearsglasses]

As I understand it this is what happens:

You put down school A as first choice, B as second, C as third and so on- according to your preference.

The list of applications to school A by any preference number of all applicants is ranked according to that school's admissions process - whatever it may be (banding, distance, ability etc). If that's distance there will then be a ranked list of all applicants by distance, same for ability, etc.

Those with A as first choice get offered a place in order of rank, up to the number of places (say 120).

Assuming there are any places left after that at 'A' school (maybe only 60 people put 'A' as first choice); anyone who didn't get a place at their first choice and put A as their second choice will them be offered a place at 'A' according to the ranking order for that school.

This process goes on until all the applications are done.

Then once places are offered some people may turn down places, freeing up places to be offered in a second round; again according to the same criteria...

I 'think' that's how it's done - does that make sense?

[Girlwhowearsglasses]

So for instance if you put school B as first choice and you're actually there closest person to school A above anyone else- if you didn't get your place at school B you'd be given a place at school A as long as there are places left after allocating to those that put A as first choice

[TeenAndTween]

Girl NO NO NO!

They are ranked as you say.
Then if any person appears above the cut off line for more than one school, their preference is taken into account, and they are removed from the list of their lower preference school. Then everyone below them moves up one place.

If for example:
You list A (20 miles away), B (15 miles away), C (you live next door)

And 30 other people put C (but don't live as close as you), D, E

If you don't qualify for A or B, you will get C over and above all those other 30 people even though you put it 3rd and they put it first.

[TeenAndTween]

... This is why you can rank schools in your true order of preference. You don't have to go round thinking 'but if I don't put it first will it spoil my chances if I don't get my preferred long-shot'. Which is what happened years and years ago.

[Girlwhowearsglasses]

Oh right I get you.

Yes that make sense

[Thisdoesnotgeteasier]

Teenandtween is correct. It frightens me that so many people are applying for schools and they don't understand the process. Put your first choice first people.

[atheistmantis]

I think it will go horribly wrong, they chose the school because it's the posh school with swanky buildings and all the people from the expensive villages go there. It has worse results than the comprehensive with a large social housing estate on the doorstep. It's effectively selective as catchment area houses start about about 400k.

[justgivemethepinot]

They are in for disappointment then, I don't see how a head teacher can give that sort of guarantee anyway, surely it would be at the expense of someone more fitting the criteria and doesn't the LA make the final choice?

[MrGrumpy01]

If it is an academy they can set their own over subscription criteria but it still has to be accountable. If they have a specialist subject they can offer so many places to those they consider gifted and talented in that subject for example or pupils of staff can be offered places.

I think all my local academies pretty much follow the LA criteria though.

[DoItTooJulia]

@crazycrofter we were in that exact position last year with ds. He got a place of the waiting list very quickly though-so even if you're not offered it straight away don't panic (KEFW on 232)

[atheistmantis]

Yes, they follow the LA criteria to the letter so it'll only go well if they are undersubscribed.

[justgivemethepinot]

So they are depending on there being an undersubscription outside of a 20 mile radius.

Good luck with THAT!

[teddygirlonce]

Yes, I had a mum at DD's school (son in same year but with two older DCs - so she should know better really) tell me just yesterday, with hand on heart, that our fall-back safe option (which we put third) won't consider DD because "they only take girls who put it first or second on their CAF".

So much misinformation and given with such authority - dangerous, particularly to parents who may be entirely new to the system and need help understanding it.

[MrGrumpy01]

The trouble with a lot of this misinformation is that sometimes they do end up with a place anyway so continue to spread the rumours.

When we were doing applications a 'friend of a friend' on FB stated that she had only put school x on her form and got a place and was advising people to do the same because then they would have to offer you a place there. She couldn't see that he only got a place because he was high enough up the list to secure a place. It was an absolute gamble as the school is an over arching one and allocates on a random selection. (Rather than having distances within a catchments area)

[Thistly]

Teen and tween is describing the equal preference system, which we have in our local authority. However our neiboiring authority has a 1st/2nd/3rd choice system, where each school receives all its first choice applications, ranks them, and then ranks the 2 nd choices applications if there are any spaces left over. This means that even if you rank high, if you don't put the school first choice and it is oversubscribed, you have no chance of getting in. I think the equal preference system is fairer, but parents should be aware that not every authority uses it.

[Thistly]

What is the general consensus about how big this year's cohort is? Do other people have the idea that it is much bigger than current year 7?

I have this idea from primary entries in my area.