how to find a place in oversubscribed school mid year

[Spanielmad]

Hello, we might be moving house in the coming year - to south Buckinghamshire. My kids are about to start Y6 and Y8. If we move in the middle of the school year how are we supposed to find school places? Pretty much ALL 'good/outstanding' secondary schools and grammar schools are oversubscribed. So even if we find a house near a good school how do I get my kids in??
thanks !!

But you can learn how to do IQ tests - you can train your thought process-

I think you need to look at the books and decide for yourself

This might be helpful. www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/11plus/viewforum.php?f=12&sid=3898112fd9b504d9546b47a5daba610e

I think Ickenham/ Ruislip areas have some good secondary schools And it is a very short commute to Gerard's Cross from there?

I think - coming from a non-grammar area - that turoring to death seems pointless. If the kid passes the test because of tutoring he/she will surely struggle in the school? I don’t mind a bit of revising but very much believe grades are not everything. A decent and high achieving comp it is if they don’t pass (and if they don’t pass, surely they don’t fit).
Ickenham/Ruislip might have good schools but since its closer to London it seems the house prices go up too!

thanks for the link Hedwig - it seems the majority of people there are concerned about these darn tests and are fighting and praying to get a grammar school place. My word, how different it is in other areas of the UK! What a rat race it seems!

Unfortunately as Bucks is fully selective there is no such thing as a comp (except for a small school in Winslow), let alone a 'decent and high achieving' one. However the quality of the Uppers varies widely from the very desirable like Waddesdon to, well, some of the others.
The 11+ forum can be a bit terrifying, but most parents are not that loopy and most people probably never even look at it! There are some very knowledgeable people on there though who could help with specific issues.

If you go for the Windsor schools, they have middle schools so will have a start in Year 9 which may be easier to get in. I'm sure you'd still need to live on the doorstep but at least you'd be there at the start of the process for Y9.

PS: Don't live in Woking if you are commuting to Gerrards Cross - you'll have a long a tedious drive!

Gerrards Cross is a stone's throw away from s.w. hearts. Loads and loads of people do that commute - I know people in Rickmansworth with children in Gerrard's Cross private schools who do the school run twice daily.

Seriously, look at Herts. Part selective, over subscribed, but lots of distance places too.

What about Holyport College? They have a Y9 intake. Maybe still has places as it is quite newly opened?

If you can cope with South oxon there are several nice comps including Icknield, Gillots, Langtree and Piggott (technically in Wokingham LEA but in fact in wargrave just off a4 and a404)

If you're looking as far south as Reading, then be aware that Gillots went through some uncertainty this year and was threatened with closure - I heard that it was due to low numbers and a very bad Ofsted. That closure has been postponed for now but who knows how stable the cohort is now (parents moving kids asap to neighbouring schools).

East of Reading there is Piggott school, and within Wokingham district on the edge of Reading there are several highly rated secondaries: Maiden Erlegh (there's also its offshoot school Maiden Erlegh in Reading), Bulmershe, the Holt, Emmbrook.

It's going to be difficult to secure places anywhere without a new address, tricky system.

Whoops, I meant Chiltern Edge that was threatened with closure, not Gillots

In an 11+ area there are no comps. Grammars and 2ndary moderns. 2ndary mods take the less able the grammars and therefore sometimes seem less aspirational. That's why the grammar system is so bad.

oh so many replies!! Thanks so much everyone! Will go over your tips and school suggestions. Its a bit overwhelming at the moment. If I look wider than Bucks the search net is even bigger! Very much looks like schools come first and then find a nice house in the area.
DIdn't know there were no comps in the area - and that they were called uppers. But I just meant 'secondary schools'. You know what I mean.. ;)
Thanks for the Woking warning - we don't want a tedious drive!
Will see how far Hertfshire is and whether there are any schools that take kids in.
Wondering whether it is of any use to let my kids do the 11+ test even though we haven't got dates or locations yet.... at least we know whether they'd pass...

Re uppers: it is more than a label though, it is a totally different type of school. And in most cases they are schools which clued- up/ambitious/motivated/sharp-elbowed (depending on your view) parents do their level best to avoid their children going to.

I'm in bucks. Ds is at a school that has just been placed into special measures. However half of that is because they've refused to implicate every government whim immediately. They've been great with ds. Dd1 is about to start with colet, again I think great school, and will be much better for her than a grammar. So don't immediately discount schools that aren't outstanding.

Y7 onwards they can make their own way there. Practice the route with them, but they'll not be the only one, and they'll fly given the independence. Plus, it's the nearest or allocated by council is over 3 miles (secondary, 2 miles

I agree about looking at Herts. There are some great schools just on the border with Bucks. I would live in Bucks for the grammars if that's what's important to you but have a look at spaces at Clement Danes and Rickmansworth Schools. Ashlyn's School in Berkhamsted is very much on the up and Hemel Hempstead School has a great reputation.

Chesham Grammar almost always has places and all of these schools are in close proximity.

The commute to Gerrards Cross from all these places in about half an hour.

Zodlebud Fri 11-Aug-17 19:35:23 I agree about looking at Herts

I don't, unless you move to an area that is within catchment. If you do move to Gerrards Cross the only schools you would be eligible for are (happy to stand corrected on this if catchments have been changed in the last year):

Rickmansworth - offers up to 3 places to non catchment
St Clement Danes - no catchment for academic (10%) or music (10%) but allocation is done on score, top down and cut off marks went up considerably last year.
Parmiters - offers 3 non catchment places.

You will not gain a distance place at any of the SW Herts schools from Gerrards Cross as it is not within catchment (St Clement Danes prioritises distance places within WD3 and has filled all distance places from this area for a number of years now).

St Clement Dane's is an excellent high performing leafy comp. My brother went there. He was one of the few without his own horse.

Tralalalalz He was one of the few without his own horse

Looks like the school has changed a lot since your brother was there then.

Re: Herts, I was suggesting live in Herts, on top if the school, and commute to Gerrard's Cross.

StCD, still lots of horses, but lots of children from non horse owning families too.

Chesham Grammar has always been over subscribed in recent years and will always have a waiting list, as will all good schools locally. The catchment has shrunk dramatically too.
Clement Danes etc in Herts may not be grammars but they have small catchments and are very oversubscribed.

Your best bet is to find out about the waiting lists in the schools and the distances to try and make sure you get high up on a waiting list. If you get a move on and get your youngest in on a late entry that will help with priority for siblings.

Unfortunately as people have said they will provide you with any school that is free, and popular schools in areas with less good schools will always have people falling over themselves to get their kids into the best schools. You may not think it's fair as you move into the area but many people having been living for years around the corner from outstanding schools and not get in. It's brutal.

No worries, I don’t think it is unfair at all - waiting lists are waiting lists. It is sad that the council cannot provide enough places and schools cannot up themselves to a ‘good’ Ofsted level but that is a whole different problem!

I was only asking how it works in Bucks as where I am from, people just sign up to one of the ‘good’ rated comps in the area and generally get a place. Nobody stresses about it as far as I know.

I am asking how it works as I want the best of my kids, as we all do. I am asking as I don’t know the grammar system. I am asking as I want to avoid too much upset for my kids, and I don’t want them to go to 3 secondary schools.

To be honest, reading all of your answers it seems like a crazy rat race and a battle in Bucks and I have lots of second thoughts. I will call some schools and the council when term starts again, but will start looking into counties and catchment areas where the schools are not oversubscribed and we can plan ahead and know for certain where the kids will go. I am certainly not moving house, letting the council choose a random school for my kids while we wait for a place to come available elsewhere. If all fails, we’re going to stay put as we have a decent comp in town.

Thank you to all who have made wonderful suggestions for counties and schools, thank you who have explained the system for me - it has all helped a lot!! :) :)

As many have said, ofsted reports aren’t everything and with kids in schools I know that very well. but it is a useful first port of call and it does tell us something. Same with exam results. For now, its all I’ve got to go on together with forum comments etc...