Its 2018....countdown to 1st March secondary school allocations!

[Hersetta427]

Well two months down and two to go to 1st March. I have been fairly chilled since applications were submitted however now that 2018 is here it is creeping into my thoughts more frequently.

We are truly lucky to live in a town with very good secondary schools but I know DD would be heartbroken if she didn't get her first choice (a top 10 non selective girls school).

Realistically we should be virtually sure of a place as if we don't qualify on distance within our feeder school group then she should get a sports aptitude place (she score 10 percentage points higher than the required score for the last 3 years). However a part of me is still nervous as I imagine what if all 200 girls taking the aptitude test got amazing scores too. Logically I know this isn't the case as other girls at her school score 20-25 marks lower than DD but there are only 9 places available so the margin of error is small.

Anyone else beginning to get jittery? Please tell me I'm not alone.

My daughter got her first choice. I was worried they’d give her the 2nd choice as her brother attends that school but she was lucky
Why would they do that? They have to follow the admissions policies.

We got 3rd choice which I'm v happy with. School has already emailed me with list of wonderful extras DS will get on his aptitude place. There's a lot to be said, I'm thinking, for being one of a good school's "top choice" pupils, rather than 2nd-best-from-waiting-list somewhere else, however popular . . . . ? I realise I'm assuming access to aptitude (heaven forgive me, selective!) places here.
DS is slightly less enthusiastic about outcome because he thinks most of his friends will go to 1st choice school - he's wrong, one or two will, but most of them won't get in on 1st round either, which he may be finding out right now!

School 3 is unfortunately the only one of our 6 listed in which, for location and admissions policy reasons, there will be no-one else from his class. But he liked it when we went there and it was his choice to put it above more local schools 4, 5 and 6. I'm sure he will come round.
And then our dilemma will be what to do if we get an offer from school 1 and/or 2. . . decisions decisions!
We are obviously v lucky to have so many great options here in inner London, but it does mean as I see on the news that statistically getting 1st choice is less likely.

Mary I'm pinning my hopes on my wonderful DS being somebody's second-best-from-waiting-list

Best of luck with that TheWoolly, honestly I don't know what we will do if faced with that (enviable . . ) option . . School 3 has already won me over, but DS may think otherwise . .

I know tiggy, absolutely right. So if DS gets offer from (aptitude-based) waiting lists at schools 1 and 2, we'll consider them if that's what he wants us to do . . . After all, we must have had our reasons for putting them in positions 1 and 2 and if I think hard, I'll remember what they were!
But it's interesting to me that, after minor disappointment yesterday, today I am very happy with outcome, to the extent that I might find a reversal of it (that is an offer from schools 1 or 2) a problem!
Fickle, that's what you could call it! But I reckon it is really about having such a range of great state options here.

OMG . . . I've just discovered he's in position 3 on waiting list for School 2 . . . . HELP!

Oh yes we will start thinking hard . . . When you do get an offer from the waiting list, that's actually the only time in the whole process you get presented with a straight-forward choice - do you want this one or that one? But I know you have to be quick about it so need to prepare response in advance.

To those few who may be slightly disappointed with offers, don’t be, if it makes you feel any better, the email I got from eAdmissions simply says ‘no possible offers’! We don’t even have a single school yet! We will just have to wait for movement across the borough I guess. Stick with it guys, it will all work out.

P.s. To those who got offered preferred choice of school. Congrats and well done! A big, well deserved relief no doubt.

How are you all finding out your council's allocation data? I can find nothing for Sunderland.

At least two parents in our class had no offer. I really feel for them, it must be so hard. The very best of luck to all coping with waiting lists and uncertainty.

Lab it’s already on at least one London Borough council website but certainly not all yet.

Thanks mary I'll keep checking

Lab, do you mean how many got in and under what criteria (and which ones still have vacancies etc.)? I think it varies from council to council as to when they do that. Ours (Staffs) came out the night we got our emails, next door (Telford and Wrekin) haven't published it yet and for all I know may not do so for months.

Our council never publish the info online.

Sefton do it when they do the info for next year's applicants.
You could do an FOI Rewn. It should be in the public domain

Anyone in Sutton borough, the council have now got their last admitted distances available: drive.google.com/file/d/11RP224JZ2pzxa2R2xS_Ses0LSPTNGlPH/view

Still have no idea on what school we have! Council not responding. The wonderful 1st choice have responded to my enquiry but 18th on waitlist! Pretty much no chance. Second school is even more oversubscribed (as not a church school) so fat chance there. So it’s Indie we go and pay the price.

Hi everyone I need advice about appeal basically my son was ranked top 650 The latymer school first round but he couldn't after second round because of outer area candidates ranked higher than I ve emailed school to provide his scores which they have send it to me I don't know if any of you heard about whatdotheyknow site which you can check top 650 candidates scores from first round I checked all the way down to 2389 students scores which my son score wasn't matching any of them i ve emailed school they said to me it's IT glitch if I appeal on this ground would it be successful appeal thank you

Thank you tiggytape for your advice

Gemm - the relevance of a top-650 place in Part 1 of the Latymer Grammar assessment process is that that is the cut-off threshold for invitations to sit Part 2 of the assessment (for 192 places this year). Are you saying that your DS was, or was not, invited to sit Part 2 - and if he did sit it, how did he get on when results came out last autumn?

You will be aware the that school made clear in advance that, in determining the top 650 candidates, they would be giving priority to those residing in defined “Inner Area” postcodes as at 12.01.2018.