City of London Girls withdrawing offers

[Leo12345]

Hello! I was surprised to receive an email today from City of London Girls that their offer to DD is now withdrawn. I opened their original email with the offer and read that indeed this is their policy: first-comes-first-gets.
We are much more prone to go to LEH or if not Kingston Grammar, and now I bless this decision as I learnt something about City of London Girls character and aptitude towards its pupil.

My question is: do other schools (in particular LEH and Kingston Grammar) practice such policy?

We would accept the offer in LEH today then, though we are waiting for the tour in there.

soyalatte one could have done everything you stated and STILL had the offer explode, if there happened to be 70 people who got there before you. That's why the exploding offers system is such a horrid one.

Perhaps if that had happened to you, you might have more empathy rather than coming across as insufferably smug.

Ivebeen you are missing the point. Ofcourse City have a fixed number of places - they can’t help that. The objection parents are expressing is the fact that City offered dozens of girls a place then almost immediately withdrew the offer. They shouldn’t have over-offered by so many in the first place then trigger a stampede with the first come first served announcement. Other schools use a waiting list system instead.

Backingvocals I hope you are right because last year apparently exactly the same thing happened, although things didn’t move as quickly as this year, City learned no lessons from it.
Whole thing leaves a sour taste in one’s mouth.

Firefox1066 very rude and presumptive of you to tell me how I would feel.

So, let me enlighten you how I would feel - I would be upset and unhappy and...

• accept that 70+ other families managed to prioritise and organise their acceptance process better than me and therefore conclude we didn't want it as much as those 70+;

• realise that we didn't respect CLSG as much as the other 70+ families and realise how in demand that school is (didn't close to 1,000 girls sit for c.70 spaces);

• respect that CLGS can not operate just like any other school (because they are not just like any other school);

• not expect the school process to revolve around my timeline requirements;

• not feel entitled as comms clearly state the offer can be withdrawn if we do not take action with the appropriate levels of urgency;

• take responsibility for our lack of urgency;

• not whinge on social media.

Art 14.3 of the ISC (Independent Schools Council) Code of Practice states: "Schools must adhere to a national date of the first Monday in March as the date before which acceptance offers for senior school places, relating to 11+ entry in the subsequent academic year, cannot be required by schools. Offers may be made and accepted by parents before this date, but acceptances cannot be required. It is important that all schools agree and adhere to the common date in the interests of children and parents. It is also recommended that scholarships should be tied to the same date."

Backingvocals - thank you for your correction.

There are so many discussions about this I got that % update confused from thread about this from another year.

As I already posted, I do understand the angst.

I just think it’s really unfair on the school to be expected to accommodate for the minority when that is just not possible.

soyalatte I did you the word "might", so there was no presumption at all. As it is, you've outlined that if you were number 71 in the queue having got there at 9am.

Perhaps you might be able to understand the slippery slope that it leads to l? (Parents queuing all night, fist fights if people hold places in the queue for others etc etc)

Firefox - your analogy doesn’t work as this isn’t queuing for cheapo flatscreens at Asda.

This is a well communicated and transparent process that works for the majority.

Soya it wasn’t well communicated and the school are upset with what’s happened - not sure anyone needs to still be defending it.

Backingvocals - with respect I do not agree with you.

The words “Please be aware that the school reserves the right to withdraw this offer (before it is accepted) if we receive the requisite number of acceptances for the places available before the final deadline.“ clearly communicated this.

Soya you say you “understand the angst” but you still defend City. Make up your mind where you stand. Please.

I think it is abhorrent that any parent comfortable in the knowledge of a secure place for their child can defend what City has done to my daughter and all those other girls.

31Bel has it spot on. I wonder if the school will be reprimanded/fined somehow. I bet not but it would be comforting to think it was at least possible given that the ISC rules are clear.

Soyalatte you're reasoning doesn't hold water on any level. There are plenty of London schools with tight accommodation. But I'm guessing there is no point arguing with you on this one. And yes - you do come across as smug.

The fact that the posts got deleted on this thread does make me wonder whether someone at MNHQ has a child(ren) there TBH. I have seen far more aggressive posts on MN left to stand.

I am shocked by the total lack of sympathy for parents and children in this situation by some of these posters. I'm All Right Jack in spades.

Given the school didn’t know that it would mean 9 hours they didn’t know themselves what they would end up needing to communicate. So there’s actually no way their communication could have said what it needed to say.

I got a place for Dd through reading MN last year. Not through anything the school warned me about. Of the five girls from out state primary who got a place, DD got hers and our friend’s DD did because I alerted them. The other three all missed out. None of us knew this would happen. I got lucky and alerted a friend. As I keep saying if even the school was wrong footed we really do have to stop blaming those who lost out.

User223344 - my position is clear and as already posted.

Question - how does attacking the school help your child? If you feel this negatively about the school, and the parents of children that will be attending that school, why do you have issue with not being part of that ecosystem for the next significant stage of your child’s education.

All this whining changes what? The process was communicated clearly and you for whatever reasons decided to delay. Accept some responsibility your inaction (?).

All this attack does is attract all the usual “morally superior” internet users to post their invalid opinions and slag off a great school unfairly.

because they are not just like any other school

soya could you explain how they are different from other schools?

Dancegirl - there is a website called google which can furnish you with information.

If you can’t be bothered then you don’t need to know.

soya you don’t have to be rude, I was only asking how you see the school being different as you stated above.

I have googled but can’t find any conclusive answers.

It seems there are two types of people - those who think that City’s behaviour shows what an amazing school it is and those who think the behaviour was a bit shit actually. I am firmly in the latter camp.

The system clearly does not "work for the majority" @soyslatte. Even among the 70 who "won" in the process will be those who feel railroaded, or those who forfeited a hefty deposit to allow them to wait for state applications, or simply gain adequate time to weigh other offers. I imagine there'll be a fair few spare places whenever the first term's fees become due. Why bother telling them you've actually taken another offer before then, considering the way they've operated? It's been a shambles for CLSG whatever way you look at it, unless you look at it in a really, really weird way.

Tall poppy syndrome. The reality is the school say what they’ll do if they fill, they can’t tell parents if it’ll be 15 days, 5 days or 5 hours because it’s out of their control. They over offer like all other schools. No one is forcing anyone to apply. If anyone is seriously considering the school (actually wanting to go, not as their 4,5,6th choice) then I would urge you to visit, talk to admissions (preferably before applying, not whenever you feel like it) and take the anonymous complaints of parents who don’t even send their kids there with a pinch of salt.

Btw I’ve been told that last years intake, which is the intake where offers exploded after 13 days, scored the highest ever scores in the entrance exam. Maybe parents who read t&cs encourage their children to read instructions throughly too.

I would not be so narrow minded and arrogant as to limit and declare 2 types. Just as in wider society there are many types including those that try to make best of whatever situation they find themselves in and take responsibility for their actions and/or lack of action.

Classic MN thread. Is the exploding offer debate a) more or b) less divisive than brexit?

@MN164, I don't know, but I can guess which way the people defending CLSG would have voted...

I really struggle to understand how people can be defending the school's way of tackling the numbers of applications. To be clear, I am not personally affected by this. I am very glad we did not apply - it sounds enormously stressful for everyone.

I just honestly do not understand how they cannot find a better way of doing this. They must have some idea of the ratio of offers to acceptances. Going a little way down the wait list seems a perfectly good way of dealing with any undersubscription and appears to work well for other schools.

If City are honestly so low down people's preferences that they are worried about filling their places if they employ the standard wait list option then they should be doing something to tackle what sounds like very negative perceptions of the school instead of increasing that negative perception by behaving in such a cavalier way. These are quite little children we are talking about and not everyone applies to a billion schools. We applied to just one independent and one super-selective grammar with little stress because we don't have to decide until several days after state offer day, though I think we already know what we will do. Surely that is as it should be?

I still haven't had a response to my three emails to the school asking where my DD is on the waiting list - so some parents are getting responses and others not? Why on earth is this? I am staggered at the incompetence of the school and absence of effective communications.