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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Wandsworth waiting lists - no movement?

63 replies

Stircrazyschoolmum · 09/03/2018 17:51

Its been a week since state secondary school allocations - am I deluded to think that the wait lists should have moved a little bit during this time?

I have several friends who are taking Independent offers.. I can't understand why this movement hasn't filtered down to state level? My thinking is that either the council haven't gotten around to updating the spreadsheet fully or that parents are failing to surrender their state places despite accepting an indy one.. not a headache I need on a Friday night..

Argh! Hate this process!

OP posts:

ReelingLush18 · 09/03/2018 18:05

Hi Stircrazy I don't think they will start offering places from the waiting lists of any state secondaries until after the initial deadline for uptake/decline of school offered (isn't it the 15th March?). I think it would get too confusing - administratively - at this stage to do 'drip' offers.

I recall (some years ago) that DS was very quickly offered his preferred choice school from the waiting list - by the end of March certainly. Direct from the school too but I seem to recall that the Admissions Team from our Council raised an eyebrow at the way we'd been offered it. I think we should have waited to get the offer via them (which I think would have held things up another couple of weeks).

I'd be on the phone to Graveney as soon as the upcoming deadline has passed, otherwise you might be waiting until after the Easter hols.

Good luck!

TammyWhyNot · 09/03/2018 19:08

I think they send out the first round of waiting list offers once they have had a chance to collate all the acceptances and declines after the acceptance deadline.

Then there is a ‘late application ‘round in which they add all the late applications into the lists, at which point you can actually go down the list). And the waiting lists progress through the summer.

And that all places go via the LA until the beginning of term in September, when the lists revert to the admissions authority for each school (the school for Academies etc, the LA for community schools).

itschilly · 09/03/2018 19:16

I'm sure the letter we had from the school we got at a place at said that could we accept our place by the 15th as that is when they will start to go to waitlists. School is in Fulham but live in Wandsworth.
We will turn it down but I am waiting for the independent's school confirmation in the post before I do as I will panic otherwise. (If I knew it would make a difference to people on the waitlist I would have already done so).

admission · 09/03/2018 20:15

There will be no movement for a couple of weeks after the initial allocations whilst parents respond either accepting or rejecting the offered school.
Then the LA will have a full list of schools with places and start allocating to those place based on the updated waiting list, which will now include people who applied late and who have requested a different school.

MsBeaujangles · 09/03/2018 20:36

LAs have timetables for making second, third and forth round offers. Some of them publish them. You can call the LA and ask them the timetable for the various rounds of offers.

Shattered04 · 09/03/2018 23:06

Yep, I was somewhat frustrated to find out that people who applied late and are closer in than us will leapfrog us on the waiting list when the next round happens. As we missed out by 64 metres, it's galling that we were so close and may yet be so far in the next round! And after that second round I think (in our case) that people can apply to go on the waiting list for schools they didn't list in their initial application. So that lot get in ahead of us too.

It's my understanding there are multiple (at least three) rounds of allocations to begin with, a general shuffle each time if you like. Appeals are heard May-July time which means another shuffle too. Then I think after that point it becomes more realtime as there is such little movement they can deal with it on a case by case basis. Happy to be corrected.

ReelingLush18 · 10/03/2018 08:20

Shattered04 Think you've got it in a nutshell there.

Would think that the next round of offers (from initial waiting list) will be where most movement happens and subsequent offers will be a diminshing trickle.

Original poster

Stircrazyschoolmum · 12/03/2018 10:31

Thanks for the words of wisdom guys.. that all makes perfect sense. I think I got my hopes up because they said they would update the online waitlist weekly.. but you are right.. it would make sense to do that after the initial deadline and allocations rounds have passed.

White knuckling it to Friday I guess!

OP posts:

Confuzzle · 16/03/2018 17:58

Hi Stircrazyschoolmum, have you heard anything?

Confuzzle · 19/03/2018 19:20

Does anyone know when the Graveney list starts to move (selective)? It is over 2 weeks after state school offer day and we are still the same number on the list!! Can anyone advise? The uncertainty is driving me crazy!

Confuzzle · 23/03/2018 09:44

Can anyone advise, it is now 3 weeks since offer day and there has been zero movement? Thanks in advance!

AveEldon · 23/03/2018 11:29

Have you tried calling the Graveney registrar?
Previous MN threads suggest there can be movement in the summer term once the welcome day paperwork is sent out

Confuzzle · 23/03/2018 12:34

I have, Wandsworth are managing the list at the moment. There has been movement on the distance waiting list, but none on the selective waiting list - this seems really unusual as from what I understand there has been a lot of movement in previous years due to children taking up offers at independents and grammars - but not one selective place declined this year as yet?

Does it just take longer than I am expecting to start moving? or is this an unusual year? My dc would have got in on the waiting list in the last 3 years but seeming unlikely this year so far.

marytuda · 23/03/2018 15:58

Wondering a bit about this too. Not that my DC is on the Graveney waiting list, but is v high on another Wandsworth school's aptitude WL. I'd assumed that a few at least from that list would move on to Graveney or elsewhere so was standing by for an offer - but so far nothing. Like you say only the distance wait list has moved.

Confuzzle · 23/03/2018 16:45

Seems strange, unless Wandsworth are just taking a long time to process responses - surely someone would have rejected either of these by now!

AveEldon · 24/03/2018 17:39

marytuda - did you get the aptitude result before the school application deadline?

I wonder if the difference is due to the movement of the W test date. This year and last year people knew their score before applying

Celeriacacaca · 26/03/2018 14:42

There are 10%+ more children needing year 7 places in Wandsworth this year, so this will have a bearing on things. The schools have the revised lists now after acceptances/rejections deadline day.

marytuda · 26/03/2018 21:52

Ave yes we got a score and were told it was just one point below the score got by all 21 candidates guaranteed aptitude places straight away . . and on inquiring further was told that 12 other DCs (out of around 250 taking test) also got this score . . . I've no idea how they were ranked otherwise, though school may have used the dreaded Wandsworth test - they do use it for banding/catchment area lists.
On March 1st I found out from Wandsworth website that DC was in position 3 on aptitude waiting list. He's still in position 3! Though banded catchment list has shifted about 6 places.
We're not that bothered though as he has now decided he prefers his offered school, and I think he may have a point, though originally we ranked it lower . . In which case it's lucky he didn't get straight in to the Wandsworth one.

Confuzzle · 26/03/2018 23:37

It's funny how the selective lists haven't changed - these are the lists that tend to move more quickly as children take up grammar/independent offers. In fact I know of children who have rejected offers yet this isn't reflected in the waiting lists? Apparently there were the same number of applications for Graveney as last year (despite the bulge year).

ReelingLush18 · 27/03/2018 10:34

Maybe those with the selective places at Graveney are more likely to sit on their offers (so they've not yet accepted or declined them), particularly if they've weighing up pros and cons of state vs independent school places?

Confuzzle · 27/03/2018 15:11

True, maybe they are - hoping so!!

AveEldon · 17/04/2018 09:22

Just wondered if there has been any movement for any of you?

marytuda · 17/04/2018 11:00

Yep we got the place from Wandsworth waiting list and are now in quandary of indecision! if interested in detail (or have any tips for me!) see thread started here late last week. I made a mistake looking at offer letter and we actually have till early next week to decide.

Confuzzle · 19/04/2018 19:34

Very little movement on Graveney list - 5 places since 1st March.

AveEldon · 19/04/2018 20:13

I assume you have looked at the previous years stats - it looks like at score of 248 might be okay by the summer

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