South London school applications - anyone else baffled and bit stressed?

[Tootingbec]

DD due to go to secondary school Sept 2020. Sitting here feeling stressed and a bit panicky. Where we live there are several Outstanding state schools within what would appear on a map to be within catchment of our house, but yet they might as well be 100 miles away. I have realised that I am very naive - there is no concept of catchment. It is all complicated admissions criteria of academic banding along with proximity along with some other random selection process it appears. These are not grammars btw - just what I would say in old money was a bog standard comp! And they are all over-subscribed. So I am non the wiser about whether my DD has any chance of getting in to a school near-ish to home. And then in which case what is the point of the so called "choice"? She could literally end up anywhere in South London where they have a space.

And then every private school I look at also appears to be completely over subscribed and whenever I mention to other parents about X or Y private school, they all say "oh impossible to get in to", so the private option seems as unreachable as getting DD into a decent state school locally.

Just feeling completely overwhelmed by it all - almost seems pointless going to open days etc as I just feel it will raise my hopes when the reality will be DD could end up in some random school not of my "choosing".

Anyone else been through similar feelings and come out the other side? I know I can't (or anyone else!) predict the future but I suppose I am just looking for reassurance that it is not quite as dire/pointless as it seems and that a year from now I will be laughing at my doomsday feelings about my DD's education!

Even once offers are out in the March you can still apply to a school not on your original list and you go in the wait list according to their selection criteria. yes, this is true. We had no idea this was possible beforehand. Even though we had not put them on the list (because we had majorly underestimated the chance of an academically selective place) we asked to be put on the wait list for a place - and were offered it.

What an interesting thread - Mumsnet at its finest!

@daisypond - they've changed timing of Wandsworth test so you know your score before application closing so that problem has disappeared.

OP - I would look at Burntwood - you will get in from where you are. Also the chestnut grove arts and language places. Dunraven May also be possible on a late entry place. Don't be disheartened. Look around and as someone says make sure you can get into one you will be somewhat happy with.

I think the key question, already raised by a previous poster but worth repeating is, where do the children from your DCs primary school go to at secondary?
Even if you aren't convinced by the schools they usually go to, definitely go to open days and have a look. You may be pleasantly surprised and you may want to have them as the "local almost certain back up plan" on your list of preferences.

Kids from our primary go to about 40 different secondaries! It doesnt narrow the numbers much. I did a spreadsheet last year of schools within an hour of travel and there's 96. Though now have 6-12 to look at (no chance of any religious places, which helps)

"Even your local Catholic school will have to admit by law (I believe) some local children on that basis, irrespective of faith; so if you like the school and are very close by, you could probably consider that too."

This isn't unite right. All RC schools (indeed all faith schools) must have an 'all other applicants' category, which is usually the final one. But they do not have a 'quota' of community places

Some choose to, but the only VA schools I've directly known to have a quota of community places alongside their faith places are CofE ones.

OP: you need to check what the school's admission criteria actually are, not assume there is legal requirement for community places (there isn't) or that the school near you has chosen to have some.

BTG , an oversubscribed co-Ed Catholic school, admits ‘children of other faiths’ in the last category, 9.

‘Looked after’ kids don’t get a look in, unless Catholic, until Category 5.

La Retraite, an over subscribed girls catholic school in the area, has ‘of other faith’ as last category, too.

In both cases after various categories of Catholic admittance, and Eastern and other European Orthodox churches (many eligible community members in the locality).

So the OP is being realistic when she says no chance. There really isn’t. And attending mass less than 3 times a month for three years prior to admissions would put you at risk at BTG.

gabster - interesting that they now let you know the results first- makes more sense.

Another thing to bear in mind - the demographic in the area has changed a lot over the last few years. From my DC primary school only about three children from a cohort of 60 went to independents. Now it’s more like a quarter- so my neighbour tells me. The independents are expanding.

Schools go in and out of fashion. In my DC day the desired general school was Chestnut Grove. Before that it was Ashcroft in Putney. Burntwood wasn’t so popular. People who lived on the doorstep didn’t want it - tended to go to independents.

I think you should get Burntwood from where you are. A friend of my DC was offered it as it filtered down the waiting list during the summer term at primary and took it over their art place at Chestnut Grove. They were further away than you. As pp said, children from DC primary ended up going to about 40 schools.

I only know one person going through the process this year. They like Trinity Academy in Brixton, which didn’t exist in my day.

@TheRedBarrows la retraite is 40% non catholic now and has a 3km catchment so that is possible now. I live on its doorstep but chose Burntwood over it.

But yes BTG - people have no chance unless catholic.

I stand corrected meditrina re faith schools, obvs by putting "community" category at bottom admissions priority, any remotely popular faith school can avoid taking any "community" applicants at all - a total swizz, what?! My only direct experience is of my DC's CofE school which takes 50% "community" applicants plus 10% aptitude, so I guess only 40% faith based . . . Or is it that the remaining 90% after the 10% aptitude allocation is then divided 50/50 between faith and community, so 45% each?? I assumed faith schools of any description were legally obliged to do that.
In our case anyway it does make for a genuinely mixed intake in every conceivable way, but that is also down to location.
Ashcroft and Chestnut Grove are still v popular, or were 2 years ago. CG had around 150 applicants for their 30 aptitude places, Ashcroft around 250 for 21, I recall.

It seems easier for girls as well because there are so many girls-only schools, even if some are religious. There aren’t as many boys’ schools- I can only think of Ernest Bevin and London Nautical off the top of my head.

Wow, has La Retraite declined in popularity? It used to head up all the Lambeth League tables, does it still?

La Retraite still does very well. But I don’t know anyone who went there from my DC primary, even though it’s quite close to us. I didn’t even look at it- I thought Catholic school, no chance. Maybe its entry criteria have changed.

www.lambeth.gov.uk/schools-and-education/school-admissions/how-offers-were-made-for-lambeth-secondary-schools-on

The Lambeth school offers are on the link above
You don't need to be Catholic to get into La Retraite currently - last year 2/3 of the places on offer went to Non-Catholics