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Secondary education

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

Original poster

No school offer

79 replies

souplady · 07/03/2020 08:17

We have these schools we applied to.

A. State Grammar school out of area.
b. state comprehensive out of area.
C. Over subscribed state comprehensive out of catchment.
D. Private school academic scholarship. Not enough to pay fees.

We didn't apply to the local comprehensive as it's not the sort of school I want for my child. We live in a small town with a lot of deprivation concentrated on one estate on the edge of town but our suburb is not deprived.

We don't know what to do now as we have no school place for September. The schools we want all start in September, our local compl starts a year later.

OP posts:
BikeRunSki · 07/03/2020 09:10

If it’s a middle school you want (we have middle schools y6-y8), can your son complete his primary years (I’m guessing he is in Y5 now, so you need a place for Y6) at a feeder primary school to the high school, and reapply to the middle school for Y7 entry in Sept 2021?

Bluntness100 · 07/03/2020 09:10

Then really your only option is to home school. You’ve only applied for out of catchment schools and a private school you can’t afford, so the result was pretty much obvious.

Why did you think you’d get a scholarship to the private school?

MrsSchrute · 07/03/2020 09:12

What is it you don't like about your local school?

Ylvamoon · 07/03/2020 09:13

I find your attitude childish and shocking. Think about it, you applied for our of area schools and are surprised you didn't get in?
What is actually wrong with the local comprehensive? Honestly, just because you you think it's bad doesn't mean it is.
I sent my DD to a failing secondary school, she is thriving! Top set for most subjects, ready to sit her GCSE... has a place for A levels at one of the "too result" schools in the nx town for September.
They will all sit exactly the same GCSE exams papers. Honestly, if your child is clever and wants to learn, they will thrive in any school.

oohnicevase · 07/03/2020 09:15

I think you need to move to be honest .. surely you thought about this when you moved there ? The offer for a school is there and they can give you a place . If you don't want it that isn't admissions problem.
Move to a better area and get a local school there . You can't just choose to get the best school like that .

Quartz2208 · 07/03/2020 09:24

I think you were naive to be honest to list those schools.

Sadly the truth is your son although he passed the 11+ did not get a high enough OOC score to get in or get a scholarship and you live in an area that you dont like the school.

You can waitlist, you can appeal and you can start the process for home schooling or you can do the local school

AliMonkey · 07/03/2020 09:30

So is there another middle school he could go to for Y7? Worth finding out as not many people move schools for last year the school goes to so might be a space?

As a PP pointed out, if he’s “ready for high school” then he’s basically ready for Y7 which he can do at a middle school and you can hope for a place at one of your preferred schools by Y8.

Three choices are stay at current school, home school and (possibly) place at another middle school. And whichever you choose, keep on waiting lists for preferred schools.

Teateaandmoretea · 07/03/2020 09:36

Or the other option is to move? Or homeschool from September and get on plenty of waiting lists.

The thing is that none of us are special, we just have the admissions criteria applied to us. My daughter got her third choice of catchment school it's how the system. An appeal based on 'I don't want that school' isn't going to be successful.

Doyoumind · 07/03/2020 09:41

It sounds like your option is to leave them in middle school for now and look to move or home school. If you only applied to out of area schools I'm not surprised you don't have an offer. That's how it works. You aren't even close to being a priority for those places. You should really have thought about moving earlier if you were dead against the local school.

GreenWheat · 07/03/2020 09:55

It sounds like you may have over-estimated your child's academic abilities if you were banking on either a grammar place or large scholarship but got neither. It might be helpful to re-assess this as you may then find that the school you originally thought you didn't want may in fact cater well to your child.

Lougle · 07/03/2020 10:01

Unless you can think of compelling reasons for your DS to go to the out of area school, you'll lose and you should lose. You have schools available, you just won't accept them.

flowery · 07/03/2020 10:03

”we are moving him to high school in year 7 not 8 as he's academically more than ready and I don't like his school.“

You realise year 7 is year 7 regardless of whether it’s in a middle school or a secondary school? If he’s “academically ready” for year 7 he’ll be fine in either. Children in year 7 who happen to go to a school that caters for 11-16/18 don’t do harder work than those who cater for a different age range.

If you want to change schools your best bet would have been to relocate rather than apply for a load of schools that by the sounds of things you didn’t have a realistic chance of getting into.

RedskyAtnight · 07/03/2020 10:15

Well your best option seems to be to keep your child at their middle school, apply for local upper schools (there must be more than just your local comprehensive?) for September 2021 start and appeal/stay on waiting lists for all the other state schools that will take him from September 2020. This might mean he moves during Year 7.

I think you need to be realistic about your options though. It looks like you applied to state schools that you had no chance of getting into, a private school you could't afford, and are not prepared to accept your catchment school or entertain the thought of your DS staying on in middle school for another year, even though every other child of his age locally will be doing that!

greywoollyjumper · 07/03/2020 10:28

What's wrong with the local school? Have you visited it? Ofsted doesn't always tell the full picture.

flowery · 07/03/2020 10:37

If you live in a three tier system area, why do you have no school place for September? Isn’t your child currently at a middle school? They’re not going to kick him out are they?

QuarterMileAtATime · 07/03/2020 10:39

It sounds like you may have over-estimated your child's academic abilities if you were banking on either a grammar place or large scholarship but got neither. It might be helpful to re-assess this as you may then find that the school you originally thought you didn't want may in fact cater well to your child.

+1

You had no likely options on your list, and if it was as simple as "well I just won't put one down I don't want so they can't give it to me", the system wouldn't work. The less desirable schools would be empty and grammar schools wouldn't only have the most able children.

Also, I thought the rules had changed so the maximum scholarship awarded is 50%. Those who have higher will have received the rest as a bursary, so means-tested. Did you apply for a bursary as well?

prh47bridge · 07/03/2020 10:46

I thought the rules had changed so the maximum scholarship awarded is 50%

There are no rules about maximum scholarships. It is entirely up to the school. The terms scholarship, grant and bursary tend to be used interchangeably, meaning different things in different schools.

SW16 · 07/03/2020 10:48

Contact school admissions. They need to provide your child with a place for secondary

The child currently has a place, in the Middle school.

You have to prepare for the fact that of you are in an area where the schools are over subscribed that the only schools that have spaces are the rubbish ones

The OP hasn’t said that the school I rubbish, just that it’s catchment includes an estate where there is deprivation.

These are not the same thing.

OP, where do other families in your suburb send their kids? There must also be bright kids amongst your neighbours?

You may feel that you are getting a hard time here. Possibly because some MNers themselves are akin to those you wish to steer clear of, living in deprivation.

greywoollyjumper · 07/03/2020 10:56

It's hard to get a sense of what's so wrong about this school. Is it just that you don't want him mixing with the "wrong sort" - in which case, that's pretty narrow minded. My middle class OH went to a "rough" school with a real mix of people and he said it set him up for life as he was forced to meet and interact with people outside his bubble. He went on to uni and has a very successful career so didn't hold him back at all.

On the other hand there's a school near us which has just got a "inadequate" ofsted rating on the basis (amongst other things) that bullying, violence and racism are rife and which I would be very very reluctant to send DC to. So if it's the latter I have a lot of sympathy. In that position I'd look to move house.

QuarterMileAtATime · 07/03/2020 11:01

Thanks @prh47bridge I don't have experience of scholarships (and I had thought scholarships were about talent/aptitude, so stand corrected). I must have misinterpreted what I read on here. Is it fair to say that full 100% scholarships in the UK are likely to include some sort of means-testing?

flowery · 07/03/2020 11:03

At DC school bursaries are means-tested, scholarships are not, and are generally 10% I think. DS1 is on a music scholarship which is 10% off fees plus violin lessons.

That might not be universal but I think it’s pretty typical.

waterbottle12 · 07/03/2020 11:06

Scholarships are usually minimal money. Bursaries are means tested. Have you talked to them about a bursary?

LIZS · 07/03/2020 11:08

The LA has to make you an offer, if you applied for a secondary place. Why did they not offer local comp if there are places? Are there any local prep schools from where he could reapply fir private at 13+, although there is a risk you would face similar again.

daisypond · 07/03/2020 11:14

Keep your child in middle school and then move to the comprehensive. I’ve seen many a child at School Wouldn’t Touch With A Bargepole end up at the same university as School Private And Grammar. It’s been very enlightening.

LolaSmiles · 07/03/2020 11:18

You may feel that you are getting a hard time here. Possibly because some MNers themselves are akin to those you wish to steer clear of, living in deprivation.
Or, alternatively, there are many of us who think that applying out of area and banking on fully funded private education was probably naive and refusing to go to a school with places (which is what the LA will offer if a parent doesn't get any of their preferences) isn't going to put pressure on the LA to meet the OP's demands.

Plus, the OP seems to be making a big deal about how her child is more ready for moving up a school because they're so able when year 7 is year 7 whether it's a middle school, a comprehensive, grammar, or independent. Yes there is an ability bell curve but given the lack of scholarship on academics it's highly unlikely her DC is going to be significantly beyond a typical able 11 year old that many of us teach day in day out.

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