Banding Assessments - Change in Admissions Code

[peacockfeather11]

I'm hoping someone can give me more information on this. I have been looking at Camden School for Girls and in their banding assessment section it states that due to a new ruling; these tests will take place before application closing dates. I have not seen this change on any other school?

Extract from their website below:

'Why do you run them before I apply?
This is to ensure that you have the results of the assessment in advance of submitting your application to your local authority.
We need to do this because the Admissions Code 2012 states that banding is a form of selection. Although in practical terms the school bands to ensure a mixed ability and the results of the test have no real bearing on your daughters’ likelihood of getting a place at the school under any admissions criteria, a recent ruling by the Office of the School’s Adjudicator has determined that the school must run these assessments before application.'

I believe they have always held them before the applications close.

What's your query? I thought this had been the case for ages. If your score puts you in band 3 and and they never take anyone from band 3 who lives more than half a mile away, and you live 4 miles away then you probably shouldn't waste one of your spaces on this school.

It's just an adjustment for fairness. As @titchy says, if they band all the children before the deadline, parents can look at the data from previous years and think "hmmm.... Never in the last 5 years has a band 2 child got in from more than 1 mile away. This is a boom year and we're 4 miles away. It's a waste of time putting this school on the CAF."

If they don't band before the application deadline, a parent might think "We're 4 miles away. If she's band 2, there's no chance, but if we're band 1 she'd get in easily... We better put it down in case she's band 1."

My query is that I thought banding tests were taken after Admission closing date of 31st October) as they are not a means of selection. For e.g. St Marylebone is in November which is what I expected.

Apologies if this has always been the case (1st time on Secondary school admissions).

Ah I see now - thank you both for the clarification @titchy @Lougle

CSG have to do their banding tests like this because someone took their admissions policy to the Schools Adjudicator in 2014. The SA identified a number of issues with the policy which needed amending. One of these was

...necessary for the school to administer the tests within a timeframe which allows parents to be informed of the outcome of the tests before the closing date for applications

I’m assuming other admissions policies will only be changed if they are brought to the attention of the SA. Arguably CSG’s policy is right and Marylebone’s etc is wrong.

There is no question that the schools adjudicator's decision on CSG's admission arrangements applies to all schools who band. They should be taken in sufficient time for parents to know the outcome and make any changes that may be appropriate.It brings the band testing in line with what has to happen for schools where the 11+ is still taken.
I am sure that there will be other schools that have not recognised the change in procedure this year.

It's interesting - all the schools I have had a look at have the banding tests in November. It makes so much more sense to have the test before the closing date; that way I could make a clear decision on schools my DD could get into; rather than waste an allocation on my 6 schools.

This is a boom year and we're 4 miles away. It's a waste of time putting this school on the CAF."

Except that if you have very specific reasons for wanting that school for your DC - and not just, it's got the best Ofsted - if you don't apply (and get turned down), you cannot appeal. Assuming sufficient preferences to allow for one or more preferred schools and a 'dead cert even if we're not that keen' one as a backstop, then there is no reason not to put your unrealistic but genuine first preference first. Totally agree, though, if you are somewhere with only the bare minimum of CAF slots and / or your address is in an area where no given school is any kind of certainty.