Secondary school choice-please advise

[Tootingmum01]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum and and glad I found this. My DS passed the SET test for Wallington grammar. His cutoff is higher than passing score which we got through FOI. However, dint get through second round for Wilson boys and Sutton grammar. The results for first round came through before the CAF deadline of Dec 10th. So we put down Wallington boys as first and other grammar schools below them although he din't qualify. DS has been offered one of the Selective 60 places from greenshaw which was our 5th choice. We don't know anything about this school nor did any virtual tour. Should I accept this as I am now worried about making my DS travel from tooting? Has anyone got children in greenshaw High that can provide some feedback about the school?, I am truly disappointed for my DS as he did SET very well and was so looking forward to getting a place at wally boys. Any chance of getting a place if I be on a waiting list?

Thanks

I don't know anything about the specific schools but definitely accept the place you have been offered. That's not telling the LA you're completely happy with the choice and withdrawing from waiting lists etc- you can and should stay on waiting lists for all schools you'd prefer. If you decline your current place they are under no obligation to offer another, so you could end up with no school place at all if the waiting lists don't move.

Not sure why you used your other places on the list for schools he didn't qualify for?

There is always a chance of a waiting list place, so make sure you are on the waiting list.

Meanwhile - do accept the Greenshaw place as otherwise you might end up with NO place! Accepting a place does not disadvantage you at all for waiting list places.

What is the journey like?

You can now put your name down on the waiting list for schools you didn't apply to, Wandsworth schools, for example, closer to Tooting.

Good luck in waiting list places.

Sorry - have no experience of Greenshaw.

Is your question why your so. Didn't get allocated your first choice as he scored above the cut off? Do they not just take the highest scores so although he might have passed the test, he wasn't in the top scores needed to be offered a place.just call to the school to ask where he is on the waiting list to see if there is any chance of the list moving sufficiently to get a place. Some will choose independent options so a low waiting list position may have a very good chance.

Looking at the admissions criteria for Wally, they have a clear list of priorities which includes where the child lives, with preference to Sutton residents, so presumably you're too far away. Secondly they say the CAF deadline was the normal deadline of 31 October so they may be treating yours as a late application.

You should get something from your borough that tells you why you didn't get a place at your higher listed schools.

Greenshaw is a good school, but it is a comprehensive. Whether it is worth travelling to depends on your local schools. But presumably you put some local schools on your form and didn't get in? It's a good option, but most of it's pupils will be fairly local. That said, it's possibly not too far from Tooting?

The waiting lists will move, with some going private, moving etc. Only thing I'd be a bit cautious about is if his score didn't get him through to the 2nd round at the other schools, then he might not be that high up the waiting list, as I don't think there is a huge difference in the standards at Sutton Grammar and Wallington. But happy to be wrong on this!

For now accept the place, stay on the grammar schools waiting lists and consider if you have any more local schools that you might prefer and go on their waiting lists.

In relation to the CAF deadline, this year there was a later date you could amend your choices by. The reason being the selection tests were late and so people had to make an initial choice before knowing how their child did in the 11+.

@BendingSpoons

In relation to the CAF deadline, this year there was a later date you could amend your choices by. The reason being the selection tests were late and so people had to make an initial choice before knowing how their child did in the 11+.

Was that an amendment deadline or a new CAF deadline? The admissions criteria says the deadline for the CAF remained October and parents were expected to apply before they knew the results.

Hi all,
Thanks for the replies. The results for second round came through on Dec 23rd.The deadline given by wandsworth Council for making any changes was Dec 10th.My DS missed Sutton cutoff by 3 points and dint make it to Wilson's . Hence second and third spots were utilised in CAF for these schools. Journey wise to greenshaw is about 45 mins bus journey. Wallington school accepts only 15 children from Sutton postcodes. There is no catchment for 110 children. Do I contact the school or Sutton Borough for knowing waiting list?Wandsworth has provided a pupil number but I didn't apply to any schools apart from tooting Graveney, again cutoff has been high this year and my son has missed it. Does another Borough provide waiting list number or is it the school that I need to speak to?The email from pupil service says nothing about who to contact.

Thanks

There will be movement on Wally Boys' waiting list as people release their offers due to opting for independent schools.
I think the school will be able to tell you your place on the waiting list, but I'm not sure if they'll do that straight away.
Did you find out the actual SET score? I have a quite a lot of data from last year that could help work out your chances.

As for Greenshaw, it's a good school but not like the Grammars; the answer as to whether it's worth travelling for depends on what other choices you have.

Unfortunately, some people with independent and state offers don't release their state schools offers until the very last minute - summer, or even September. By this time, most people have settled with whatever school they have and are not willing to take a late offer. This does mean that a few boys with scores not that high above the cutoff end up with places.
I don't want to give you false hope, but all is not lost.

Wally Boys have a waiting list section on their website which says the following which I had to look up at 5.05 yesterday.

"Year 7 waiting list positions will be available fromthe end of March 2021and will be communicatedto you via email. Please do not contact the School regularly to ask about waiting list positions as if your sonreaches the top of this ranked waiting list and we have a vacancy we can offer him,the Admissions Officer, Mrs Waters, will contact you in the first instance by telephone to inform you of the vacancy.This ranked waiting list for Year 7 will stay in operation until the end of the Autumn term in 2021(so from the end of March 2021 to 31st December 2021).

The amountof movement on waiting listsdiffers each year so it is almost impossible to predict whether your son is likely to be offered a place."

My apologies, I misread your post. I'm assuming now your son did sit the second stage for the other schools. Hopefully once you get his waiting list position, you will have a better idea.

For now I would focus on why you chose the Sutton schools. Greenshaw is a big school and he should find his tribe. The academic results are not as good, but they have a wider cohort. A bright boy with support at home should excell there, like with any good comprehensive. If you are worried, talk to them about how they set etc.

Of course if you have comparable schools more locally, there is no harm going on their waiting lists.

The deadline given by wandsworth Council for making any changes was Dec 10th.

But the Sutton deadline was October - and that's where the school is.

The OP had to apply through Wandsworth if she lives there. She has done everything on time etc, it is just that her son currently doesn't have a high enough score for a place. If people turn down places, they might get a place, with no real penalty for living out of borough (apart from not being eligible for the 10% of places for Sutton postcodes). It will depend how far from the cut off score they are.

The OP had to apply through Wandsworth if she lives there. She has done everything on time etc,

But she hasn't - she says she sent in the CAF in December. Which may be ok for Wandsworth schools but not Sutton. Although she applies through W, it's S that determines whether she was within their deadlines or not.

Though of course does give the possibility of unfair application procedures given the usual National deadline was amended by some councils but not all.

In her second post the OP talks about the date for amending being 10th Dec. I'm pretty sure she originally applied before the national deadline in Oct, or she wouldn't have been given a place at Greenshaw. The deadline for making amendments was 10th Dec across all of London, so the same for Sutton and Wandsworth.

Yes, I originally applied before 30th October. I made changes to the preference for schools I knew my son passed before the 10th Dec. Wandsworth Council confirmed those changes have been taken on board.

@blowonitthen

As for Greenshaw, it's a good school but not like the Grammars; the answer as to whether it's worth travelling for depends on what other choices you have.

@blowonitthen Hi. I've sent you a Pm.

Thanks

Hi,
My son also missed Sutton by 4 marks.. So wanted to know did your son got into Wally boys through waiting list.

Is there any way to calculate the score for SET? if the child didn't pass 2nd stage and hence has the standard score from Wilson and Sutton..