Alexandra Park School waiting list

[solario]

Applying to schools this October for 2022 entry. Does anyone know how much movement there usually is on the APS waiting list?

From our address we would have gotten in on offer day this year (with a couple hundredths of a meter to spare) but we wouldn't have got in in 2020. However, it looks safe from the historical 1st September distances. We're just wondering how long it might take for a place to open up if we do end up on the waiting list.

Honestly? No-one can tell you. Using previous years as a guide is not a guarantee, as every year is different with a different cohort, siblings etc and families living in different places.

It sounds like you have a good chance of getting a place for your DC, but literally nobody can tell you when you might hear. It's not fun, but you'll just have to wait.

From experience, please try not to worry about this now or you will give yourself months of anxiety. Wait until offer day at least before you start stressing about this, and have an idea of where your DC is on the waiting list if they don't get in on the first round of offers.

What's your next closest school @solario ?

The next closest are Fortismere (but out of catchment) and Heartlands.

NC-ed for this.

There is virtually no movement on the APS waiting list (that I have ever heard of). You will either get it (because luck favours your address this year) or you won't. If you don't you will then (probably) get an email at the start of the academic year saying they are chucking you off the waiting list and will need to reapply if you are still keen. (At that point your DC will say they like Heartlands and don't want to go to APS any more )

You won't get Fortismere either if you are out of the catchment.

But not to worry - Heartlands is completely fine. The facilities are good (actually, better than APS as newer), the headteacher good and not resting on any laurels, the teaching good (with some excellent), the extra-curricular really good. Really, the only difference between the schools on either side of the railway line (with APS and Fortismere one side and Heartlands the other) is that white, UK-born, middle class/wealthier pupils are not in a majority at Heartlands. You probably know this already. HTH.

@n22parent

NC-ed for this.

There is virtually no movement on the APS waiting list (that I have ever heard of). You will either get it (because luck favours your address this year) or you won't. If you don't you will then (probably) get an email at the start of the academic year saying they are chucking you off the waiting list and will need to reapply if you are still keen. (At that point your DC will say they like Heartlands and don't want to go to APS any more )

You won't get Fortismere either if you are out of the catchment.

But not to worry - Heartlands is completely fine. The facilities are good (actually, better than APS as newer), the headteacher good and not resting on any laurels, the teaching good (with some excellent), the extra-curricular really good. Really, the only difference between the schools on either side of the railway line (with APS and Fortismere one side and Heartlands the other) is that white, UK-born, middle class/wealthier pupils are not in a majority at Heartlands. You probably know this already. HTH.

Has APS now become like Fortismere, in that it is very middle class and predominately white in its intake?

Before APS was known to be diverse, especially compared to Fortismere and many kids came from the less well off Wood Green/Bounds Green sides of Haringey so it wasnt just full of middle class Muswell Hill kids. Has this all changed now?

In a nutshell - yes. If you live in Wood Green/Bounds Green - or even increasingly the Alexandra Park borders you won't get in on distance now. It's not so much to do with ethnicity per se - just to do with money and housing choices. So for those with a decent but not stratospheric income the choice is either: flat on the 'right' side of the railway line, or house on the 'wrong' side. There is a pocket or two of social housing within the diminishing APS catchment, so that may support a small diversity of intake effect.

Actually in Haringey we are well-placed overall in that all secondary schools are either good or outstanding. Kudos to the teachers.

@n22parent

In a nutshell - yes. If you live in Wood Green/Bounds Green - or even increasingly the Alexandra Park borders you won't get in on distance now. It's not so much to do with ethnicity per se - just to do with money and housing choices. So for those with a decent but not stratospheric income the choice is either: flat on the 'right' side of the railway line, or house on the 'wrong' side. There is a pocket or two of social housing within the diminishing APS catchment, so that may support a small diversity of intake effect.

Actually in Haringey we are well-placed overall in that all secondary schools are either good or outstanding. Kudos to the teachers.

Oh wow things have changed/ I left secondary school 10 years ago and one of my best friends went to APS and she said it was very diverse and even had a decent amount on free school meals and from 'disadvantaged backgrounds'. I guess with the school being very good a lot of people are buying near the school to get in sadly, so the school has become very white and middle class.