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Secondary education

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

National Offer Day - 1st March. Anybody else anxious?

286 replies

ToxicGirl · 23/02/2022 15:22

I feel like a woman on the edge. Am unbelievably anxious about 1st March. Made my peace a long time ago with the fact DD won't get a place at our nearest secondary (within easy walking distance) because it's so oversubscribed. All her friends and most other children from her school will go there. We live a tiny bit further away and just won't get in, particularly as I understand it's a big birth year.

Would be happy with either our 2nd or 3rd choice schools. They're further away and not as popular but we'd have got a place at them in previous years as we're in catchment and just within the distance they usually offer.

However our LA has warned of unprecedented pressure on school places this year and said that the schools are likely to be significantly oversubscribed. I'm worried that we now won't get a place at the schools that would previously have been 'bankers'. Our other preferences are too far away. We won't get a place at them. Just put them down because there was nowhere else.

There are a couple of hugely undersubscribed and really poorly performing schools in neighbouring towns within the borough. From everything I've read and from looking at Y6 leavers destination info from previous years, I'm absolutely convinced we'll be allocated one of them. They're the schools people get allocated when they only put one choice down and don't get it.

I'm so anxious about it. Can't think about anything else and am driving DH mad. Am managing to hide it from DD but know she'll fall apart on Tuesday. She's prepared to go to school without her friends but not to a completely unknown school in another area.

It's going to be a long few days...

OP posts:
peacypops · 01/03/2022 00:59

First choice for us in Trafford. Expected it though as sibling at school. Good luck to everyone still waiting to hear - hope it is good news.

cantseeforlooking · 01/03/2022 01:17

We got second choice , which is all good as her siblings go there already and is next door (literally) to home.

First choice was a long shot anyway as her entrance test score was borderline ,

She will be ok once she gets over the initial disappointment and remembers she can stay in bed until the last minute most mornings Grin

Ratsindahouse · 01/03/2022 01:38

I hadn’t received an email but just logged in to the portal and got 1st choice - so relieved!! Good luck all

HappyAsASandboy · 01/03/2022 01:58

We've been offered a random school that we didn't apply to. It's not so far away, and I think will be fine, but I feel really deflated about spending time looking round six schools and carefully ranking them, to be given a random. We only had an outside chance of our first two choices, but thought we'd get our third choice. If we didn't get the third choice I thought we'd get our undersubscribed catchment school, but seemingly not. Maybe it's not undersubscribed this year.

Going to be a complicated conversation with the DC in the morning Sad

RaspberryStar88 · 01/03/2022 05:28

Hi I’m new here, just got our offer for secondary school, 3rd choice 😔 going to appeal 2nd choice, on the grounds of mental health reasons. My son has high functioning anxiety which his primary school are very aware of (and hopefully will give me supporting letters) although he’s not diagnosed. The school we want has a better SEND than the offered school. Also most of his friends have been offered places at the school we want. Can anyone help me with what to do regarding an appeal please?

Whatwouldscullydo · 01/03/2022 06:39

Sorry for those who got bad news today . Not a nice thing to wake up to. There are some amazingly smart helpful and kind admissions experts on here to do start a thread for help on appeals etc

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 01/03/2022 07:00

Thankfully got a place at the only school we applied for. Hope her friends got in too.

Good luck everyone.

septemberismyfavouritemonth · 01/03/2022 07:02

Today is the day! We have to wait until late afternoon though so it will be a long day! I just want to know now! Any of our choices will be good but can't stop thinking we may get none of them!!! Good luck every one

spacehardware · 01/03/2022 07:17

Got first choice - not surprised as it's a new school and I think a lot of people avoid the unknown. It's having an amazing new building constructed right by our house though, so I'm very excited for my daughter. She's transferring out of private system at her own insistence so she doesn't know anyone at local primaries currently.

TwoMountains · 01/03/2022 07:22

Still waiting here.

No email yet, and the parent portal link seems to have vanished from the council website, so I can’t log in and check 😬

TeenPlusCat · 01/03/2022 07:26

Public Service Announcement

Accept the offered school.
Then think about appealing if you want to.
You gain nothing by turning down your offered school (unless of course you accept a place at an independent.)

boyblue · 01/03/2022 07:40

Defo accept what you got. Then find out where you are on wait lists.

bluecitygirl · 01/03/2022 07:47

Did everyone get the school they wanted ?

prh47bridge · 01/03/2022 07:49

To echo TeenPlusCat, however much you dislike it you should accept the offered school. If you reject it the LA does not have to come up with another place for your child. If they do, it could be at a school you like even less. If you appeal, rejecting the offered school won't help you and could harm your case as it could look to the appeal panel like you are trying to bully them into giving your child a place at the school you want.

If anyone wants help with an appeal, please start your own thread with the word "appeal" in the title. That will attract the attention of the various appeal experts on here. I can't speak for the other experts, but I will also respond if tagged on any thread.

bluecitygirl · 01/03/2022 07:50

@EducatingArti

Have any of the Trafford people got any experience of Urmston GS. Do you think there is a bulge there too. Are they likely to be able to offer places to all their "catchment" postcode applicants?
My daughter goes there, I am not that impressed to be honest the amount of pressure they put on kids is ridiculous.
Namechangeroo1234 · 01/03/2022 07:58

Got the school we chose, but then there's only a choice of one! The next school is 16 miles away!

PopcornFiend · 01/03/2022 08:08

Got our first choice - so relieved!
Hope everyone gets what they wanted 😊

hibbledibble · 01/03/2022 08:52

Those of you who have heard, where are you? Still nothing here

tigerbear · 01/03/2022 08:54

Anyone in SE London?
Our local authority doesn’t state a time on the website, it just says we’ll get results ‘in the evening’. So anxious now!!

Sorry to those who didn’t get the choices they wanted 😔
@HappyAsASandboy how did your DC react?

spacehardware · 01/03/2022 08:56

I'm in SW, I didn't get a notification or email I went on the council website and had to hunt about on it for the admissions info, then log in

PopcornFiend · 01/03/2022 08:57

@hibbledibble we’re in the NW, got an email 7am this morning

Drywhitefruitycidergin · 01/03/2022 08:58

@tigerbear London is one central admissions portal. You can login at 5 (til it crashes) or wait for email sometime in the evening. For primary last time mine came at 7:30pm.

Comedycook · 01/03/2022 09:01

@tigerbear

Anyone in SE London? Our local authority doesn’t state a time on the website, it just says we’ll get results ‘in the evening’. So anxious now!!

Sorry to those who didn’t get the choices they wanted 😔
@HappyAsASandboy how did your DC react?

Yes I am. When my ds was moving to to secondary we got the email at 5. Now I'm waiting to hear about where my DD will go. I feel sick and can't believe I have to wait hours to find out. Arrghhh
BooksAndHooks · 01/03/2022 09:03

It’s going to be a very long tense day. Ours aren’t released until after 5pm, it often crashes so some don’t even get to find out until the following day.

Very nervous as only have one option.

BooksAndHooks · 01/03/2022 09:05

@RaspberryStar88

Hi I’m new here, just got our offer for secondary school, 3rd choice 😔 going to appeal 2nd choice, on the grounds of mental health reasons. My son has high functioning anxiety which his primary school are very aware of (and hopefully will give me supporting letters) although he’s not diagnosed. The school we want has a better SEND than the offered school. Also most of his friends have been offered places at the school we want. Can anyone help me with what to do regarding an appeal please?
Was your original application on medical / social grounds with all this information provided?
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