school admissions

[wannabepositive]

Hello everyone.
I am relatively new to mumsnet and while I have been reading many threads to educate myself more on what seems like a very stressful process of selecting schools & getting admission in preferred school, I am still full of doubt. I can clearly see from the threads I have read that there is a wealth of information you all have and I would really appreciate your inputs.
I had posted a few weeks earlier asking for advice on whether to accept the school we had been offered (last choice in our list) and that we are planning to relocate in the summer to get DS into a good secondary school. I now feel like we have not thought things out properly – we did not get all the information we needed in time.
We moved to the UK 2 years ago and thought getting DS’s into primary was a massive achievement, not realising we had secondary to consider in a year or so. When we moved here, DS1 was mid year Y4 and started school in the UK Year 5 because of Covid. So, our plan was to let us son finish Year 6 and then move, only because DS struggled with the move to Uk and settling in during Covid and everything else that came with it. We are in Kingston. We want to move so that we can afford a slightly larger living space with open area for DS’s. We had a few areas in mind initially and now I am thoroughly confused …. we would ideally want schools with good academic performance, mixed nationalities (we are from India), access to extra-curricular activities and basically good and healthy environment for a child to study in. Reading some threads about the difficulty of getting into good schools one has applied for is so hard… makes me think our plans to move in the summer are absolutely wrong. So, now I feel like I am back to scratch and I need to get help. I would appreciate any advice you can share. Please do not be harsh, I already feel like a mess for the situation we are in and feeling lost. Also, if anyone can suggest a tried and tested education consultant, I would highly appreciate that. We are basically trying to understand what our options are and rather than doing research and getting thoroughly confused most of the time, someone who knows the education system here can guide us and keep us on track.
Thank you.

Are you talking about private schools?

So your Y6 has been offered a place at your lowest ranked school. Did you accept it? I think the deadline has passed now.

Have you narrowed down where you want to move to? You'll be looking at in year applications. For the good schools there will still be a wait list from the original round of applications that have just been allocated.

People do move, and it's not impossible but the likliehood of moving in summer and your now Y6 having a place in y7 is unrealistic unless you look specifically for under subscribed schools and are prepared to move, probably a long way.

@wannabepositive , are you the person who has a place for your dc at Hollyfield in Surbiton? If so here are the positive points:
It's a good school in a good area, accept the place.
It's a 5 min walk from a major train station, you can move to anywhere on the train line and he can commute to school by train or bus.
The area fits all your criteria.
Your ds can try for Tiffin 6th form when the time comes.

Despite the high rental prices you are underestimating the value of living in the area you are currently based in.

I was going to post exactly the same as the previous poster. You have a good school. You're in a fabulous area with so many cultural and enriching activities on your doorstep for your ds's and you all as a family. You have really hit the jackpot. Your children will grow up in a safe area on the edge of a fantastic multi cultural city. They have the option of a very selective free grammar school later on. Don't move. Let them settle.

If you do move could you just move to Ham, so not far, and apply for Grey Court? You would need to move extremely close to stand a chance of getting in this late.
What school did you apply for originally?
You mention an education consultant but these would just be for private schools. Did you also apply to private schools?

I work in state school admissions (primary) and we do sometimes get applications from education consultants. It is a TOTAL waste of money. You can research schools yourself using the various online resources plus social media, and applying via a consultant will make precisely zero difference to to your chances of getting in, as state schools have to follow their admissions criteria to the letter.

Firstly accept the place! You can decline later if plans change.

Secondly think you need to look at this the other way round and start off thinking where you want to live. Would you rather stay where you are and let your children settle or move for more space? There are advantages to teenagers of being somewhere more urban but obviously advantages to having more space. If you decide to move, start with the area first and then look at schools. As PP said, anywhere with trains into Surbiton would allow your children to commute whilst you wait for spaces at schools you are happy with. You will need to do Primary as well as Secondary.

I work in admissions in a large maintained (state) school, but not in the Kingston area. I think that it is easy to become totally consumed by trying to get your child into a certain school(s) basically because that is all that anyone with Year 5 and 6 children talk about. In a year you will find that they've stopped talking/worrying about it and their children, including yours, will be happily settled at any one of the local schools.

I also see parents refusing places for their children at the less 'desirable' local schools and instead taking places at s hooks which are miles away, just because they are too snobby or feel ashamed somehow of not getting the most 'desirable' school. They then find themselves tied to a horrendous school run every day for 5 years when their child could have been able to walk to the original school allocated thus giving them (and the parent) some independence and flexibility. Said child also ends up with no local friends thus sentencing the parent to driving for miles at weekends and evenings too.

And as a previous poster has pointed out, sixth form is a new level playing field - your child, at the least 'desirable' school may still end up at the same sixth form as the child from the 'desirable' school.

I strongly urge you to accept the good place that has been offered. School is about a lot more than academics - just don't stress about trying to move into the right catchment etc - buy a house you want to live a happy life in and the school will work itself out.

@DistrictCommissioner no, we are not looking at private schools, only state schools.

@nearlyspringyay we have accepted the school offered to us. We have narrowed down a few areas, however, we have not firmed up on a shortlist. Literally everyday DH & I look at websites like locrating.com or good school guide or Times report on schools, and get confused. Not sure what to base our choice of school on - Ofsted? Schools GCSE & A level performance? few comments we come across on social media/ forums? It's scary to be honest... I want to give my kid the best opportunities and I do not know how to evaluate them. frustrating!!

@hockeygrass, yes that is me. thank you for your inputs... it is very helpful. I only know Kingston and I do like the area. We need more space and that is the only reason we are considering moving out of the area.

@3WildOnes Grey Court was on our list of preferred schools, so we will be on the waiting list. The challenge will be finding the space we need, in the budget we can afford, near Grey Court. we are looking to rent, not buy. I still keep checking property listing in the hope that something might come up!

@pralinee thank you for your feedback on using an education consultant. Coming from someone who works in school admission, it is very helpful.

@Wartywart thank you so much for your inputs! It is totally consuming!!!

Thank you everyone who has responded. I appreciate the time you have taken to share your feedback.

Honestly don't worry about the school. It's a good school, in a good area. Your ds will settle and make friends locally. Keep him at this school and for the time being in the place you're in now. Once he's settled at secondary school then you can reassess - Hollyfield is so close to the station you can afford to take your time and check out areas which are a little more affordable but still within a short train ride of Surbiton station.

I sense you're panicking a bit and trying to get everything perfect right now. You don't need to - you can manage in a smaller propert for the moment. Give yourself and your children chance to settle and enjoy your location.

In the nicest possible way, take a step back from all of this. Research says the best predictor of success is home environment. Schools are important but there are decent schools all over the place, including the one you have a space at. You haven't failed your son at all! To be honest, a lot of the schools with good results and Ofsted reports do well thanks in a large part to the cohort they have. Engaged parents will work harder for places at desirable schools and then encourage their kids to work hard, leading to continued good results and a continued good reputation, so more engaged parents apply.

It's very overwhelming to compare loads of schools and as you say, different measures show different things. Go back to the areas you like and look at properties. If you find a property that works for you, then check the schools in the area and see what you think.

In your situation, I'd be tempted to look for somewhere near one of the stations between Surbiton and Woking/Guildford, to give your son the option to commute back. I'd also look at Raynes Park and New Malden, which may be a bit cheaper and easy enough to commute, although in this case you might want to stick with the current school long term.

Good luck deciding and give yourselves a break!

He’s in a good school which lots of people choose as their first choice.

But if you want him somewhere different you’ve got to stop waiting for the perfect rental and just rent anywhere (you’ll need to commit to a long tenancy) as close to that school as possible. Proximity is all that matters, although you should have probably already done this as the main waiting list shift is happening this month.

As you are renting I would just choose a house right next to your first choice school. Personally I would live in a less than ideal flat for a year or so and then move to a better place, that was still in easy travelling distance to the school, after.