Moving in y6 and Secondary application

[SteamedBun]

We’re applying for secondary school this autumn for DS. He’s anxious and hates change. We will need to move LAs next year. This year is not a good time for us to move for work and family reasons.
If DS stays in his current (very happy) primary to end y6 to minimise disruption, we’ll apply for his secondary from here. But then we’ll be allocated only the most undersubscribed schools in the new LA.
If I move him this autumn to spend y6 in one of the new LA primaries, purely to apply from the new LA for a secondary school, then we’ll disrupt his school and friend groups for a year. Just before he changes again to start secondary. He’ll be so stressed out.
New LA’s Admissions team says their rules are because people make up fake applications to get into the schools. But a lot of kids must be being penalised because of this. Is there no better way to make applications fair?

That is the scenario and does penalise people who wait to move for normal change of school. Once you move, you would automatically change place to higher up waiting lists as you are closer - but no guarantee of a space.

We chose to start ds in a new school for year 6. A third of his class went to his secondary school which was the payoff. Ideally he could have finished year 6 but we played it safe as didn't want to risk a long commute to secondary.

There were a surprising number of new starters in year 6 as the school is a feeder for a great secondary.

If you move for y6, he gets to make friends or at least get to know others who will move up to the same school with him.
I think better to move for y6 than end up not liking allocated secondary school and moving part way through y7 or y8.

I think the system is fair.
They allocate to the kids already in their area using distance as tie break.
Yes movers are impacted but the alternative is giving a place to a potential mover over and above a pre-existing local child.

Other option is moving and then travelling for school each day.

Its totally fair that the schools use current addresses, to do otherwise penalises those who live near the school. There is certain situations that they do it differently (such as for military families moving into an area)

FWIW... DD started a new school at end of year 5. She totally flourished in the new school, socially and academically. And is looking forward to Secondary with her new friends.

I understand your frustration as it becomes hard to move once your kids start school. But equally it wouldn't be fair to not get a space in your local school because someone else said they wanted to move into the area in August before school starts. What if they didn't move? Why should they be entitled to a place in X area when they currently live in Y area?

It would also be logistically tricky under our current system to do admissions without a fixed address. You might say you were moving to a certain area and then end up in a house a mile away, which means you shouldn't have been offered a place at school A.

The only way to amend things in line with what you suggest is to completely change the system e.g. to one where they guarantee you a place at a catchment school. That's tricky with high population densities and can lead to overcrowding, so not perfect either.

Good luck working out what to do and finding schools.

There are things about applications that aren’t fair, but this isn’t one of them.

It makes no sense for them to allocate a place to a child that isn’t even in the area yet. Admissions often have to be decided on distance, but how could they do that when you don’t know where you will be living yet?

What if your circumstances changed and you decided not to move? A local child who could have been given the place from the start could have had it and saved themselves waiting list stress.

I don’t see how you think your child is being penalised.

It's often far better to move them in year 6 - not as daunting to go to a new school as the oldest year group than it is starting a new school as the youngest. Plus gives them a chance to make friends in year 6 that they can move to secondary with, and join in transition activities to the actual school they'll be going to.

OP, your son just being in the primary may not be enough without a change of address, unless feeder school trumps distance in the admissions criteria.

are you sure the primary has a place?

Thanks everyone. It’s a bit too far for daily commuting between the new area and the old primary school, otherwise that would be a good solution.

I can’t see a fairer way- and obviously the rules aren’t up to me anyway! I do agree that it’s better to move schools in primary than in secondary.

We just need to weigh up if a move very soon is better than a gamble on waiting lists later on that may or may not work out. I don’t know yet if there are any y6 primary places available in the new LA so it feels like a big unknown either way.

Will admissions be able to tell me if specific schools have any spare places, before I have an address in their LA?

A school should be able to say if it has spaces.
Furthermore if it has a space (and thus no waiting list) it has to offer it to you if you apply from wherever you live, but you would have to take it up within a fixed time eg 4 or 6 weeks.

Thanks TeenPlusCat I will ask the schools there.