Reading Boys - Moving to Reading on rent

[BlueLotus]

Hello All,

Some of you may have been in this situation, so wanted to get a genuine view.

1. We were in berkshire area(in reading boys catchment but in reading itself) for 5 yr on rent
2. Moved out of berkshire area(reading catchment) for 2 yr due to partners job and commute challenges and bought a house instead of paying rent
3. Now my DS is preparing for 11+ and we are keen to move back to berkshire permanently as situations have changed and we can manage from our original place of stay

As per rule we can be in catchment before 31/08. but there are some clauses

• Candidates may also need to produce evidence that any previous home is no longer used by the family or

available for you and your family to live in –for example, proof that the property has been sold/a rental agreement has ended. This is to show that the new address is not a temporary arrangement purely to secure a school place.

• If you own or rent a property, and you buy or rent another property or live with family or friends temporarily,

and state that this is your and your child’s home address, we will not use the second address for school admissions purposes

Query is if this move is genuine from the perspective to stay in berkshire or within reading. Considering deciding and buying a property and selling old property is surely a time taking process, we plan to move on rent initially and then buy.

What kind of proof would be required for council to satisfy that is a genuine move and in the long run we are surely going to sell our property at the previous address.

Any advice would be appreciated.

I would suggest you ask the council.

How far from the school is the house that you own?

Its around 75-80 miles

ok sure. I though will check if i could get any inputs from fellow parents in the meantime. Thanks

I'd be surprised if they counted that as clearly not commutable, but you need to ask the council

It not commutable at all. I would be renting, initially in berkshire, but my key concern is if the council would have an issue and treat this as a temporary move and any way suggestion/pointer to make the council believe it genuine and other house will be sold off eventually.

Yes on the face of it, this is a second address you have rented to meet the 31 August deadline so that you are within catchment. Your son isn't permanently resident within the catchment on the date you must apply (30 June) but as you point out the key date is that end of August 2022 date.

Technically and unfortunately you do NOT meet the admissions criteria, regardless of your best intentions to move - you haven't.

Your right course of action: You can make a late application once you have sorted out your permanent address.

Or you could chance it: get your house on the market this week, get a firm offer accepted asap (houses selling like hot cakes so stipulate you want a fast sale, with a guaranteed completion date as close to 31 Aug as possible. You can exchange contracts ahead of completion and that be enough to show the school. It may not be, but you haven't lost anything as you can make a late application as soon as you HAVE completed your sale.

Meanwhile you should vacate your property and physically relocate to your rented property asap. That's your whole family. You cannot commute 75 miles back to school, but I suggest you decide to "sack off" the last few weeks or so of current school and register for new primary school for Y6 (have you done that already?!) You'll be unlikely to get a fine and in my primary they don't appear to record absence in the last weeks anyway because they close the system for Reporting purposes.

It's a lot of work but you can still do it if you are serious about the relocation. It is unfair on other candidates to try to game the admissions criteria and in your situation an objective would say maybe you wouldnt move at all if DS fails the 11+ in Reading Boys but passes it for another indie in a different part of Berks.

Thanks for your detailed response @WhatsInAMolatovMocktail

1. What's the meaning of late application. I was not aware. What's the process pls?

2. We are also trying to sell our current home, though it is in the market, the sale fell thro once and hence, not sure if we can complete the sale before August. Is it ok, if we the sale completes bit later. We are moving to reading area in end July / early August after the year 5 school is over.

@BlueLotus we r also in similar boat. Fingers crossed.

Thanks for the detailed response.
I know everything is possible but too much of a hassle in such a short time.

I do get the intention of the Council to ensure a fair chance for people living in the catchment, but anyone not selling the previous house before the move or buying a second house in catchment or people just moving on rent from the previous place also at rent, all may not be just for a temporary period, there could be some genuine moves. Wanted to understand any other way or evidence to prove the same, apart from selling/buying.

Even reading catchment is I think 15 mile, so after admissions, people may move nearer for convenience or further for some reasons.

Seeing your response, I understand you are pretty familiar with the council's way of thinking on dealing such cases or have had this knowledge from previous forums/or know ones in such situations? As that surely helps to know how specific council could be on such cases.

A move on rent before 30 jun before applying would have possibly made such a difference, then why move in couple of weeks time be so different.

Let's see how it goes, anyways have to make the move.. so will take chances..

Any other inputs/thoughts that may help us in this situation, are welcome.

You are at a better/advance stage than us, best of luck

Late Registration
A registration after the closing date for registering for tests will only be accepted for the entrance tests where
the school is satisfied that illness, bereavement or other exceptional circumstance beyond the control of the
parents prevented a timely registration, or the child moved into the area after the closing date for test
registration. Evidence will be required in these circumstances. Late notification of the testing timetable by a
child's current school or otherwise will not be accepted as a reason why timely registration was not possible.
Any such candidates will be tested in June 2023. The final decision on whether there are exceptional
circumstances will be made by the Director of Admissions.

How does the council consider Job moves? in such cases, could that be taken as genuine evidence/reason for the move?

Any thoughts

Students must be resident in the Catchment area of the school by the date of testing to
qualify as living in the Catchment area. This must be the student’s permanent home address with their
parent(s) / carer(s), e.g. the address where the student is registered with a GP.