Relocation (York), in-year admissions and secondary schools

[katherinious]

We're in the middle of considering a relocation from Cambridgeshire to York. If it's relevant, the move has been prompted by several different factors, but namely a desire for a better choice of good quality (state) secondary schools as well as a bit of a lifestyle shake-up (we're both northerners and feel in need of a change of scene after 14 years down south).

We have two children, one just started Year 4 and the other Year 6. For the elder child, obviously we have to apply for a secondary school place for next year by 31st October 2022.

We've visited York, toured a variety of neighbourhoods and researched the schools, so done quite a bit of the groundwork. Work-wise again if relevant, the short-term plan is for my husband to keep his London job, commuting occasionally (we know this will be exhausting and expensive) but will ultimately get a new, more local job. The same will go for my job.

The whole idea is making my head spin slightly, but the thing I'm finding hardest to think through is the school side of things.

My interpretation of everything that I've read is that if we move within this school year (assuming we don't magically get a York address before 31st October 2022) we will be looking at an in-year admission either for a term or so of Year 4 and Year 6, or straight into Year 5 and Year 7. The school places will ultimately be a case of being offered a place at whatever schools still have places. This also gives me a real headache with choosing a location. Do we pay a premium for a house in a better catchment area when ultimately our catchment address for this/next academic year is irrelevant. Although catchment will be important for my younger child when they go to secondary, I guess?

I know the whole thing is a huge gamble. So I'm finding myself hugely torn. If one of the reasons for the move is for good schools, what if we end up with a crap one because we had no real choice in the matter? Is it worth the risk?

The other sticky point is that my eldest child is currently being assessed for autistic traits. It's beyond unlikely that he will get an ECHP, but I feel compelled to get him into a school where he can thrive (his traits are emotional and social so I feel less worried about his adaptability to the changes).

Has anyone faced this dilemma before and did everything turn out ok? Also if anyone is of the view that there are no bad schools in York, that would be a huge weight off my shoulders!!

There deffo are some shit secondary schools in York, sorry

Sorry I'm not much help but I'm surprised you don't rate the state schools in Cambridgeshire. The sixth forms in the city are some of the best in the U.K. Plus autistic traits are present in many of the great minds that make up the students and teaching staff at Cam uni.

quite a few rubbish secondary schools in York.

Fulford - excellent but need to be in catchment or no chance
Huntington - good
Archbishop Holgate - ok but you’d have to live in not so nice area
All Saints - nice but again you need to be city centre
Manor - ok
rest - avoid

where in York you thinking of living?

Sadly we're not in Cambridge itself but a small market town about 16 miles away with two secondary schools, both ofsted rated "require improvement". I know there's more to the school than the ofsted rating but I'm a bit underwhelmed with both.

We need decent proximity to the station by bike, so Fulford rated highly after our visit. However, property is pricy there so I'm questioning whether it's worth it given we probably wouldn't get a space for our eldest. We liked the Poppletons too. We'd ideally want to be somewhere that has a community feel and it's own amenities not just on the edge of the city. Albeit I know York is hardly a sprawling metropolis!

Would Joseph Rowntree be on the avoid list? From what I can tell, for this academic year, it's the only one currently with year 7 spaces...

Jo Ro is ok, nice buildings etc, plus you could look at Haxby then which is lovely and has lots of its own shops/cafes etc. Strensall is similar but smaller. If Fulford look at Dunnington really nice village

Which would you avoid, given the choice?

Avoid York High like the plague.

Archbishop Holgate is good, and I think Pocklington is in its catchment. Pocklington is a very nice market town about 12 miles out of York, with a lovely community feel.

Oh, I forgot about the train station proximity thing. Scratch that, then.

Please don’t send them to archbishop holgates
i went there-it’s a shit hole
they have the lovely glossy front-and then the shit hole round the back that is never shown to the parents
if your face doesn’t fit,you are fucked
its a massive school-and the head doesn’t give a fuck about any of the kids-my friends say this
(i heard about 3/4 years ago they had issues with rats in the kitchen-the school did nothing until one ran across the stage in front of the whole school-the parents went mental and they finally did something about it-I’m not sure if it’s true,but it wouldn’t surprise me)

my son went to millthope-I was very impressed-its a lovely school in a lovely building with great teachers and it’s catchment is scarcroft which is a lovely area-bishy road is ace for shopping and it’s very close to the train station and the city centre
i was sad to leave (we moved away)

I have a dd at Fulford - she likes it and it suits her, but I don't think it's that strong on the pastoral care side of things. I agree with Lost that it's worth considering Millthorpe - it's smaller and less intimidating, and there are some nice places to live that are close to the train station.

Any views on the Woodthorpe area?

I have 2 at Archbishop Holgate's and don't recognise the descriptions above. It's certainly not a shithole- it was recently given an outstanding ofsted at a time when downgrades are more common. Presumably the inspectors saw more than the glossy front...(nb as a parent I have too!)

It's certainly a mixed catchment, which I think is one of its strengths. Stockton Lane - look it up on Rightmove, OP, this is not a poor part of the city and houses come at a premium- is in the AHS catchment, as are many of York's other "leafier" parts. My kids rub shoulders with children whose parents work at the local coop and with the kids of doctors and lawyers and everything in between (i realise this is a slightly reductive way of putting it but hope it makes sense). It's diverse which I think is a good thing.

All Saints is Catholic so if you got your kids into a catholic primary they’d likely get in there (it doesn’t have a catchment area as such). It’s also near the station and has a good reputation (currently at least) for autism support and pastoral care. Millthorpe has a good reputation for pastoral care too

I used to live in dringhouses (just round the corner) and it’s lovely and quiet-a real leafy,well kept bit of York
we only moved because it was too far from family-york high is a dump but there are other schools (the ones I know shut down years ago)
ive never seen York high but I’ve heard about it and it’s not good

(a young girl was murdered about 6 years ago there,but that’s the only scandal I’ve ever heard about-I think it was her stepsister who took her from Foxwood into woodthorpe and killered her there-it was ages ago and honestly,it could have happened anywhere)

acomb is fab for shopping too-loads of charity shops

Hiya how did you get on with this.. are you any further into a decision? We are in the process of thinking and considering a move but only about an hour at max from our hometown. Kids y1 and y5 currently so we are looking at lots of secondary schools which has sparked it for us. Our hometown has quite a lot going for it but a very negative place. Family are here and we have a beautiful home which are huge pulls to stay but the schools and locals are not so.
Eldest has EHCP for additional needs ADHD and suspected ASD.
very difficult thinking of moving from family but we wouldn’t be too far.
actually looking at potentially Market Deeping area - see that you’re Cambridgeshire - any advice?

@katherinious sorry didn’t tag you in my post above 👆🏼☺️

Still slightly in limbo tbh! The last few weeks have been focused on getting our secondary school application sorted for here. We visited 5 schools in total and it was a real eye opener. I now feel much more confident in knowing what we're looking for, it's just extremely unlikely that we will get it because we're not in catchment 😭 The nose diving economy has been another factor and made me question whether now is a good time. I also think that perhaps we should hold out until 1st March to see what school we get allocated rather than do something drastic now and then find out we got the school we wanted! Being in charge of your own destiny is hard at times, isn't it!

You'll know this already but with an EHCP you'll get your choice of school, doesn't change things if you don't like any of your local options though! I'm afraid I don't know anything about Market Deeping, it's the opposite end of the county to us. We're 16m outside Cambridge.

May be a bit late OP, but if you're unsure of neighbourhoods and commutes try renting centrally while you find your feet. Haxby road primary is pretty central with good asd support and will be helpful in continuing the ehcp assessment. They feed to Joseph Rowntree which I think is okay but gets mixed reviews. Fulford (very weird catchment but considered the best state secondary we have) and Huntington are also good schools. If you get the ehcp you can name any secondary and have transport covered.