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Secondary education

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

Original poster

School offers day 2023

449 replies

UsernameOfMine · 09/02/2023 10:01

So.... secondary school offer day is almost upon us. How is everyone dealing with the wait?

My DD is thinking about it far more than I would have hoped, is counting down the days and asking everyday if they will come out early. She's angry at the council that they can't sort the whole process out in a week. Apparently it's "not that hard to sort it out"🤔 I have tried to explain the process and that it's not just her it's every other child in the district (and neighbouring district as we've applied for schools there too), but she's just being impatient to know.

I'm thinking about it...but I thought I'd be worse with her been dc2 and wanting her to go to the same school as dc1. (No sibling priority at that school) but she's got a good chance of it so trying not to stress.

So how about everyone else?

OP posts:
Original poster
UsernameOfMine · 23/02/2023 09:45

@Jules912 our first 2 are grammars, I'm pretty sure we only had to sit the exam and name it on the form...though I also worry I've not done something right.
3rd choice (would have been happy with this school and choice 1 if she hadn't passed 11+) ...she would have gotten last year
4th we are at the feeder school so should be offered a place should we get that far. But it's fair banding so again not guaranteed. And it's undergoing improvements so won't be at full potential for a year or so.
5th choice we are in catchment and would get a place. but DD is adamant she doesn't want to go there. (I have promised her it won't get this far...I really don't want to be proven a liar 😭)

OP posts:
starpatch · 23/02/2023 10:03

Username of mine I know it will be similar here people putting schools they didn't stand a chance at. But in our case its because Kent don't publish the last distance offered information for secondaries which really frustrates me. I did a freedom of information request to get the information I needed- but I really shouldn't have had to do that most people aren't that pigheaded! My son sat the local test at local grammar, which gives them a second chance of passing if they don't pass kent test, but its only for that school. He told me lots of the other boys were from the next town over, I know they have no chance of a place in that school but its not the parent's fault as that information is not published.

gabster33 · 23/02/2023 11:56

ChocHotolate · 13/02/2023 08:05

I find it frustrating that in London we have to wait until 5pm to find out when some areas find out just after midnight, 8am etc...
Am I cynical in thinking it's just to save the phone calls to the admissions team for another day?

It allows people to cool down overnight and don't phone up shouting straight away at admissions. Even better when it falls on Friday as people have the weekend to cool down.

snowtrees · 23/02/2023 13:37

@starpatch I'm suprised there hasn't been campaigning to get the data.
I think it should be more highlighted in our area. People put schools over 2 miles away with year on year last distance around a mile etc

Original poster
UsernameOfMine · 23/02/2023 14:35

gabster33 · 23/02/2023 11:56

It allows people to cool down overnight and don't phone up shouting straight away at admissions. Even better when it falls on Friday as people have the weekend to cool down.

Show quote history

Haha reminds me when I worked at a private day nursery attached to a prep school. They would always send bad news emails/letters at the beginning of school holidays. But as the day nursery was open 52weeks a year they would get through to us and shout down the phone at us. We had to constantly explain we had nothing to do with the school side and could they please call back after the holiday.

OP posts:
PatChaunceysFruitCake · 23/02/2023 18:21

@starpatch, that is mind boggling! I thought my LA was bad being all mysterious about school transport when it's available to anyone who wishes to send in an FOI request.

starpatch · 23/02/2023 18:25

Its very weird not sure if they are just being old fashioned or if its something to do with out of area interest in the grammars. Also people round here don't like to complain.

LockInAtTheFeathers · 23/02/2023 18:37

@starpatch My LA is strange like this as well- they do now publish the last admissions distances but they only started doing it about 2 years ago. When we moved house (before this), I emailed them to ask the distances for the primary schools we were interested in to check whether we were likely to get them from our new house. Most LAs do seem to have them freely available though, as I agree they should be!

ShowOfHands · 23/02/2023 21:35

No distances published here either. We also don't have grammar schools which removes an element of complication but we do only get 3 preferences. I put:

Closest school, where I work and where his sister attends. Unlikely to get in.

School around 15 minutes away which is oversubscribed and highly likely not to get a place.

Catchment school (also 15 minutes away). Almost guaranteed to get in.

Every year I tell friends repeatedly that they can't play the system. A few years ago, a friend put one choice only and it was a school she had zero chance of getting. She was adamant they'd have to offer it. Guess what happened?

I know for a fact that the school where I work has the lists already. It's unbearable. I know my colleague knows - wouldn't dream of asking - and I have to wait another week.

Meredusoleil · 23/02/2023 21:44

ShowOfHands · 23/02/2023 21:35

No distances published here either. We also don't have grammar schools which removes an element of complication but we do only get 3 preferences. I put:

Closest school, where I work and where his sister attends. Unlikely to get in.

School around 15 minutes away which is oversubscribed and highly likely not to get a place.

Catchment school (also 15 minutes away). Almost guaranteed to get in.

Every year I tell friends repeatedly that they can't play the system. A few years ago, a friend put one choice only and it was a school she had zero chance of getting. She was adamant they'd have to offer it. Guess what happened?

I know for a fact that the school where I work has the lists already. It's unbearable. I know my colleague knows - wouldn't dream of asking - and I have to wait another week.

Why wouldn't your dc2 get your 1st choice school if you work there AND they have an older sibling there already? Surely that would place them high up on the list of admissions criteria?!?

PatChaunceysFruitCake · 23/02/2023 22:03

@ShowOfHands, yes! One of the dads in DD's class was advocating this approach on Facebook.

See also not understanding equal preference and thinking putting a school as choice one will trump anyone who has put it as a lower choice but is in a higher oversubscription criteria.

ShowOfHands · 23/02/2023 22:21

Meredusoleil · 23/02/2023 21:44

Why wouldn't your dc2 get your 1st choice school if you work there AND they have an older sibling there already? Surely that would place them high up on the list of admissions criteria?!?

Show quote history

Explained above.

DD is y11 so no sibling priority and you have to have worked there 2 years to get priority and I've worked there for 18 months.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 23/02/2023 22:35

ShowOfHands · 12/02/2023 21:28

I work in the high school in which DD is currently in y11. It's actually our closest school. DS, who is due to move to high school in September, almost certainly won't get in despite having medical and social need and me working there. Our LA is so, so strict, I haven't known a successful appeal for years and the school is oversubscribed. I'm bracing myself for the appeals process and very worried because I can't physically get ds to school and be at work at the same time.

The galling thing is, I know the school already has the list and I can't know. The waiting is awful.

They still don't know. They will know the order of the list that they uploaded to the LA system, but there is absolutely no way of knowing who out of those applications put your school down as the first choice, who will accept, who will decline, who doesn't do anything and ends up having their offer withdrawn, who will change their mind, who decides to go private, moves house, appeals successfully to be offered a place at a different school - the school is completely locked out of the system until NOD and only then about an hour before the emails go out.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 23/02/2023 22:40

MKDmumofflash · 23/02/2023 07:16

I feel sick here. Since submitting our form (only allows 3 choices) one option has been rated ofsted inadequate, one has been investigated for financial misconduct and is waiting for its ofsted to be published, and the 3rd is rumoured to be challenging it's ofsted result.

I am now completely doubting myself 😪

Once you have your offer, you accept it AND ask to be put onto the waiting list for any other school you want, whether it was in your preferences or not. It'll be handled as a late application, but there is always a chance that you will be offered a place between April and the end of September (and also after that point, as waiting lists have to be kept at least until Christmas by law).

Abouttimemum · 23/02/2023 22:42

DS has no clue what’s going on to be honest!

NeverDropYourMooncup · 23/02/2023 22:43

Tappetytap · 14/02/2023 09:47

@ShowOfHands Ah I think this will all work out good in the end. If you dont get a place initially, you could always appeal, stating all the reasons you've stated on here. Surely, if you work in the school, there has to be an element of "its not what you know, its who you know" once the official list comes out...

What? No.

Admission Appeal Panels are entirely independent of the school. Details of how to appeal must be on every school website by 28th February, so if you wish to appeal, which you have the absolute right to, you just follow that procedure.

Live4weekend · 23/02/2023 23:27

Getting nervous here!

We should get our 1st choice but its a BIG year.

2nd choice she has no chance ( she wanted it 2nd)

3rd choice - its fine but she really doesn't want to go there. (It's actually where most of her classmates will go).

We really only have 3 schools she could go to and 1st choice is the only one she could walk / bike too.

Just want to know now. But there will be a lot of disappointed parents locally on 1st March.

Meredusoleil · 24/02/2023 05:53

ShowOfHands · 23/02/2023 22:21

Explained above.

DD is y11 so no sibling priority and you have to have worked there 2 years to get priority and I've worked there for 18 months.

Show quote history

Oh sorry. Didn't see the explanation. I still assumed a sibling in Y11 would count. Even if they were in Y12 or Y13 if the school has a sixth form. They are technically still on role after all!

Pipsquiggle · 24/02/2023 07:02

@ShowOfHands

I had no idea that a sibling in Yr 11 wouldn't count, particularly if that school had a sixth form.

So if your older DC was in yr10 you could have put sibling priority down?

TeenDivided · 24/02/2023 07:27

Reasons for not counting y11 as a sibling:
They may not get the grades - what happens then ? Is place withdrawn?
They may prefer to go elsewhere - do they get pressured to stay just so sibling gets a place?
y12 places aren't confirmed until enrolment which happens after GCSE results.

prh47bridge · 24/02/2023 08:14

TeenDivided · 24/02/2023 07:27

Reasons for not counting y11 as a sibling:
They may not get the grades - what happens then ? Is place withdrawn?
They may prefer to go elsewhere - do they get pressured to stay just so sibling gets a place?
y12 places aren't confirmed until enrolment which happens after GCSE results.

No, they can't withdraw the place. Once a place has been offered, there are only limited grounds for withdrawing it. They cannot withdraw just because an older sibling leaves the school, regardless of the reason.

Tappetytap · 24/02/2023 08:55

@Pipsquiggle It's the same at primary level I believe. If the older sibling is in year 6 at the time you apply then sibling priority doesn't count.

PatChaunceysFruitCake · 24/02/2023 10:08

It makes a lot of sense to me. If the older child isn't going to be at the school when the younger one starts it can't be right to have higher priority over a child in similar circumstances without an older sibling.

Pipsquiggle · 24/02/2023 10:47

So the cut off for the sibling rule would be when younger child is in year 6 applying for secondary school and older child is in year 10.

So when younger child joins secondary school in yr 7, older child would be in year 11

Essentially a 4 year academic gap is the max? Can you put siblings if older DC is definitely in 6th form?

God, it's a bloody minefield!

Meredusoleil · 24/02/2023 11:36

Pipsquiggle · 24/02/2023 10:47

So the cut off for the sibling rule would be when younger child is in year 6 applying for secondary school and older child is in year 10.

So when younger child joins secondary school in yr 7, older child would be in year 11

Essentially a 4 year academic gap is the max? Can you put siblings if older DC is definitely in 6th form?

God, it's a bloody minefield!

I honestly hand on heart have never heard of this. My understanding has always been that what matters is if there is an older sibling on roll at the time of application for the younger sibling! Am actually finding it hard to believe this is really the case, as it is a definite disadvantage to those families that have children with a bigger than 4 year age gap 🤔

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