School offers day 2023

[UsernameOfMine]

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?

The school admissions code says that oversubscription criteria must spell out what they mean by “sibling”. It’s possible (under the code) to give priority to siblings of former pupils if that’s what the LEA/school decide to do but, equally, there are many schools which don’t give priority to siblings of pupils in years 12-13.

Most over subscription criteria (if not all, I can't remember every one) that I have read state "sibling currently in years 7-10 who will still attend in September"

As someone pointed out....a sibling in year 11 could choose to go to college or may not get exam results to carry on at sixth form, or do an apprenticeship, etc.... So there is no guarantee that the sibling will continue at the school. And therefore the increased need for that school is diminished.

I don't know about the "if sibling is definitely in sixth form". I guess as year 11 child at present may plan on going but change mind, a current year 12 sibling could also drop out and go elsewhere.... So maybe these reasonings are why it is current yr7-10.

Sibling priority mostly exists to avoid children in different schools. It's more of an issue in primary school where it can make it logistically impossible for the parents, and common a sibling in year 6 doesn't count as they wouldn't be at the school anyway once the other started.
Around here most high schools don't even have sibling priority as they assume high school children can get themselves to school and therefore a parent having to be in two places at once wouldn't be an issue.

There is no universal rule. Each admission authority can set its own rules as to when sibling priority applies.

In our area sibling defo means one still in the school when next one starts. Sixth forms don't count. Loads of families have kids in diff high schools for loads of reasons

DD is a straight 9 student so no issue with grades! We don't have a sixth form however so it's pretty clear that they can only have a priority up to year 10 at the point of application. That's another problem because the nearest 6th form is a 60 minute bus journey so I have the worry of DD trying to find a suitable college place because any other options are a very long way away.

If, for example, the lists currently sits at 145, is that 145 who applied total or 145 who applied as first preference. Could that number then go up as well as down if it then accounts for 2nd and 3rd preferences? I'm just curious as to how it works tbh. I won't know and don't want to know re DS until Weds as for application purposes, I'm a parent and not staff.

I'm pretty sure with the equal preference system the schools will not know which preference the parents put it.

So my DD name will be sent to 5 different schools and each will be treated as a separate application.

Each school will then rank each application in the order that places will be offered. This is then sent to the LA.

They will then look down the lists and sort out who goes where...e.g if DD was high enough rank to be offered at schools 4 and 5 (likely as these are her certainty places) then her name will be taken off school 5 list and her provisionally be given school 4.

So then someone else would be offered her school 5 place.

Then her 3rd preference may become available because someone is offered their higher ranking preference....so her 4th preference will then go back into the "school places pool" and she's provisionally given school 3.

This carries on until everyone has their school place.

They must then tell the schools who is allocated before offers day- there is definitely a thing where the schools are not supposed to write to their new students until a few days after offer day.

Everyone needs to check how they are expected to accept a place in their area - some you have to actually accept the place, others you accept by default and only contact if you are wishing to reject the offer. That bit of the letter / email is almost more important than the actual offer.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Everybody's locked out these days until NOD because somebody proved they couldn't be trusted.

If, for example, the lists currently sits at 145, is that 145 who applied total or 145 who applied as first preference

Preference doesn't come into it until nearer the end. Every school you choose is treat (during allocations) as a stand alone application regardless of where you ranked it.

So the system may give your child acceptance to all three on your list. The algorithm then allocates you in your letter the highest school on your list, from the ones the child got.

Nervous now it's so close. We put the schools in order:-

1. Very unlikely to get but I really want.
2. Feeder secondary, pretty much guaranteed, we all think it's fine.
3. Dds favourite (due to sports) but actually is the least likely one to get in, and I have reservations about it.

Will probably get 2. I'd be cock a hoop if we get 1. Fingers crossed we get one on the list and not the shithole down the road.

I think our offers will come in close to Midnight so late night on Tuesday.

Logged in last night to check I can still remember my password and also that I did actually submit form 🤣

DD seems remarkably calm.

It's annoying me that I don't know the term dates for September ha ha.

We'll get email around 8.30am -9 am
Mine is a sibling so a done deal

That's not quite what I meant and I probably worded it incorrectly. I know about equal preference system from the application pov but was idly wondering about sheer numbers. It arises from a conversation we had at work recently about whether recent changes to the Ofsted rating of several local schools would change the application numbers. The data manager said she knew the number on the list viewable to her and it's around double our PAN, but I was wondering if the numbers available ATM accounted for every single application regardless of preference or if the schools receive the final lists in advance of the announcement next week. I know years ago that the school office knew who had been admitted before the parents found out.

Mine has a sibling too, but on the confirmation email it doesn't mention that! So I logged in this morning just to check I had definitely included it 🙃

We usually get an email late in the evening. Anywhere between 5-7pm usually. But the result is available on the eAdmissions website earlier than that.

We are definitely told beforehand which schools our year 6s are being offered; that's when we usually find out some don't have anywhere because their parent didn't submit an application!

When do you find out Deit?

Usually a few days I think - I had just remembered about it, so am planning checking with the office staff on Monday, because it gets sent to them, then they pass it on to the Head of year 6.

I've been googling can kids stay in primary for an extra year. It's all feeling far too real to me now and I'm not mentally ready for the next stage of DDs education (she assures me she is more than ready). I half want Wednesay to hurry up and half don't want it to arrive as I want to freeze time. Anyone else feeling like this?

@Tappetytap by the end of summer term they are so ready to move on. By Oct you'll not be able to imagine them back at primary

Urghhh. Just read a really depressing article in The Telegraph. 'First choice secondary offers set to hit an all time low' apparently. There are an additional 40,000 children transferring to year 7 following a spike in the birth rate in 2011. They say the number of children likely to be offered their first choice will fall below 80% for the first time ever.

Not what anyone with a child in year six wants to read at this point.

It doesn't surprise me as it is true for my county.

Next few years were a lot lower.

But there will be lots of disappointed parents locally.

I don't think I will be one of them but not counting my chickens before they hatch.

I think a lot of people are unrealistic with their first choices.
Taking grammars out when we applied for our eldest...our top 2 choices were ones we knew he likely wouldn't get. But put them "just in case" there was a chance. We did make sure we put our local guaranteed catchment school as last choice so there would be a place offered.

Admissions criteria has changed locally so top choice for ds we had no chance of, now for DD she would have a good chance of getting.