Just offered a higher preference school - Take it or wait it out for even higher preference? (Plus a Birmingham specific question)

[2smellysocks]

DS started Y7 last week at our 5th preference school. We didn’t make a big fuss about it when it was offered, accepted it, we’re positive about it, didn’t bother with appeals or complain and never expected to get anything higher.

I’ve just got home, checked my emails and we’ve been offered our 3rd preference. Seems like a no brainer not to accept it considering it was never expected, but wondering, especially as it’s only been a week, whether it would be worth waiting it out for 1st or 2nd preference as there seems to be movement that we weren’t expecting.

DS seems relatively happy in his short time at the school considering none of his primary school friends ended up here with him and from the very short experience I’ve had of it, it seems absolutely fine. I actually, although was unsure of it when putting on the list, like how they have structured Y7 for it to be a half way house between primary and full on secondary in Y8 with a big emphasis on maths and english. It seems to be doing him some good. I’m not sure the traditional secondary school way of 3rd preference would suit him now I’ve seen how he’s taken to 5th preferences structure.
Only thing I don’t like so far is the journey. It takes him 50 mins door to door on 2 busses, which he seems to have got the hang of, where 3rd preference would be 30 minutes door to door on one bus.
On the other hand, I can see 3rd preference as offering a lot more in the longer term in terms of options, extra curricular and general opportunities.

For those who know Birmingham the schools are Lordswood boys and Kings Norton boys. Looking for direct experiences, opinions, anything really that you would like to share which would make you choose one over the other.

I wonder if the 50 minute journey will become more of an issue as it gets further into winter with bad weather and dark nights ? Particularly if your DS wants to do any after school clubs . No recent knowledge of the schools - personal or otherwise. I used to work in the education office for Birmingham LA and at that time they were both known as 'OK' schools - but this was quite a few years back .

Call the higher preference schools to see where you are in the wait list. Tough choices, we just swapped to a higher preference school after the first week.

See what your son feels, contact other schools to see if the lists have moved and then make a decision.

I feel like I’m choosing secondary all over again. Currently searching through both websites to compare and search for information.

ShinyApples has raised one of my concerns - winter on the busses. I am wondering though whether I’m having this concern because he’s only 11 and in a year or 2 it might not even cross my mind as a problem. I’m not too worried about after school things because the busses are regular. If it comes to it, it’s about 10-15 minutes in the car (traffic dependent). 3rd preference is about similar.

I will ask DS what he thinks and contact higher preferences tomorrow to see where we are on the lists.

Am I allowed to ask 3rd preference questions? Things like

• How will you do baseline testing to assess needs, progress and targeted support (I know 5th preference has already done/in the middle of doing this and have identified DS might need some additional English support).
• Current school have identified additional English support might be needed, how will you use this information to support DS?
• Other questions which are relevant to us.
• Other questions which occur to me during my website searches.

I don’t envy you this decision! Our DS has started at 4th choice and I’ve contacted 1st choice to see where we are on the wait list now (no reply yet!). But if they offered him a place I’d be torn. All his primary friends are at first choice and it’s closer, but now I’ve seen things I really like about 4th choice and wondering whether it would be a better fit for him longer term. Hoping I never get put in that position! I think we were about 28th going into the summer and it is a popular school. It’s all boys though which should make the wait list move slower than mixed. Sorry I’m of no help!

Experienced teacher here. In younger year groups, schools are pretty similar. Don’t think I would move him for a 3rd choice. I am trying to imagine how you ended up with your 5th choice though? Did you choose popular schools you had no chance of getting into 1, 2, 4th choices?

Perhaps look at this year’s GCSE pass rate, non attendance percentage, and check the behaviour of older children with your son. On the journey, two buses when it is cold, rainy or snowy on a dark at 4 pm winter evening is no fun at all. Both schools are quite some distance from you.

Lordswood has a lot less pupils and I would wonder why. But less pupils can be a positive thing. On the other hand, as it’s on the Hagley road- traffic will be a bitch in the winter so it will take a lot longer to get home.

@SuperSue77 In one way I wish this had never happened. It’s causing some unneeded stress for me right now.
I do hope things work out for you and you get what you would like or your 4th choice turns out to be even better than your first. It really is a tough one.

@Chunkyspunkymunkey Luck of the admissions game I suppose.
We applied for University of Birmingham which I knew was a long shot but DS liked it and a lot of his friends were applying. Some of them got a place, we didn’t. We also applied for DECS, based on passed admissions it was 2/3 chance. We were on the wrong side of the 2/3 this year. Then Kings Norton which based on the stats last year was another 2/3 chance. Again, just not on our side this year.
Then there was Thomas Aquinas. I thought at the time it was a silly choice but we all liked the school, know kids near who have got in on distance places and it was balanced with seemingly sensible choices. Then there was Lordswood and then bournville both of which were almost guaranteed.
We deliberately avoided Shenley - I know it’s improved and we would have got a place but we have our own reasons for not choosing it and happy we are not there.
Then I didn’t even consider Bartley, no one has got a place in years and we’ve never been in the cut off as long as I can remember. Although, apparently we would have this year, their normal 1500m seems to have expanded to 7 miles. So either everyone has had the same thoughts or somethings gone wrong.
So yeah, just the admissions game doing it’s thing. I’ll admit we were happy with all the schools we named and to get one off the list/a named preference is always a bonus. Just, would have preferred to not have to make this decision a week into term.

Sorry went off on a tangent there. Thanks for the points, will be checking those.

@Danikm151 Lordswood has had a dodgy history. It wasn’t the best and went into special measures. It’s been on the up the last few years and is now in an academy trust which has its head screwed on, is rated good, results are improving and so are pupils numbers. They do have a nice new building now as well. Not that that means a lot, just a side point. I think it’s suffering slightly from its lagging reputation. I hate to say it, but from some things I’ve heard other parents saying, it may be suffering from the 50% English not first language and the general background of the school population. Which is a real shame really because we named it based on what the schoolcould offer and the fact we felt welcomed/listened to/the kids were nice.

You won’t get an offer from UoB no matter how long you wait so I wouldn’t hold out for it.

DECS you might do but it won’t be any time soon and when you get it your DS will be settled and you probably won’t want to move him. Unless something goes really wrong, you need to move him now to KNBS or he will always be at LBS.

Personally I prefer KNBS. It has more to offer. LBS might have a good Y7 foundation programme but KNBS is better in the later years. Saying that, LBS might be good if your DS has some learning issues with English because they have a good support department. But so do KNBS and they offer outdoors and drama and lots of sports and more technology options which children who have learning issues usually excel at. It’s a tough one. But I’d would go for KNBS. Please remember, you put it higher than LBS for a reason. You are only on week 2, there’s a whole 5 years to consider.

Plus the travelling will be a whole lot easier. 2 busses in winter and the hagley road and I’m already running in the opposite direction. It will be a nightmare of missed, late and cancelled busses.

I think the OPs logic was very sensible when choosing their schools. Considering the state of some of them and the pressure this puts on the rest it was quite a cleaver move naming LBS. I know a far few who overlooked it and ended up with a completely random school they didn’t list or the one they were trying to avoid in the first place.

You could of had our DECS place. We changed our minds and changed to Shenley as in the end as it would of been a 30-40 minute walk to DECS and a 5 minute one to Shenley and we wanted her to have a nice school home balance and not spend loads of time travelling. We are so pleased with our decision. She really likes Shenley. She also didn't go with a single person from her primary. She is home by 3.10 at the latest, no buses, no stress. What decision did you make in the end?