CAN CHILD LEAVE GRAMMAR SCHOOL AND JOIN AGAIN?

[sadierussell2]

can my niece, who passed the 11+ and got into a grammar school leave and come back and not have to take late transfer test because she wrote the 11+

I DON'T KNOW, BUT THERE WOULD HAVE TO BE A SPACE SO I SUSPECT EVEN IF POSSIBLE IN THEORY IT MIGHT BE VERY HARD IN PRACTICE.

Why does she want to leave and then rejoin? Is it for parents to go overseas? Very disrupting.

(Edited for rogue apostrophe)

You relative would have to look at the admissions/ mid-year admissions policy for the school concerned. Waiting lists must be maintained in oversubscription criteria order until 31st December of the year of entry (yr7), but some schools maintain the original list all through the academic year, so it may be that someone leaving, then making a fresh application, within year 7 would be ranked according to their original score / the fact that they passed (you refer to the late transfer test, so are you talking about Bucks - where the actual score, above 121, is irrelevant?). But for admission once the original waiting list is dissolved, it would definitely involve sitting whatever the entrance test is for that point of entry.

It depends on lots of things. Why would she leave and how long for?

You are working on the assumption that there will be a space at the school. If it’s Bucks then that’s HIGHLY unlikely. Places are so much in demand that they could be filled several times over once one becomes available.

You would also have to follow whatever entrance criteria applies to the point she wishes to return. She wouldn’t get a priority place or be bumped to the top of a waiting list just because she had previously been there. They certainly don’t keep places “open” either.

@sadierussell2 Schools can not leave vacant spaces, so as soon as she left the in-year admission criteria would kick in and the next available person would be offered the space and would most likely accept.

If she applied to re-enter the school, you would need two things firstly, a vacant spot and secondly to fulfil the in-year admissions criteria of the school. (This may require her to re-sit the test. It varies from school to school). If you go to the grammar school's website you will be able to view the in-year admission criteria.

It is highly unlikely that she would gain admission if she left the school as grammar schools tend to be very popular and less people tend to leave.

You have to ask the grammar school in question.
My daughter was in a grammar school and wanted to transfer to another grammar school - she had to sit the 12+ to do so. She was only allowed to sit this 12+ because she had passed the 11+.
My friend's son was in a grammar school and wanted to transfer to another grammar school - his mum rang up and asked the new school and they said yes we have just had a space come up and he transferred the same day no exam etc.

The bigger issue will be whether there is a space.
I would imagine that schools' policies on whether they need to sit a new test will partly depend on how long ago the 11+ was. If it's a while, especially they've spent the intervening time in a different education system, there's no guarantee they'll still be on a par with the rest of the kids.