Preparing for school preferences application

[JamMakingWannaBe]

I'm just wondering...

What is to stop a parent, two years before secondary allocation, checking what GSCSs / extra curricular activities are on offer at their preferred school and then signing DC up to "mandarin" classes and "oboe lessons" so when they are not offered their 1st preference school they have some solid "grounds for appeal" as the 2nd preference school does not offer a Chinese cultural exchange or a woodwind orchestra?

If it is possible, are some parents doing this, and if so, why don't more parents do it?

I would have thought that would require a considerable amount of practically Machiavellian aforethought! And would require persuading a 9/10 year old to attend - by which point the interest might actually be true ;-)

I suppose it is an extension of the religious practice to secure a faith place or moving close to preferred school but with fewer guarantees. Seems extreme tbh

Do schools (other than niche possibly private ones) have extracurricular activities in the admissions criteria? Round here for the typical pupil it basically comes down to where you live and possibly religion if you want a faith school.

Nothing's stopping them. Same way some will put their toddlers in for violin lessons or start a niche sport very early so they can maximise chances of getting a scholarship to particular independent schools or pay for private tutors in the hope that the coaching will allow them to perform better than uncoached children with higher IQs in grammar school tests.

They are, of course, gambling that the preferred school will still be offering those things in two years' time, as a term can be a long time in education - the Mandarin lessons, for example, would often be solely dependent upon a single teacher, just as Latin or Classics/Astronomy would be. But if they've got the money - and it boils down to money in the end, kids living in poverty do not have the same opportunities - then it's what some parents will do.

I've never witnessed anyone actually win an appeal on these sorts of grounds - it's one of those "only on Mumsnet" things. 😁 In all of the appeals I've witnessed, the panel have taken the view that whatever extra-curricular is in place now, it is likely to be transient, i.e. might not be in place in future. They know that things like orchestras and Mandarin classes are optional extras that come and go from year to year in line with school budgets, staff turnover and goodwill.

I have seen conversations on here about learning niche musical instruments as the second instrument to improve musical scholarship chances so I suspect that a sharp elbowed person would do the mandarin lesson thing.

They're not allowed to have them in the admission criteria. It's explicitly against the Admissions Code.

Some policies test for "aptitude" but that's different.

Extra curricular activities put in at school are generally done by the goodwill of a teacher, who is free to leave if they want. DS was really looking forward to the guitar ensemble at his high school, which did not exist by the time he started.

While some activities will be transient, my secondary school certainly had a very well established German exchange programme.
If you knew parents with DC already at the school, or followed the school on Facebook, you could definitely get a feel for their key subjects and achievements IE: hockey, maths challenges etc.

Because a lot of parents get their first choice.

And many more don’t mind that much between their first and second choices.

And lots of schools won’t be that differentiated and both or neither will have German or Mandarin

Some parents won’t know appeals are even possible

And some of those who know they are won’t know what possible grounds there could be in this area and would assume that things like transport would carry more weight.

Once you’ve been through all those gates, the population of parents left to try what you suggestion won’t be larg!

My kid has been in high school for 5 years, so year 11 now. Extracurricular comes and goes. What might be available one time won't be the next. I think forcing a child to learn mandarin or an instrument they don't like just to win an appeal is horrendous and unlikely to win a place anyway .