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Secondary education

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Original poster

My DS still on a waiting list post 11+

15 replies

mim7 · 12/03/2024 20:34

Dear all,
do any of you have any experience of an offer being made from a waiting list place post 11+ this late? Or later in the year? Not sure whether to give up hope as feeling very anxious!

OP posts:
MumOfStarWars · 12/03/2024 20:50

My DC got a waiting list offer in early June. Where we are the waiting lists stay open until the January after term starts. After reallocation round in mid-April (when we were informed we still did not have a place but remained on the waiting list), the lists are handed over from the LA to the schools to manage so we heard directly from the school with an offer.

Nonameoclue · 12/03/2024 21:08

The places were only allocated on March 1st so most haven't started in their waiting lists yet. What area are you in? Your local council will probably say when the next allocations will happen (or the school websites).
Or are you talking about private school year 7 entry?

AvengedQuince · 12/03/2024 21:17

Ds was offered a place in May, but this was after the late test. He would have been in on offer day if he had sat the test at the right time as his rank was about in the middle of those offered a place. I think the school maybe took extras of children in his position, as they went over PAN by one or two per form.

TigerOnTour · 12/03/2024 21:21

If it's a state school then some parents sit on a place but send kids private, then decline in early September. V. rude. So there could be a space after term starts.

Original poster
mim7 · 13/03/2024 06:58

Dear all,
thank you for your insightful replies, it is much appreciated. although he is on a waiting list for a state school he is also on one for an independent school, which would be our preferred choice. any thoughts on offers being made later in the year from an independent school? such a nightmare!!

OP posts:
Charlotte120221 · 13/03/2024 07:18

State waiting lists will definitely move.

independent school waiting lists can move. People may have accepted 2 places, people might move area and people might decide to go with the state offer. BUT the odds of the exact space coming up where your dc is top of the waiting list is not v high. I only know of one example where that happened after the deadline…..

seaisamazing · 13/03/2024 08:20

After Easter holidays there is sometimes movement as parents don't want to be billed for Sept term so give notice at Easter. Which school are you hoping for?

LittleBearPad · 13/03/2024 08:31

Anyone holding two private places will have to make a decision by end of Easter hols or pay September fees. They may be willing to pay two deposits. They won’t pay two sets of fees. Hang in there.

LIZS · 13/03/2024 08:48

Things may move in April as final decisions re. Private/state are made but whether it will become an offer to you depends on how long the list is and his position, and whether the private wants to run at full capacity or has late applicants. Private schools can choose who off a wl to offer to, to get a balance, not in any strict order whereas for a state grammar the order will be according to admissions criteria. Presumably he has state school offer , just not at the selective?

LIZS · 13/03/2024 09:09

The other thing to consider is whether , although having done well enough to make the wl, he might struggle in the competitive environment of an academically selective school.

Dontknowmuchanymore · 13/03/2024 09:21

LIZS · 13/03/2024 09:09

The other thing to consider is whether , although having done well enough to make the wl, he might struggle in the competitive environment of an academically selective school.

I hear this a lot. I appreciate this may be in some cases but in all honestly the difference in score is marginal for an offer vs wl. A bad/good day in the exam makes a huge difference. My DD got in last year from a WL position for a highly selective school and is now flying and achieving marks close to the top of the cohort. The same I’ve heard is the case for friends at local grammar schools. The outcome of one test is highly over analysed.

Charlotte120221 · 13/03/2024 09:43

LIZS · 13/03/2024 09:09

The other thing to consider is whether , although having done well enough to make the wl, he might struggle in the competitive environment of an academically selective school.

IME a short test at age 11 is only a very vague indicator of future potential. The one kid we know who did get a late waiting list offer (late June) for a v desirable S London school? Just got amazing A levels and is now studying medicine....

LIZS · 13/03/2024 10:05

Agree to an extent that a one day is not representative of future potential. However op dc has sat more than one assessment, at least one of which is a process involving interviews as well as tests.

Original poster
mim7 · 13/03/2024 11:09

THANK YOU ALL so much! Very touched by all your responses and support. I am feeling so anxious, I realise that it is ‘just’ a school and that in the grand scheme of life problems it seems petty, but this limbo is painful. And the local mainstream school would not be a good option for our DS. He would really struggle.

OP posts:
seaisamazing · 13/03/2024 11:27

Other option try for a yr 7 and yr8 at a standard prep school without a senior school attached and do the exams again (for a different independent school) for an occasional place / yr 8/9 place. Don't get fixed on one school - lots are brilliant 🤩

Good luck not easy

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