Schools in Kingston upon Thames - I seem to be not eligible for any of them!

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Hello!

I have a child in year 4 and I am trying to work out secondary options. Just had a bit of a fright as when I look on the council website I don't think he would have got in any of the schools this year. We live further than the furthest place awarded for all of them and he's not a sibling. WTF do I do? Do I need to move?! He might get into the super selective but definitely wouldn't want to rely on that.

Depends where you live - are you near a boundary of another borough? Are there no schools in the borough that are undersubscribed. The normal answer if you are in a school desert is that you will be given the borough undersubscribed school so definitely worth knowing what that is or what the equivalent is in the next boroughs.

I don't think any are undersubscribed but maybe I am misunderstanding the list. I haven't looked at neighbouring boroughs but I will I guess. I am used to the Scottish system where I would have a catchment school, it seems insane to me that this isn't the case here.

No there isn't a catchment unless the authority has identified a desert and ringfenced some places accordingly i.e Glenthorne and Worcester Park.

How you can tell if a school is undersubscribed is that everyone who applied for a place in the previous year got one and therefore the distance on the council website is really large or in fact zeroed.

What are the school uniforms down your road or near your house - where are they all going?

What are the school uniforms down your road or near your house - where are they all going?

Mostly private - I live right next to Kingston Grammar School which I cannot afford. Older children (and their younger siblings) are at The Kingston Academy but the catchment there is now tiny so no chance from our road.

I am properly panicked.

ETA - I just rechecked, no school was undersubscribed.

Thank you for taking the time to answer by the way.

I have just looked and it varies between Chessington, Coombe Boys and Southborough High School.

Sutton schools I think you are too far from. Raynes Park High also undersubscribed.

Start investigating schools further away on public transport with eg. Lottery places, banding test, music/sport aptitude etc etc. That is what we are probably going to have to do with our youngest. Grammar will be too competitive now because of kids leaving the private sector. Our previous outstanding school catchment has shrunk massively. Looking at school uniforms is a good bet or local buses/train station and what uniforms the kids are wearing there.

I am too far from Coombe boys - it's not undersubscribed, last admission was 2.1 km. I will look at the other two.

I may need to move house eek.

Chessington says to contact the school for the last place offered info so I will do that but it's a long way off.

Chessington says 7.1k

I am 7.2km so not there either. Where is that distance by the way? I am looking at the admissions brochure for Kingston. Seems like we need another school in borough!

Of course Greenshaw in Sutton has a grammar stream that is undersubscribed and not distance based as far as I know.

https://5f2fe3253cd1dfa0d089-bf8b2cdb6a1dc2999fecbc372702016c.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/14108/Kingston_Sec_offers_2023_2021.pdf

Thank you!

Chessington the distance is increasing every year and 2022/21 says "all preferences met" so seems like youll get. That one. What is your distance from hollyfield?

I am 2k from Hollyfield and distance last time was 1.76

I would not have got into Chessington last year but would in other years so who knows.

I think since 2013 the birth rate has been declining so seems possible you'll get either of those

That was on National Offer Day. The furthest distance eventually offered was much bigger as shown in the link a PP posted.

https://www.kingston.gov.uk/downloads/file/1020/kingston---furthest-distance-offers-2023-2021

Ahhh thank you you're right, we would have got that.

Just seen we may be OK for Teddington too. I need to get looking at these.

You probably would have got a place at Chessington because based on that chart no further offers were made after national coordination. That means nobody was on the waiting list, so distance would have been irrelevant at that point.

Are you Catholic? Apart from Tiffin schools the best results have Holly Cross and Richard Challoner.
I guess you live too far from Grey Court

No not Catholic and way too far from Grey Court. I am in a bit of a black hole for secondaries I think!

People I know near you either send their kids to Teddington or Hollyfield. Teddington isn't too bad if your child cycles, along the river and over the lock.

Teddington would definitely be an easier journey than Chessington I think. I seem to have a complete dearth of older boys among my friends here! Of the families I know with children at secondary already they are either private, Tiffin or they have girls and have gone to Coombe or Tolworth!