Secondary Dilemma

[TwinklySloth]

Hi all,

Now that my youngest son is in year 5 it's time to start thinking about secondary schools, His older brother is in year 7 (at a school that was my third choice but hey ho) It's a university school and is strict and focuses solely on academia, while I wasn't necessarily thrilled that he got placed there, he is doing quite well as he is relatively academic and does well with rigid routine (he didn't get that from me!)

The thing is, my youngest son is not remotely academic, he's a smart kid, genuinely really bright, but in a different way, I feel like he would thrive at the STEAM school that is slightly further away but actually easier to get to. This is the school I wanted my oldest to attend but because we are 'closer' to the one he's in that's where he was shoved, as well as it having a larger intake.

Obviously I will be applying again with the STEAM school as my first choice and I am fully aware that I have little to no chance, but I'm wondering if there's anything at all I can do to increase the chance? Can teachers get involved or write letters?

I hope it doesn't sound like I have no faith in my son, I do, he's so clever, just not at English and maths which is virtually the only thing the school his brother goes to focuses on. In the last parent's evening his teacher said she thought he would really benefit from our preferred school as they cover all of the things he's actually interested in and good at. I'm just so sick with worry at him being potentially stuck somewhere he just won't thrive no matter how hard he tries.

What can I do?

Thanks😓

Unfortunately all you can do is move house.

Assuming these are state schools in England, then admissions are governed by their admissions criteria - nothing else matters.

You need to read the criteria, and figure out which category you are in. It's most likely to be done on distance, maybe after siblings, so it would simply come down to how far you are from school.

Damn 😥

sigh I thought as much. It doesn't seem fair. I'm in the catchment area for all 3 I applied for last time and still got my last choice. This is my own fault and I should have thought of this when I moved here years ago. Hindsight is 20/20.

Yeh all you can do is move closer to the school you like. It is fair really (as I am sure you know) as places are decided according to specific criteria which are published. Most likely the key one is distance - so someone closer got a place before you. That’s fair imo.

Your second son might get in anyway; might be a smaller birth year, fewer siblings if that’s a category, or just more ppl preferring different schools. He’ll still have to do English and maths tho! Does your older ds’s school not offer any creative subjects?

Current Year 7 is a “bulge year”. Kids who were born roughly 9 months after 50 Shades of Grey was at its highest apparently. 😂

I'm not sure there's any point offering options if a child is only ever going to get in to the closest school though! No nothing at all, well, there's bog standard DT, and performing arts once a week which he isn't interested in at all, that's it. I am aware he would have to do english and maths at the other school but it's not the only thing they focus on, he wouldn't be made to feel an absolute fool because he can't do the ONLY thing they really want him to...

I never read it but I recall the hype 😂

I don't understand why they try to give you the illusion of options of schools either. Some areas are oversubscribed and you would only ever get your nearest school or a really poor one miles away if you hadn't put your nearest on the form.

He'll get STEM at any secondary.

yeah a little bit, they sit and watch a 3d printer sometimes my son in year 7 says (wow 😂) but 90% focus on english and maths, they don't even do IT. It's absolutely nothing like what's on offer at the school I want him in where they mostly go straight in to apprenticeships upon leaving because it's partnered with several big local businesses. When he leaves the 'university school' all he's going to have is a complex and the knowledge that he's shit at english.

@TwinklySloth I agree that presenting school allocation as a choice for parents is misleading; I always talk about expressing a preference, as that is what you are doing. If you could actually choose, every parent would choose the great school in their area, after all.

It's still worth listing the schools you prefer in the order you prefer them tho – as long as you put a banker (catchment/closest) school on there (last on the list if you like). You might still be offered your preferred school even if out of catchment. I live nearish to a very popular school and DC do go there from my local area (I see them in the uniform) even tho we are out of catchment.

I would question what you say about your older child’s school tho. You say it offers no creative subjects then say it does offer DT and drama. So not no creative subjects then. Does it really not offer art or music in KS3? That is surprising tbh.

Then you say that the school is 90% focused in English and maths. Surely you cannot mean that 90% of the timetable is taken up with those subjects? That 2-3 lessons a week cover all of history, geography, DT, drama, MFL, RE, biology, chemistry, physics, PE, PSHE (and that's if CS, art and music do not feature)?

It might be helpful, as your son is there and by the sound of it your other son might go there too, to reframe your view of the school more positively? Not studying IT is not unusual IME btw as there is no GCSE, and computing teachers are hard to recruit so that may not be covered I guess. But otherwise the school surely must cover the subjects I mention.

I would say, as a parent of a child who had to resit GCSEs post-16, that passing English and maths at first go is a good thing, so the fact that the school focuses a lot on those subjects is a positive in my view. Especially if, as I infer from your posts, your son struggles with those subjects. He needs to take them and ideally he needs to pass them, so a heavy focus on that will surely benefit him?

I would question what you say about your older child’s school tho. You say it offers no creative subjects then say it does offer DT and drama. So not no creative subjects then. Does it really not offer art or music in KS3? That is surprising tbh.

Sounds a bit like Michaela...

Nothing you can do to help your chances of a place. You could consider appealing after places are allocated based on why the school would really suit him. That's where letters from teachers would help. It's a long process with poor odds (most appeals don't succeed) so you have to decide if it's the right process for you.