Help 😁 St Marylebone school for girls waiting list movement

[Kalimero]

Does anyone know what has been the movement in the past for Open places in band A at St Marylebone?
I heard that band A has the most movement as the kids ending up in that band traditionally target Grammar and private schools.
How hopeful can we be holding currently spot 25 in band A Open place?

that's a long way down... aren't there 30 places in that band?

15 for Open places. This is the breakdown for Marylebone this year

There are 15 places in that band.

Sorry Op, I don't the answer, how far from the school are you? I would think the biggest movement will be in the next month, it will be worth finding out your waiting list position at the end of the month and perhaps dropping an email to the admissions email address and asking how far down the waiting list they typically go in that band before September.

We're 1,700 far... Thank you for the advice, the whole process is so unnerving

Honestly? If I’m understanding you right then I’d say absolutely no chance. If there are 15 places and you are no 25 on the waiting list, then every place needs to be refused AND 10 ahead of you need to pass their places up too.

i feel I must have misunderstood you though…

I have a friend in a similar position but different band. When they gave you the wait list position, was it def within that band rather than overall? I suppose it has to be?

I'm with @Yellowingtrees . You're basically hoping that everyone who was allocated that band decide to go to another school, plus the first 10 wait list children are offered schools they prefer. It's a lot.

This is exactly what I was thinking, although I maybe I’m just not understanding? Although I guess just one person could refuse their place and all 24 ahead of the OP on the waiting list all refuse it too… feels massively unlikely though.

Does anyone know how far the waitlist offers have gone in previous years?

I find the admissions in this school corrupted. I wish I could say on this post why, but I will let you know that not much movement happens with St Marylebone, it is oversubscribed, the open places usually go to the children that score the highest in the test.

This is not necessarily true. Any EHCP holders, LAC, children of staff, and aptitude admissions are taken off the place number, prior to banding, then banding is applied, then 60% of the banded places go to children who have demonstrated a faith commitment and 40% are open. Any faith places not taken become open. In theory (notwithstanding the article I posted earlier) the distribution should be fair across ability groups.

That's what they tell you.
You should speak to parents that have got a place for their child that are not CoE faith and live quite a distance from the school. My niece is muslim, got offered a place at StM, and girls that are CoE and catholic faith, also attend church in the same class, didn't get a place, some even live closer to the school than she does but they were offered the waiting list, others won't even allowed on the waiting list.

I’d be very careful about making unfounded accusations like that on a public forum.

@Millianire There's no such thing as a catholic place at St M though - it's either CofE or open place. And would this not just be due to banding?

This happens with schools who have a variety of strands of entry. At Marylebone a Looked After Child, no matter their religion or financial standing, will get in first, as well children who have EHCPs that have the school named in section I. After that, aptitude places, then children of staff. After that, the banding will be done. Someone who lives very close to the school but is in band C may not get a place, whereas someone who lives further out in band B might, and vice versa. Any child who is CofE or Catholic will be prioritised for the 60% faith places. However, if they don't get in under that criteria, they'll still be considered in the open category. So if the Muslim child got in and the CofE child didn't, they were likely in different attainment bands.

The admissions code is clear that all applicants who want to be added to the waiting list must be added, so I'm skeptical that they were refused entry. What bother is it to a school to write a name down?

Even assuming total honesty, from what we have been told, there is really no chance... I know people who have got into schools w similar rules but larger numbers (30/band) from place 9 on the list - in the first week of term. But that's equivalent to being in place 4 when there are only 15 places, and you're place 25.

If the banding test results are not important then why do them in the first place and why not give the parents the results? They take the children who are high achievers academically, hence why it is one of the best schools with top GCSE rates.
All the top oversubscribed schools in london do banding test for a reason.
LAC are always a priority but not many LAC will apply for this school.
Children of staff, shouldn't even be a priority. You said it yourself, Band A children are likely to go to Grammar or private schools!
Also, I don't know why parents pressure their girls to get into this school. All the girls have to do EBACC subjects for GCSE even if they don't want to, if they feel like your child won't pass or not ready, they won't allow them to do these subjects and won't support them as much. The amount of parents I know that got tutors for their girls for this banding test, my niece had a tutor and did very well.
StM is very strict, they expect the best from their girls and want them be the best in England, the girls have be able to handle the pressure that comes with this school, this is why the banding test is important to them, your child needs to cope with the amount of work they give them. It is the amoint of girls that enter EBACC subjects that is giving them the top school rating, but how many of these girls actually pass the EBACC subjects compared to how many entered? This is important and this is what parents should look at when choosing schools for their children, not hearsay and the BS these schools and ofstead tell you.
Speak to the children and parents that actually attend the school and ask them how their girls feel at StM and how did they get in, don't ask the forum because you will get alot of different answers.
The girls in my building that go there are east African and Caribbean, they are not CoE faith, but orthodox and some JW.

Don’t know what your grudge is against this school but you are talking nonsense. Lots of London schools use banding to ensure an even split of ability. 25% of admissions are made within each band - band A is not prioritised. If it emerged that the school was not following its own advertised admissions criteria it would be investigated and penalised.

No grudge, I live in the area and I could've got a place for my child if I wanted to, sometimes its also 'who you know'.
Do you know how many fraud school admission was caught out last year! Go and do your research, because alot of parents jump onto forums instead of speaking to people!

@Millianire both my daughters are at St M and I have a polar opposite view to you. The EBac no longer exists, girls are not forced to take these subjects. Last year there were over 100 different profiles of GCSE options. There is so much pastoral care and support and the SEN provision is amazing. My daughters are definitely not band A and they are supported to achieve to the best of their abilities.
I also don’t think it’s strict, all you have to do is be around at the start or end of the school day and see the number of girls with make up on or skirts rolled up against the uniform policy 😂
There is always movement OP but it might not be before September, there’s a fair bit of movement in the years too.

‘Admissions fraud’ refers to fraud by parents, not schools - e.g. using a false address. But you carry on publicly accusing the school (which you absolutely don’t care about and could have got your own child into any time) of swindling prospective parents. I’m sure it’ll go really well for you.

@Millianire Banding tests are done to ensure the school remains comprehensive and not selective, i.e. the intake is of
mixed abilities from across the board. They don't only accept the highest achievers - that's pure nonsense.

Some people are conspiracy theorists because they can't be bothered to look into details. St Marylebone offers 10% of its places for Performing Arts Scholarships. You can be a professed devil worshipper living in Edinburgh and get one of those places if you qualify by that route.

Or maybe your niece just conspired with someone to fake her address or religious SIF. Her place at the school isn't prima facie evidence that the system is corrupt.

And, somehow, conspiracy theorists are always privy to more evidence which they're forbidden to share....

As an aside, I think that the qualifications for "church" places are sometimes misunderstood. Unlike many RC schools, St Marylebone doesn't ask for evidence of baptism or confirmation. The requirement is simply the amount of attendance at the local, or other, CofE church. My understanding is that a girl who identifies as atheist (or Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Hindu, etc.) who spent the appropriate hour in the St Marylebone Parish Church with their guardian on 26 Sundays in each of the previous three years would qualify for the highest priority "Church of England" places, even if they spent the 78 hours reading quietly on their phones. Which, IME, some of the self-identified Christians also did.

I can only say that once again, you've completely missed the point of the banding tests. The whole point is that the school intends to have a proportionate number of pupils in each ability range. Now, they're is an argument that as there is a banding test, only those who are aware of its existence and have the motivation, availablity, and organisational skills to take it will apply. Similarly, consistency is necessary to meet the church attendance criteria, but otherwise, there will be roughly ¼ very high achievers, ¼ high average, ¼ low average, and ¼ below average. Because the banding is set after the tests have been sat, the impact of an abnormally high or low achieving group is lessened somewhat.