Feeling guilty about secondary school catchment

[Biscuitlady1]

Hello,
My son is in y6 and due to go to secondary next September. We are not in the catchment for the best secondary school area after I relocated (couldn't afford to buy there). All his classmates will be going to the good school in the nice green area. My nearest school is below average in performance tables.

I'm a single parent. I tried to buy nearer the good school earlier in the year but I was going through a court case (I was assaulted) and I was under a lot of stress and moving by myself was overwhelming and would increase financial strain. My mental health is fragile.
His dad lives further away near a great school but on the cusp between that and a very difficult school. I can't afford to move that direction to get him in to the good school nearer his dad.

Day 1 of y6 and parents are already posting about the good secondary school. I feel very bad that my son won't be joining their kids there. He's bright but very unmotivated at school and so he does need to be pushed.

I know that grades aren't everything but I am worried and feeling bad that I've not been able to do get him into the fancier school. Some of this is single parent guilt. I also can't change the situation right now.

I would love to hear positive stories from people who've been in this situation or whose secondary school worries were alleviated. Thank you

Surely you haven't applied for secondary yet?
How many choices do you get? Is the school you like potentially under subscribed so he could get a place?

Two things: 1) enrollments are dropping everywhere so make sure you put that school as your top choice even if you’re out of catchment, at least that way you will be on the waiting list if there’s any movement 2) as soon as offer day passes put yourself on the waiting list for any and every school you think would be better for your DC than the one you get. You can go on more than 6 waiting lists.

I feel your pain. We bought a house a few years ago and it’s out of catchment of all the decent schools around us due the closest being religious and we don’t meet the criteria. I am crossing my fingers but very anxious. My daughter is just going into Y5 so it’s all starting to feel very real.

When we went to secondary back in the day, about 50% of the class were in the catchment for a better school in the next county. That year they actively encouraged the other 50% to apply so they could top up to a 7th class. The resident county council ran a subsidised coach to the school, which was full over the 7 year groups. All those that applied got a place. Good luck.

You can still apply. Is it always oversubscribed? Even if you get a different one you can go on waiting list or even appeal. Worth listing at least one local school you might be happy with and likely to get a place for even if not the nearest

Definitely put the good school as your first choice on the application. We were in a similar situation as we were out of catchment for the secondary school that most of my DD’s class would be going to, and I felt like a failure for not being able to afford to move into catchment as planned due to redundancy and house price increases (we’d got into an out of catchment primary and expected to move before secondary applications). But we put the good school as our first choice, and got in, so it’s always worth trying!

Thank you. I spoke to the head teacher at the good school and he said that my location is zero chance (he was more diplomatic than that!) It is oversubscribed every year and even people who meet catchment area criteria don't get in. I've looked at data for admissions in other schools and in no year would we have got into those schools in y7 either.

Unfortunately my area is oversubscribed for every desirable school by many fold. The only occasions where someone would be allocated a school outside catchment is if they met other priority criteria such as SEN, in care or sibling. Or religion although actually even the religious schools nearby we still wouldn't have got into in any year from our location.

Secondary school application is open and closes end Oct.
I will put all 6 choices but historically nobody on my estate got in anywhere other than our nearest, including kids on my street whose parents appealed this year.
None of the secondary schools within commutable distance are undersubscribed other than my local one and another which is worse.

He’ll be in school for a long time. I’m a couple of years the “good school”
may not be the good school. All it takes is for a change of just one or two SLT staff for a school to completely change in ethos, performance etc.
Your son’s school’s SLT will be working hard to try to become the “good school”.

You can list your local school last, and the pnes you like higher, and it wont count against you getting into the local school.

Also note that appeals are easier to win at secondary than in infants.

So you could visit the school, note down all the good things about it that your DS would benefit from apart from the results, and then use it to appeal. You never know your luck.

For example, maybe he plays an instrument and they have an orchestra but the offered school doesn't.
Maybe primary has noticed his aptitude for a certain subject and they have a club related to it.
Maybe they have special programmes for pupils premium pupils if you qualify.
etc.
The things do need to be specific to your son, and not just friendships (unless he has a specific need in that area)

If you put the preferred school as first choice and go on the waiting list you may get offered a place once term starts if someone doesn't turn up. Or well before then hopefully. Other people offered it may just prefer to stick with where they've started

if you would be happy with one of the schools closer to his dad could you not apply using his address as an option? I think if a child moves between residences you maybe able to use either address??? Although depends how the travel/living arrangements would work.

Thank you. We can only use one address and his dad's location isn't much better than mine for catchment.

Don’t beat yourself up. Look at the positives of the local one. Two of my friends have had this. Ones DD is now doing law at a Russell group uni and another just smashed gcse and is off to a great 6th form

@WhatNextImScared No they are not. Vat on private schools has a made a huge difference in some areas. More dc applying than ever.

What this can mean though, is the leafy lane schools filL up first. The next group who now cannot get in, populate the less good schools and standards rise. All schools should be aware of how they can improve and this less good school should be doing exactly that. Go to the open evening and ask questions. See what you think of the head. You might find it’s perfectly ok.

In an interesting twist, I've just found out that secondary school's headteacher is retiring at the end of this academic year. I wonder if this will make a difference on the school's performance.

@Biscuitlady1 All schools should have improvement plans and a new head always comes in and reviews the issues. You need to see the value added in the + figures. This means dc have made progress but of course it varies every year. Some SEN and low ability dc are incredibly difficult to get into the + category. So I would drill down as much as you can on performance.

Sometimes new heads come in and start a bad behaviour purge. This can help the dc who are disturbed by these dc in lessons. A new head might have a no nonsense approach but beware ultra strict heads. Some dc are very unsettled by them.

Out of interest, what’s the ofsted view? What are they meant to be improving?