.............CH 4...........ADMISSION IMPOSSIBLE..................9.00......................

[RTKangaMummy]

Channel 4 Wednesdays 23 and 30 August at 9pm

Each year in September many parents embark on a hugely stressful journey to get their kids into the school of their choice. Around half a million primary leavers need to be allocated a secondary school place and all over the country there is a battle being fought for spots at the most oversubscribed schools. Admission Impossible follows the stories of six families from across the country as they navigate their way through the admissions system, striving to secure the perfect place for their child.

In Surrey determined businessman Mr Shah is rigorously preparing his son Mehdin for a series of grammar and private school examinations. With private tutoring and parental expectation, the pressure is on Mehdin to score highly in the exams for the top six schools in the area. In Bradford, Helen Troman and Hannah Weston are competing against hundreds of other children for a place at highly regarded city academy Dixons. Meanwhile Eileen Stockley, a single mum from Norfolk, is desperately trying to move her gifted son Alex from his state primary to a private prep school, but with a very low income her chances are slim.

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From Eltham College's website "[The college]is also a centre of excellence for Cricket. The College has reached the semi-final of the national Rugby Sevens tournament three times in the last seven years."
So why did they think he had a chance if he'd never played cricket or rugby?

expatinscotland, pupil placement is the department in the council which control school admissions. So if you wanted to send dd to another school contacting them would be your best bet.

We couldn't afford to move, well, we don't even own our own house and where dts go to school is a popular area so we are waiting on a house swap. I was right in wanting them to stay at the school though because they have settled into primary school after only a couple of days because they are surrounded by their friends from nursery.

It is ridiculous how parents have to jump through hoops, I remember the days (not that long ago) where most schools were good and there was only one bad one in the area for people to avoid!

I'm from the States, Two. In my hometown, we had integration issues pertaining to race. 'Top' school entry was entirely merit-based, not on where you live. You sat a test to get in. The council provided a free bus pass.

The system here w/'catchment' I know, is so different.

Also, faith-based schools there are fee-paying.

I think that Adam {sports boy} was unfairly prepared by his parents

No cricket practise?

but football when the school doesn't do football

Hannah, God love her makes my blood boil.

When she was at Bradford Grammar, I want to be here more than anything else, more than St Josephs.

Oh Yay I got St Josephs.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

same here

Yeah, I figured that would get your goat, Sherlock .

Oh and whilst I am on a roll................

Do not bring children into the world and then profess ingonorance as to how the system works.

You knew how it worked, in terms of first appointment, deciding where to have your darling child. You do not sit back and cruise, you start sussing out Pre-schools, and Primary schools, etc, etc.,

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh can you tell I am worked up.

This site is quite helpful, especially for finding out about your local schools. Pupil placement are the ones who send you letters with information about schooling etc. How old is your dd? They'll send a letter when she is nearly 3 regarding her free nursery place.

We had been sent a letter saying there were no places in our local schools and we could try again in 6 months. I emailed the pre-school part of that website for advice and they told me to contact pp, which we did. And when it came time for primary admission I just emailed the head of pp who had helped us with finding a nursery and explained why I wanted them to stay at that school.

EPIS

I love the fact that DS's school holds back places for non Catholic children, as I said last week his little "girlfriend" is Muslim.

But they were just feckless and then panicked IMO.

I personally feel her parents had failed her at that stage already.

As I said in my previous posts, you get BFP and you start planning, why should it be any different until they are no longer your responsibility.

I agree, I was pleased that Hannah got the school that she wanted. She may not have come across that well, but she is only 10!

Adam seemed woefully unprepared for the entrance exam to Eltham College, he seemed a bit out of his depth.

We live pretty near Dartford Grammar and would love DS1 to go there. Better start that hot housing now

I felt it was wrong to do that to her too. I'm glad for her sake that she got a place at St Josephs.
Two of the children tonight were very local to us.
I am 99% sure George WAS at a local independent school that does 3 to 18 and where he lives is a very wealthy pocket of Lewisham indeed, so I don't think cost was a factor.
I think it is possible that his school (a very good one AFAIK) makes a cut at 10-11 and doesn't offer an automatic place in Yr7 to all at the Juniors - and he didn't get a place.
I can't think why else they would take him out tbh. Money not apparently an issue and most people are very happy with the school. But Dartford Grammar is a great school too so well done to him.
I felt deeply for Adam and his loving parents. They were just all at sea. The final edit made him out to be struggling right through the selection process, not pleasant viewing.

I don't think thats strictly true LGJ. I for one didn't even think about schools until it was time for Dd1 to go to nursery and then I cried for nearyl 2 days when i looked round her two choices.

I had just assumed that all schools were quite good because they had to be. I know, very niave (sp?) but I had just not thuoght of it before.

Thankfully we moved before she started school and now the school she goes to is lovely.

Am now having a slight panic atack over secondary education after watching that though.

JoPG - I think Dartford Grammar is a top hope for many parents in SE London and N Kent. The International Baccalaureate is a big incentive

So presumably next week Adam starts at a school full of kids who have just watched his dad label them as druggies on national TV. Way to help your kid make friends!

What age do you start working out which secondary or whatever you want them to go to ??

Nutty how honest do you want me to be ??

Message withdrawn

i think adams parents were kidding himself that he was going to win a sports scholarship.
rather than spending all that time telling him his life was going to go down the pan if he didn't get in, they should have spent the time helping lose weight and get fit.i felt incredibly sorry for him.
hannah's parents amazed me-if their income was less than 20k as stated then why on earth had they had 5 children????? she was very bright if a little precocious.
george's parents....well what can i say? did you see the size of their house? lea green is a stones throw from blackheath and greenwich and they have probably afforded the house because it is in lea green rather than blackheath.but it is still worth a fortune almost certainly.sell up and move somewhere else with better schools or sell up and move somewhere smaller and use the money to pay for private.
what saddened me about this programme is the way the kids have had so much pressure put on them. way too much for 10 and 11 y/o's.

Celia, one of the factors for choosing our independent primary was that they are constructively honest about where they direct families in Year 6. They don't encourage people to enter the local entrance exams if they know it is going to stress out the child and be a pointless exercise. If ds is grammar material in due course it will be at least partly because we have the school's informed and objective backing for him to go through this daunting-looking process

Erm be as honest as you like LGJ, I can take it (i think) LOL