Primary School Choices - out tomorrow...
Discussion
Well we are sitting at home rather nervously as tomorrow we find out what school our 4 year old daughter will be attending for the next 7 years.
Along with everybody else we have seen most of the local ones, ranked them in order, and put down 6 preferences.
Thing is, we're not massively blown away by any of them really. Top 2 are decent enough but have some big flaws. 2nd one looks good on paper (great results) but is so new it hasn't had an OFSTED and is due to move to a new site in September. All one bloke's brainchild - what if he moves on?
Our top choice, again, is decent enough, and we got a good vibe, but they are very results driven and the arts subjects are viewed as being of less importance. Both SWMBO and I work in education and the arts so we see the benefits that they bring in education (actually improving achievement in the core subjects, but that's a discussion for another day). Their OFSTED reports are OK. but they have a track record of missing gifted & talented kids in key stage 1 and not pushing them enough.
Both schools are Academies (of which we are not fans) but nearly all the schools in our borough are so we have no choice.
However, we have the opportunity to send her to a fee paying school with assistance from family. This seems like a great opportunity but it does not sit comfortably with either of us. Although the opportunities will be great and the school itself is a very warm and supportive environment and we are sure she will be nurtured, besides the obvious cost and the commitment to that for the next X years, there is the worry of her social development, being in an all-girls environment (although obviously we would do all we could to involve her in mixed activities outside school), and the stigma of it. We are not rich by any stretch of the imagination and, being a freelancer, I could actually see less work being put my way as I am "obviously loaded" etc. We want out daughter to grow up grounded, and although we are obviously biased, she is a very confident and bright little thing. Both of us went to private secondary schools, but a state primary education did us no harm - in fact mine was very good. But state education was very different 30-35 years ago in the provinces.
Anybody else going to be having a restless night tonight or offer any interesting insights?
Along with everybody else we have seen most of the local ones, ranked them in order, and put down 6 preferences.
Thing is, we're not massively blown away by any of them really. Top 2 are decent enough but have some big flaws. 2nd one looks good on paper (great results) but is so new it hasn't had an OFSTED and is due to move to a new site in September. All one bloke's brainchild - what if he moves on?
Our top choice, again, is decent enough, and we got a good vibe, but they are very results driven and the arts subjects are viewed as being of less importance. Both SWMBO and I work in education and the arts so we see the benefits that they bring in education (actually improving achievement in the core subjects, but that's a discussion for another day). Their OFSTED reports are OK. but they have a track record of missing gifted & talented kids in key stage 1 and not pushing them enough.
Both schools are Academies (of which we are not fans) but nearly all the schools in our borough are so we have no choice.
However, we have the opportunity to send her to a fee paying school with assistance from family. This seems like a great opportunity but it does not sit comfortably with either of us. Although the opportunities will be great and the school itself is a very warm and supportive environment and we are sure she will be nurtured, besides the obvious cost and the commitment to that for the next X years, there is the worry of her social development, being in an all-girls environment (although obviously we would do all we could to involve her in mixed activities outside school), and the stigma of it. We are not rich by any stretch of the imagination and, being a freelancer, I could actually see less work being put my way as I am "obviously loaded" etc. We want out daughter to grow up grounded, and although we are obviously biased, she is a very confident and bright little thing. Both of us went to private secondary schools, but a state primary education did us no harm - in fact mine was very good. But state education was very different 30-35 years ago in the provinces.
Anybody else going to be having a restless night tonight or offer any interesting insights?
number 2 gets his place tomorrow. Should be the same as his sister but you never know. Not stressed at all mainly because of the sibling priority but you never know!
The thing is, most schools (even the bad ones) aren't that bad, and you can always find fault in anything, even the good schools do things wrong.
Hope you get the first choice - amazed you have six picks though! I think we had a maximum of four, and put down three
The thing is, most schools (even the bad ones) aren't that bad, and you can always find fault in anything, even the good schools do things wrong.
Hope you get the first choice - amazed you have six picks though! I think we had a maximum of four, and put down three
We are in outer London so we have a lot of schools around us - most of them are small or have small catchment areas. We are the on the very outside of it for our first. There is no catchment area for the second as it's new and is moving site. We are well inside the area for our 6th that we don't really want, and another that we didn't put down at all.
To be honest it would be great if we got one of those so that we have the decision made...
To be honest it would be great if we got one of those so that we have the decision made...
We opted for private. We can't really afford private at secondary level and the general consensus seemed to be give them a good start and it will pay off later/get them into better secondaries etc. No one is obviously rich at our school it's all pretty normal parents and a good mix from self employed/own small business to execs, Dr's and military.
Mine also attend stuff outside school such as Beavers/football club/cricket club/gym classes and mix with a wider circle there.
For reference, I was state all the way through. My wife attended private primary (the same school my kids at at now).
We looked at the local primary (outstanding) but I didn't like it for various reasons. The next closest I did like but we are out of catchment and it was popular. Neither could offer both breakfast club and/or after school and we both work full time so can't pick up at 3ish. Which would mean complex arrangements for childcare. If needed the school does 8am to 6pm (as part of the fee).
It's probably irrelevant though, if you are not on the list you won't get into private for this Sept, I know ours is full to 2019 with waiting lists.
Mine also attend stuff outside school such as Beavers/football club/cricket club/gym classes and mix with a wider circle there.
For reference, I was state all the way through. My wife attended private primary (the same school my kids at at now).
We looked at the local primary (outstanding) but I didn't like it for various reasons. The next closest I did like but we are out of catchment and it was popular. Neither could offer both breakfast club and/or after school and we both work full time so can't pick up at 3ish. Which would mean complex arrangements for childcare. If needed the school does 8am to 6pm (as part of the fee).
It's probably irrelevant though, if you are not on the list you won't get into private for this Sept, I know ours is full to 2019 with waiting lists.
NiceCupOfTea said:
Anybody else going to be having a restless night tonight or offer any interesting insights?
It never ends! We seem to be going through it again every year with grandchildren.At least you have seem to have choices. Where we are (rural Cheshire) the village schools are all rammed and if the kids don't get into their local one, then parents (and grandparents) face a logistical nightmare.
There's also a weird alternating year thing going on where one year entire intakes are taken up by those who get preferential treatment and siblings, and the next year kids from miles away get in - which means their siblings take places from local kids in subsequent years.
Thanks Bullett, a lot of that resonates, particularly the "good start, easier to get into the selective state schools at 11". She's already got a place at the private school - we went through the selection process and paid the ransom, ahem, deposit 
Amusingly (or not), the last date on which we can tell them that we're withdrawing is tomorrow! If we don't tell them tomorrow we are liable for a term's fees. Have a letter printed out ready to take in just in case but seriously wonder if the doors will be locked when we get there!
Amusingly (or not), the last date on which we can tell them that we're withdrawing is tomorrow! If we don't tell them tomorrow we are liable for a term's fees. Have a letter printed out ready to take in just in case but seriously wonder if the doors will be locked when we get there!Daughter got a place at the same school as her brother which is a relief for us, seems to be the best primary in the area. Got absorbed into an academy last year but doesn't seem to have done any harm so far. The head is pretty good, just hope she stays there.
Intrigued to know if it was over subscribed again this year, not a small school, three class intake per year, but last year 30 kids who were in the catchment got turned down. After much hoo-ha they added an extra class for that year but said it would be a one off as there was a population hump that year.
Intrigued to know if it was over subscribed again this year, not a small school, three class intake per year, but last year 30 kids who were in the catchment got turned down. After much hoo-ha they added an extra class for that year but said it would be a one off as there was a population hump that year.
Well it's a bit of a no brainer really, we got our 5th choice, which is on the other side of town! (new, so no catchment area).
Apparently our borough has a real shortage of spaces so I guess the catchment areas are getting smaller. A bit upset though to be honest as most people are supposed to get their 1st, or if not their 2nd choice.
I must admit I'm still a bit confused about the whole process. We really wanted one of the top two, but we put down 3,4,5 & 6 to stop us getting school No.7 which was ropey. Would we have been more likely to get one of the top 2 if we had left the others blank, or would we just have gone straight to the crap one with the massive catchment area?
Arsebook predictably full of people braying about their 1st choices coming through...
Apparently our borough has a real shortage of spaces so I guess the catchment areas are getting smaller. A bit upset though to be honest as most people are supposed to get their 1st, or if not their 2nd choice.
I must admit I'm still a bit confused about the whole process. We really wanted one of the top two, but we put down 3,4,5 & 6 to stop us getting school No.7 which was ropey. Would we have been more likely to get one of the top 2 if we had left the others blank, or would we just have gone straight to the crap one with the massive catchment area?
Arsebook predictably full of people braying about their 1st choices coming through...
That's a bugger.
We've been lucky in that I don't remember ever putting down more than one school on any of the applications, as we somehow, without giving it any forethought, managed to completely fluke our location from a catchment area perspective.
Interestingly, given your OP, the one where we might've had problems if we had had to apply now is the junior school which all three of our kids went to. When our eldest went there (now in year 9), it was an OK school, but nothing particularly special. It subsequently became part of an Academy group run by our middle one's secondary school next year and has improved by leaps and bounds over the last 4 years or so. I don't really know what the political arguments are for Academy or otherwise, but purely on experience, I'm all for them.
We've been lucky in that I don't remember ever putting down more than one school on any of the applications, as we somehow, without giving it any forethought, managed to completely fluke our location from a catchment area perspective.
Interestingly, given your OP, the one where we might've had problems if we had had to apply now is the junior school which all three of our kids went to. When our eldest went there (now in year 9), it was an OK school, but nothing particularly special. It subsequently became part of an Academy group run by our middle one's secondary school next year and has improved by leaps and bounds over the last 4 years or so. I don't really know what the political arguments are for Academy or otherwise, but purely on experience, I'm all for them.
Does the LA publish the entry criteria and, more importantly, the map of catchments? Based on our experience, the LA publishes the catchment map (which doesn't overlap) and the listing of criteria by which each school selects pupils starting with catchment and parental preference and working down through the list. They then select based on that list of criteria on the basis of parental preference. So if you want school A but the school runs out of places based on selection criteria, e.g. proximity of house to school, then you're screwed and you can end up being filtered out as every school in the list runs out of places before you get to the bottom of your choices. Mind you we only have 3 possibles and we managed to weed out our catchment school by being atheist. We were in the 'hump' year too.
It may be worth an appeal but if you've got overlapping catchments then I reckon you're screwed. Doesn't cost you anything though.
It may be worth an appeal but if you've got overlapping catchments then I reckon you're screwed. Doesn't cost you anything though.
We're waiting to hear about our Daughters School Nursey place, it's not 100% cut and dried but near us it seems that most kids will be offered a school place at the same school they went to Nursey.
We've applied for the same one our Son is going to, siblings help the application but as he's leaving this July I'm not sure how much it will help.
Oddly our catchment school is the 3rd furthest from our house, it's a nice school and our child minder already drops off there so it'll be easier in that respect, but it's not as good as the one my son goes too... on the plus side, if she goes to the catchment school I get to miss doing the school run for the next 7 Years... hmm
We've applied for the same one our Son is going to, siblings help the application but as he's leaving this July I'm not sure how much it will help.
Oddly our catchment school is the 3rd furthest from our house, it's a nice school and our child minder already drops off there so it'll be easier in that respect, but it's not as good as the one my son goes too... on the plus side, if she goes to the catchment school I get to miss doing the school run for the next 7 Years... hmm
Bit of an odd one for us in that online (Kent) it says:
1st Choice: ABC School. Status: <blank>
2nd Choice: DEF School. Status: Offered
3rd Choice: GHI School. Status: Declined
Our first choice has never been oversubscribed so unless that has changed this year there may have been some kind of admin error given there is no status at all? Second choice is still a great school but we're slightly disappointed as most of our daughter's friends are going to 1st Choice.
1st Choice: ABC School. Status: <blank>
2nd Choice: DEF School. Status: Offered
3rd Choice: GHI School. Status: Declined
Our first choice has never been oversubscribed so unless that has changed this year there may have been some kind of admin error given there is no status at all? Second choice is still a great school but we're slightly disappointed as most of our daughter's friends are going to 1st Choice.
I'm not sure there's much point - we don't have any siblings already at any schools and it's based purely on number of applications in increasing radius as far as I can see. Besides, they will say "hey, you got one of your preferred schools!".
It's just mad we have ended up in a school over 3 miles away (which is a huge distance in a London borough, there must be a dozen closer schools).
It's just mad we have ended up in a school over 3 miles away (which is a huge distance in a London borough, there must be a dozen closer schools).
NiceCupOfTea said:
I'm not sure there's much point - we don't have any siblings already at any schools and it's based purely on number of applications in increasing radius as far as I can see. Besides, they will say "hey, you got one of your preferred schools!".
It's just mad we have ended up in a school over 3 miles away (which is a huge distance in a London borough, there must be a dozen closer schools).
There's always a chance you might get offered a school further up your list if other don't accept their places.It's just mad we have ended up in a school over 3 miles away (which is a huge distance in a London borough, there must be a dozen closer schools).
NiceCupOfTea said:
Well it's a bit of a no brainer really, we got our 5th choice, which is on the other side of town! (new, so no catchment area).
Apparently our borough has a real shortage of spaces so I guess the catchment areas are getting smaller. A bit upset though to be honest as most people are supposed to get their 1st, or if not their 2nd choice.
I must admit I'm still a bit confused about the whole process. We really wanted one of the top two, but we put down 3,4,5 & 6 to stop us getting school No.7 which was ropey. Would we have been more likely to get one of the top 2 if we had left the others blank, or would we just have gone straight to the crap one with the massive catchment area?
Arsebook predictably full of people braying about their 1st choices coming through...
The equal preference system means there's no advantage to only putting one school and no disadvantage to listing more than one school. Your home authority (who you applied through) will have tried to offer you your first preference. When this wasn't possible they will have considered your second preference and so on. Apparently our borough has a real shortage of spaces so I guess the catchment areas are getting smaller. A bit upset though to be honest as most people are supposed to get their 1st, or if not their 2nd choice.
I must admit I'm still a bit confused about the whole process. We really wanted one of the top two, but we put down 3,4,5 & 6 to stop us getting school No.7 which was ropey. Would we have been more likely to get one of the top 2 if we had left the others blank, or would we just have gone straight to the crap one with the massive catchment area?
Arsebook predictably full of people braying about their 1st choices coming through...
It's always best to list all schools you'd consider in your preferred order and make sure you include your local school. Every year, loads of parents list a single, unrealistic preference, and end up with an unplaced offer a considerable distance away (unplaced offers are generally made after all those who applied on time).
If you do decide to appeal, be realistic about your chances. If it's an infant class size appeal it is unlikely to be successful.
Thanks for adding a bit of clarity. While we are a bit upset that she only made the 5th preference we are realistic as to the reasons why, just a combination of the number of kids in certain areas this year and we live in what is evidently a bit of a black spot.
We are fortunate that we have our backup option. The only thing I would have changed would be swapping 5th and 6th schools as in retrospect the school we have been offered would be a logistical nightmare - 3 miles away across town at school rushhour times...
We are fortunate that we have our backup option. The only thing I would have changed would be swapping 5th and 6th schools as in retrospect the school we have been offered would be a logistical nightmare - 3 miles away across town at school rushhour times...
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