Time to submit the CAF. Does the order matter?

[bluesapphire]

Hello does anyone know how many choices on the CAF form if u r a resident of slough? Thanks

[Sally-Anne]

Six preferences.

[Daogroupie]

Jill should not be given any more time to make up her mind or change it. You would think differently if your dc had to spend all summer on a waiting list waiting for Jill to make up her mind. Every year parents hold onto private schools places and a state school place all summer while other parents wait for those places. I know of a set of twins who held onto six school places from March to September: Habs, St Albans and DAO. Their mother like you believed that her dcs had earned the places on merit and they belonged to them for as long as they wanted. She thought that lower ranked students needed to wait on her decision because her dcs had done better. I think the system is really fair but it does depend on parents bothering to actually read the instructions like they expect their students to do in the exam. DG

[Curious__George]

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[millicent]

The way the state school system works now is great (well, certainly a big improvement)! All you have to do is make a choice regarding your order of preference and you will be offered a place at the highest placed school on your list that is possible.

Before the system changed you had to make a judgement call. Let's say your DD had a score of 113 for Kendrick and that is what you really wanted and Holt as second choice so that is how you ranked them on the CAF. The old system would say:
113 just misses Kendrick. Oh and Holt places all taken by others who ranked it first, sorry! Now that cannot happen. You will not lose a Holt place purely by where you rank it on your form. People used to put Holt first on the CAF rather than take a risk by putting Kendrick first and ending up with neither.

So everyone please just rank the schools in the order you actually want them. Just make sure you include a catchment school somewhere on the list! (ie. do not just put all grammar schools if you have not passed or have a very low score as you may get none of them. Include at least one "safe bet" even if you rank it last.)

I have heard of a parent a couple of years ago putting "Kendrick, Kendrick, Kendrick etc" for all options thinking that this showed how much they really wanted the school. Of course their poor DD got the school that not many wanted as it had loads of place left. If only her parents had put some sensible fall back options on the CAF for school they liked she would not have ended up at an unpopular school. (Their appeal failed of course.)

Good luck everyone and please don't miss the deadline by dithering!

[Curious__George]

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[millicent]

A quick reply to Curious Georges last post:

I'm just wondering why you can't choose your order of preference now but do think you can choose in March- what information will change in the meantime?

I agree making a school choice is worrying and difficult but a deadline must be set at some point to make it fair for everyone. Good luck though, I wish you and everyone the best with such a hard decision.

[Curious__George]

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[mad?]

Admissions must be only based on merit & nothing else.

I cannot see how it is any more merit based deciding which school you prefer in March as opposed to October. IF anyone thinks they are 'taking a risk' or 'playing it safe' then they clearly do not understand the guidelines of listing the schools in true order of preference, a separate issue altogether.

[Daogroupie]

Parents need to apply themselves to the CAF in the same way that their students applied themselves in the exams. You don't ask for those who make mistakes in the exam to have another chance. The time for the exams was September, the time for the CAF deadline is today. DG