CAF Preferences - Interesting exercise
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Re: CAF Preferences - Interesting exercise
Wasn't sure if it was odd to have schools likely to have higher cut offs lower than our first choice but I think it's right for us. Nice to see someone else doing the sameThree2go wrote: it not that odd my order are
KEHG
CHG
FW
QMHS
SCGS
Holyhead
Re: CAF Preferences - Interesting exercise
I have a question about the CAF. I appreciate all LAs will have a different format, eg different number of references (3,5 or 6 etc). My query is, do the reasons you put down for your choice of preferences have any bearing? I'm nervous as there are up to 2500 or 3000 characters (I think) for parents to explain their choice of preferences. (Wolves LA). As my first three preferences are selective schools (Ags, QMGS, HGS) can I write son took test and we believe his score would qualify him a place?? Last two schools are comp's, 4th preference an oversubscribed and 5th is our local that he should get into (not heavily oversubscribed). As the schools are not religious, I'm not sure what reasons to include. I could note easy to travel to?? Should I put more effort into the reasons or would a simple few sentences do? Lol, took me ages to think which 5 schools and then sort the order out. Now I'm fretting over reasons.
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Re: CAF Preferences - Interesting exercise
I don't think I put any reasons on mine!
To be honest I don't know if it would really make any difference.
If you are worried, just give your local admissions team a ring and ask them, they'll advise accordingly.
To be honest I don't know if it would really make any difference.
If you are worried, just give your local admissions team a ring and ask them, they'll advise accordingly.
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Re: CAF Preferences - Interesting exercise
These are the scores I have managed to find. Interesting that a lot of the high scores were from people who registered on offers day!
185. 1
186. 1
189. 1
190. 3
192. 1
193. 1
197. 1
198. 3
199. 1
201. 3
202. 1
204. 2
205. 1
206. 3
207. 2
208. 3
211. 2
212. 1
213. 3
214. 2
215. 1
216. 1
217. 2
218. 1
219. 1
221. 1
222. 3
223. 2
224. 1
225. 3
226. 1
227. 1
229. 1
230. 1
231. 1
232. 2
233. 2
234. 1
235. 1
236. 4
237. 2
238. 5
239. 1
240. 1
241. 4
242. 2
243. 2
244. 2
245. 1
246. 3
249. 1
250+. 16
Obviously all this to be taken with a pinch of salt, but interesting all the same.
185. 1
186. 1
189. 1
190. 3
192. 1
193. 1
197. 1
198. 3
199. 1
201. 3
202. 1
204. 2
205. 1
206. 3
207. 2
208. 3
211. 2
212. 1
213. 3
214. 2
215. 1
216. 1
217. 2
218. 1
219. 1
221. 1
222. 3
223. 2
224. 1
225. 3
226. 1
227. 1
229. 1
230. 1
231. 1
232. 2
233. 2
234. 1
235. 1
236. 4
237. 2
238. 5
239. 1
240. 1
241. 4
242. 2
243. 2
244. 2
245. 1
246. 3
249. 1
250+. 16
Obviously all this to be taken with a pinch of salt, but interesting all the same.
Last edited by nervousmom on Wed Oct 21, 2015 12:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: CAF Preferences - Interesting exercise
Last year I put for the Grammar school that she had taken the test and I believed she may have scored enough. I also put her sister went there - there is no sibling rule at all but it made me feel better to put it!!!Thumbsup wrote:I have a question about the CAF. I appreciate all LAs will have a different format, eg different number of references (3,5 or 6 etc). My query is, do the reasons you put down for your choice of preferences have any bearing? I'm nervous as there are up to 2500 or 3000 characters (I think) for parents to explain their choice of preferences. (Wolves LA). As my first three preferences are selective schools (Ags, QMGS, HGS) can I write son took test and we believe his score would qualify him a place?? Last two schools are comp's, 4th preference an oversubscribed and 5th is our local that he should get into (not heavily oversubscribed). As the schools are not religious, I'm not sure what reasons to include. I could note easy to travel to?? Should I put more effort into the reasons or would a simple few sentences do? Lol, took me ages to think which 5 schools and then sort the order out. Now I'm fretting over reasons.
For the first comp I put it was our closest school and believed we were in catchment.
I put nothing for the others.
Re: CAF Preferences - Interesting exercise
Hi nervousmum. I have already posted my DS's results, but here are a few from his school and football friends:-
DD 211
DD 197
DD 186
DS 207
DS 204
Is there any way you could show your list as a boy / girl split or is that just too much work? May give an idea of which preference order to go for?
DD 211
DD 197
DD 186
DS 207
DS 204
Is there any way you could show your list as a boy / girl split or is that just too much work? May give an idea of which preference order to go for?
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Re: CAF Preferences - Interesting exercise
Personally I would be very wary of using posted scores as a guide to what to put on the CAF. This is going to be such a small sample of scores overall. Put what you really want down as you have nothing to lose.helen0209 wrote:Hi nervousmum. I have already posted my DS's results, but here are a few from his school and football friends:-
DD 211
DD 197
DD 186
DS 207
DS 204
Is there any way you could show your list as a boy / girl split or is that just too much work? May give an idea of which preference order to go for?
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Re: CAF Preferences - Interesting exercise
Hi, this is nothing to do with helping choices, its just purely an interesting little exercise, just done out of interest and to be taken with a huge pinch of saltbooellesmum wrote:Personally I would be very wary of using posted scores as a guide to what to put on the CAF. This is going to be such a small sample of scores overall. Put what you really want down as you have nothing to lose.helen0209 wrote:Hi nervousmum. I have already posted my DS's results, but here are a few from his school and football friends:-
DD 211
DD 197
DD 186
DS 207
DS 204
Is there any way you could show your list as a boy / girl split or is that just too much work? May give an idea of which preference order to go for?
Re: CAF Preferences - Interesting exercise
Hi Nervous I chucked your dataset in to a Pivot in excel (It's just a very quick way of looking at data graphically).nervousmom wrote:These are the scores I have managed to find. Interesting that a lot of the high scores were from people who registered on offers day!
Obviously all this to be taken with a pinch of salt, but interesting all the same.
All I can really see from the data is. The dataset represents roughly a 2% sample, assuming no falsies
1) only 7% of the scores posted comes from the 2 data points either side of 200, so the forum posts are highly unrepresentative of the general population as a whole
2) only 10% of posts are for scores below 200, yet we know these must be roughly 50%in the full population
3)There is a spike of posts between 236 and 244. As I don't know whether girls or boys, can't say a lot. Perhaps its a mixture of worried boys parents posting I got 241, will I get in Vs DD's posting yay I got 239 - I know I am in and I am well happy
In simple terms, a reasonable hypothesis is that quite a lot of people use the forum to basically to brag, when it comes to posting scores. It suggests the moderator posts telling people not to post above say 250+ are meaningless, in that they are largely having the effect of saying to really big braggers, don't brag too loud, because you might upset tier 2 braggers, who are still highly successful?
All in basically largely only people who succeed post here!
Bizarre really when you look at cold numbers like this.
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- Posts: 1687
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Re: CAF Preferences - Interesting exercise
I said that to DH this morning, a lot of high scores, were indicated by people who only registered on offers day!
I've jus added four more scores posted by helen0209. Scores that come through word of mouth seem to be more accurate/real as they are lower!
I didn't keep a tally of boy and girl but managed to get the following, but this is an extremely small sample and no way really has any bearing on what will happen.
Number of 1st choice preferences for each school
CHB. 10
CHG. 5
FW. 6
BV. 7
KEA. 1
KEHGS. 9
HGS. 0
SCGSG. 4
QMHS. 8
WGHS. 2
(HGS is Handsworth boys)
All a bit of fun really, too much time on my hands
I've jus added four more scores posted by helen0209. Scores that come through word of mouth seem to be more accurate/real as they are lower!
I didn't keep a tally of boy and girl but managed to get the following, but this is an extremely small sample and no way really has any bearing on what will happen.
Number of 1st choice preferences for each school
CHB. 10
CHG. 5
FW. 6
BV. 7
KEA. 1
KEHGS. 9
HGS. 0
SCGSG. 4
QMHS. 8
WGHS. 2
(HGS is Handsworth boys)
All a bit of fun really, too much time on my hands
Last edited by nervousmom on Wed Oct 21, 2015 10:15 am, edited 1 time in total.