11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi,
I m planning to move to walsall and want my DD to sit for both Birmingham and Walsall, Wolverhampton and Wrekin tests. I have been reading some information and quite confused. I understand that I need to submit LA form along with application form. My query is do we need submit a separate LA form for Birmingham consortium and Walsall, Wolverhampton and Wrekin? Please advice

Thanks

You need to apply to take the test by 8th July (15th June if your child has special needs/requirements for the exam).

Registration opens on 9 May ...I will publish the link to the consortium form on this forum once it is available.

Your LA preference form has to be in by 31 October. Are you planning to move before or after 31 October?

Thank You. Do we need a separate form for both the applications? i guess we need to submit separate consortium form for Birmingham and Walsall, Wolverhampton and Wrekin tests.

Hi Newbiee

You will need to submit two separate consortium forms, but only one Local Authority form, which is dictated by where you live and which you will be told about by your child's primary school. You can apply to schools in a different LA on the form they give you.

Thank you Turtlegirl. Someone has told me that you can only put down top three preferred schools on LA form. Say for instance my DD sits for both the exams..The preferred schools will be more than 3 isn't so in this case how do we put down the preference

The form you have to submit to the LA, by the 31st October, listing your school preferences is called the CAF. The LA to which you will put your CAF in, is the LA in which you live - and it is that which dictates how many school preferences you can list. Some LAs only allow you 3 choices, others allow you 5 - it's the luck of the draw depending on where you live. But, you can't get round it...you need to ONLY apply to schools that you are genuinely interested in - and able to get to each day - and that you have a realistic chance of getting a place at. You should always reserve one place on your CAF for a local catchment school where you are guaranteed a place (you do not want to be in a situation where you are rejected from all your schools on your CAF as you will then just be allocated the nearest school to you that has places by your LA)

Newbiee wrote:Thank you Turtlegirl. Someone has told me that you can only put down top three preferred schools on LA form. Say for instance my DD sits for both the exams..The preferred schools will be more than 3 isn't so in this case how do we put down the preference

The numbers of schools you can list depends on your home LA. Three is the minimum number of preferences your LA is obliged to allow you - most areas allow more, but in fully-comprehensive LAs there is the general idea that as all the schools have more or less the same oversubscription criteria (apart from for faith schools this is normally a combination of 'distance' and 'sibling'), most people will go for their catchment school. This can indeed make it a bit difficult for those who are genuinely in the process of moving house, who may want / need to nominate more than one school in each area in case of delays, but on the other hand, there is no reason why any LA should set their system up to cater for the 11+ tourists.

If your current LA only allows three preferences to be listed but where you are moving to allows more, this might be an incentive to make sure that you move before the 31st October deadline? Bearing in one that you will also have to apply for an in-year primary school place for your child(ren).

(Crossed posts with KCG ).

Hi Newbiee

Walsall LA gives up to five choices for secondary schools (http://cms.walsall.gov.uk/index/educati ... ssions.htm. Sandwell gives six choices, and Birmingham too I think. You can see all about the admissions process on the council websites.

You will have your score from the 11+ and therefore a realistic idea of which school you would gain a place at. It is always advisable to place a local catchment school on your list, especially if your 11+ score is borderline.

If you are moving house I suggest you look carefully at comprehensive schools and move into the catchment for a good one. There are a number of outstanding comprehensives in the Black Country and you could save yourself a lot of 11+ angst if you were certain of a place at one of them. You will need to read the council websites and school websites for details of admission procedures (not all of them work on straightforward distance from the school gate) and that should enable you to find a good place to move to.

Thank you all for your advice. Looks like there are quite a few things to consider before planning a move

Thanks again