Moving into Area - Theoretical Question

[southbucks3]

Hi All,

We have recently moved from abroad and are living in Hertfordshire council. Chesham Grammar is very close to our house. My son is in Yr 6. We have request Bucks to allow my DS to sit in the Bucks 11+ exams. received a acknowledgement letter from them that they have received my application. Tried to call council for the exam dates but they say that late testing would be done in November. Am a bit confused as the last date for CAF is 31st Oct . How will I be able to fill a school for Bucks if I do not know the score of child. Will i just put his name down for the Chesham Grammar without knowing the score and let one choice get wasted or wait for results and apply again? So confused with the system. Can anyone help me please how I need to proceed.

Thanks

You will unfortunately need to put chesham grammar on your caf list and waste the slot if he does not pass. Put the schools in your preferred order regardless of the lack of result, the bucks choice will then be considered the second rounds at least if he does pass, depending on the turn around for results maybe even the first round?? That is a huge may be though.

Good luck to your dc in November.

[scary mum]

Chesham usually has places avialable anyway, so the situation is better than for some of the others.

[Sally-Anne]

How does the system work if a DC(parents) moves within bucks.

Example, Year 7 DC at SWBGS. Parents have to move to say Amersham after first two terms of Year 7. Nearest school Dr. Challoners. Will the DC have to wait and do 12+ if the school has no vacancy ?

It's an interesting question, and although the example you give probably wouldn't trigger a "whole family" house move, it is still not entirely theoretical. Bucks is a big county, and the distance between Buckingham (Royal Latin) and Burnham is 58 miles. That could easily necessitate a house move.

Let's take the specific school out of it, because it leads us into the issue of the 18 month residence requirement for Challoners (Boys).

On the matter of a GS transfer within county, the BCC website states the following:

Grammar to grammar transfer
In rare cases, parents request that their child move from one grammar school to another, within Buckinghamshire. If you need to move your child, you will need to complete an In-year application form and provide reasons why we should accept your application. We would normally expect this request to be supported by your child's current headteacher and other relevant independent evidence.

In a nutshell, the 11+ is transferable from school to school within Bucks provided there is a good reason for the move, which there surely would be in 99.9% of cases.

If the transfer was unsuccessful because of a lack of places, the parents would have the right for their child to be placed on the school's waiting list, and to go to an appeal.

However, when you take a look at a few of the Admissions Policies closely, things get a bit murky.

Dr Challoners Girls ...

2.4 Immediate Admission to Y7
Girls who have moved into the local area from a distance of more than 20 miles after the 1 January of the year in which they are in Y7, may apply for immediate admission to Year 7 and will be tested as soon as possible provided that they meet the Testing Criteria outlined at 3.1 below.

The 20 mile limit is a nod to the DCGS Policy for moving into area, but it sits oddly with the rest of their Policy because DCHS doesn't impose a 20 mile limit for normal entry into Y7!

Despite that, it would give the school the right to demand a re-test for Y7 entry if a girl had moved 20 miles within Bucks which, as mentioned above, is perfectly possible given the size of the county. (Although that would be at odds with the previous BCC Policy that the 11+ cannot be taken twice in one academic year!)

Now to the Royal Latin's Policy ...

3. 12+ Admissions to Year 8
Students currently at a selective school will not be considered as qualified purely because they are at a selective school.

That statement is obviously meant to apply to children from GS in other areas who move in to the County, and probably at the normal (late) entry point of September for Y8. However, if the Policy were to be applied rigidly, RLS could insist on a re-test of a Bucks-qualified child wishing to transfer to RLS in Y8.

In both cases I think the schools' policies have created the possibility of a re-test completely inadvertently.

In practice, I think quite a few people within the system would be pretty underwhelmed if any Head tried to insist on a re-test for an in-county transfer, and "pressure would be brought to bear" ...

[Guest55]

I do have experience of friends moving within Bucks - the children of these families did not have to sit the 11+ again as they were qualified. However, as the school in question was full they had to appeal which is how I know about it.

This was pre-Academy days though.

[mum2016]

Thanks you very much South Buks 3

Am getting a bit clearer now. Have gone to historical allocation for Chesham Grammar. It says all who applied got place in May 2014. I have a slight confusion...Do they not have the cut off score?. I understand that those who get 121 and above are eligible for application. Biut then what happens if the school is over subscribed..if they get more applicants than places in school? What happens then? Do they rank the students based on scores?...How do they allocate places...?

Thanks

[southbucks3]

Thanks you very much South Buks 3

Am getting a bit clearer now. Have gone to historical allocation for Chesham Grammar. It says all who applied got place in May 2014. I have a slight confusion...Do they not have the cut off score?. I understand that those who get 121 and above are eligible for application. Biut then what happens if the school is over subscribed..if they get more applicants than places in school? What happens then? Do they rank the students based on scores?...How do they allocate places...?

Thanks

You have to score 121 or above or win the review or appeal to get a place after that it is fown to the helped/sibling/staff/benefits/distance/ criteria. Historically all who apply to chesham eventually get a place....ie as you read by May 2014.
In the circumstances where it is over subscribed you may not be initially allocated a place in round two but if you are not you will go on a waiting list, where any subsequently freed up places will be allocated on admissions criteria, sibling, distance etc. So if you have moved very close, you should be near the top of the list.

Chesham is quite likely to have spaces for new residents in round two though I would have thought.