11 Plus Exams Forum

How is it that pupils can slip down a school's waiting list at this point in the year (for admission sept 2014)? We have slipped 2 places since the outcome of reconsideration. This doesn't help when considering our options of where she is likely to get a place

Oh poor you - what a nightmare. Is this for a GS or comp?

For gs.

Could it be that people who initially opted to share their DC's results with the school but didn't originally put it on their CAF, have now made a late application and their score puts them at the top of the list? Or they did put it as a preference, but lower on the CAF than the place they were allocated and they have asked to go on the waiting list because they have changed their mind.

These scenarios would be possible here (well, not the sharing bit because our GSs are in a consortium and the scores are valid for all the schools. Apart from the one in Chelmsford which decided to go it alone last year).

I know of one reason why this could be happening. All the grammar schools have provision in their admission policy for dealing with children who move into the area after the normal Year 7 admissions process has started, including those who arrive intending to enter a later year group. I'm quoting below from the Pate's admissions policy http://www.pates.gloucs.sch.uk/images/a ... Policy.pdf, but I believe that all the other Glos grammars do something similar.

The first bullet of section 3.2 on the second page explains that they try, where possible, to sweep up genuine cases of DCs who could not make the normal test date into a second round of testing before the end of November. These DCs get put into the normal March allocation and should not be part of your problem.

However, the second bullet point covers DCs who unexpectedly move to the area later than this. Such late arrivals can take some form of test and get a score, but they will not automatically get a place at the school, no matter how brilliantly they do because the school is bound to be full. If the late arrival scores higher than anyone on the waiting list they will be put at the top of the waiting list. Some late arrivals will not qualify and others will score similarly to DCs on the waiting list. In these cases, I understand that the late arrival is slotted into the waiting list at the position determined by their score and other relevant admissions criteria, i.e. distance from the school or whatever the admissions policy says.

I do sympathize because it is frustrating for those of us with DCs on the waiting list, but I for one would not want the schools to batten down the hatches and deny the opportunity to someone else's brighter DC just because their parent got relocated. In a year or two, I could be looking at this problem from the other side.

Thanks for the info, I too don't want them to 'batten down the hatches', just wanted to know how, and it appears that pates have an explanation.

I've also found out that DC can be on a waiting list at more than one school, so there effectively more places held than there are children!