CAF advice please

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techiedad
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:39 pm

Re: CAF advice please

Post by techiedad »

Whilst Balcarras is without doubt a good and popular school, how confident are you that DD will get in? 20 mins sounds a bit of a walk away, I know people who temporarily moved very close to the school to get their kids in there due to local demand. If Balcarras was local to me I'd probably go for it over HSFG but only if I'd be sure I'd get in, as I'm assuming that putting Balcarras 1st and not getting in with HSFG 2nd, then you might end up with neither? Tough choice IMHO, as a lot of other selection criteria come into play with the non-grammar schools.
DebsB
Posts: 144
Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2013 7:25 pm
Location: Cheltenham

Re: CAF advice please

Post by DebsB »

techiedad wrote:Whilst Balcarras is without doubt a good and popular school, how confident are you that DD will get in? 20 mins sounds a bit of a walk away, I know people who temporarily moved very close to the school to get their kids in there due to local demand. If Balcarras was local to me I'd probably go for it over HSFG but only if I'd be sure I'd get in, as I'm assuming that putting Balcarras 1st and not getting in with HSFG 2nd, then you might end up with neither? Tough choice IMHO, as a lot of other selection criteria come into play with the non-grammar schools.
Whether or not you get a place at Balcarras depends on whether you live in the catchment. There's a map of the catchment area on their website - go and look and see whether your house is in it. If you're inside it, you'll probably get a place. If you're not, it's more of a question mark. Their order (not counting special cases such as looked after children etc) is
Siblings inside the catchment
Other children inside the catchment
Siblings outside the catchment
Other children outside the catchment.

Whether or not you get a place as HSFG depends on how well your DD did in the exam. Do you have a "top 120" letter, or a "not top 120 but qualified so here's your ranking" letter?

Both schools are very good, IMO, but they suit different kinds of children. I have one at Balcarras and one who'll be going to HSFG next year. Here are the questions that I considered, and came up with different answers for each of my kids!
Would they suit a single-sex or mixed school, or could they be fine at either?
How do they feel about going on a bus as opposed to walking?
How academically confident are they? And how motivated? Do they need an able and motivated grammar school peer group to inspire them to work hard, or would they be better at the top end of a non-selective school to boost their confidence?
Where does the child want to go? It's not the only consideration - we're the adults, after all, and have a broader perspective and one hopes more knowledge and wisdom - but if there's more than one good school that you'd be happy with, and your child has a strong preference, then that could be what swings it for you.

Hope that helps. :)

What's your nearest school? If you're not sure of getting a place at either Balcarras or HSFG, what else could you put on your form to make sure you don't lose out on both and end up getting whatever place the LEA has spare, regardless of how far away it is or what kind of school it is. Whatever the answer to that is, put it down on your form in last place!
Tolstoy
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:25 pm

Re: CAF advice please

Post by Tolstoy »

techiedad wrote:Whilst Balcarras is without doubt a good and popular school, how confident are you that DD will get in? 20 mins sounds a bit of a walk away, I know people who temporarily moved very close to the school to get their kids in there due to local demand. If Balcarras was local to me I'd probably go for it over HSFG but only if I'd be sure I'd get in, as I'm assuming that putting Balcarras 1st and not getting in with HSFG 2nd, then you might end up with neither? Tough choice IMHO, as a lot of other selection criteria come into play with the non-grammar schools.
If you are in the top whatever place for HSFG and you're place is assured then no matter where you put it on the form you will be allocated the place if all the options you place above it are not viable. I know nothing much about either school. However I do know that if you prefer Balcarras put it first if you are not close enough to the school then HGSFG will effectively become your first choice.
Amber
Posts: 8058
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: CAF advice please

Post by Amber »

techiedad wrote: putting Balcarras 1st and not getting in with HSFG 2nd, then you might end up with neither? .
Wrong. If you don't get your first choice then your second automatically becomes your first. There is no prejudice on getting the HSFG place if you don't qualify for Balcarras and your daughter would get a place at Denmark Rd in that scenario.

(See you've just said the same thing Tolstoy)
Gl1mum
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2014 7:04 pm

Re: CAF advice please

Post by Gl1mum »

If you have qualified and are told you rank in PAN, is a place likely if you put it first on CAF? Or does it still depend on movement of other children at the other schools? I have tried to make sense of the system and it's logic but just can't having never been through process before, it's all very daunting.
fairyjasmine
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Oct 10, 2014 4:41 pm

Re: CAF advice please

Post by fairyjasmine »

Tolstoy wrote: If you are in the top whatever place for HSFG and you're place is assured then no matter where you put it on the form you will be allocated the place if all the options you place above it are not viable. I know nothing much about either school. However I do know that if you prefer Balcarras put it first if you are not close enough to the school then HGSFG will effectively become your first choice.
This is what we've done - an out of catchment comp that we all loved on the open day has gone down as first choice, with HSFG second. DD is in the top 120 for HSFG so if she doesn't get in to #1 due to distance, she'll go to #2. I'd be very happy with either so ultimately it was DD's choice. Mumsie: which school does your DD prefer?
Tolstoy
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:25 pm

Re: CAF advice please

Post by Tolstoy »

Gl1mum wrote:If you have qualified and are told you rank in PAN, is a place likely if you put it first on CAF? Or does it still depend on movement of other children at the other schools? I have tried to make sense of the system and it's logic but just can't having never been through process before, it's all very daunting.
If you have been given a rank that is the same as the PAN then you will have a place if you want it and put it on your CAF form. When people discuss mocvement it is because they have been hgiven a rank outside the PAN. This is done because not all DC will take up their offers of a place for various reasons. See above the poster who is hoping for a comp place but using HSFG as a back up.
mumsie14
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2014 10:45 am

Re: CAF advice please

Post by mumsie14 »

thanks everyone for the advice, still confused on what to put priority on CAF, DD said she wants to go to HSFG because friends will be there but a bit hesitant because of getting up so early to catch the bus. still some more days to decide....
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