Putting down a HS when you have passed

[JLT]

We live in Herne Bay and I know in previous years DCs have been allocated a HS despite having passed KT and only naming four GS on the form. Wondering whether to put our preferred high school down as a choice so that we could at least have a chance of that rather than KCC deciding which under subscribed HS our DS might get. Or wd we be better off putting down our 4 preferred GS and just hoping we get one, concerned that if we don't put down our preferred HS we wouldn't even be able to appeal to that if we didn't get a GS. Hope this makes sense, wd have been an easier decision if he hadn't passed I think!!

[starmum2000]

Just to share, I have named 4 GS on our CAF, then my preferred Church High School. I really hope he gets into one of the GS, but we don't live terribly near & if it all goes wrong & tons of Dcs passed who live nearer than us, I want him to go to the Church School & not for the Borough to give him Dumpsville. I think its a sensible back-up plan.
HTH

[JLT]

Just to share, I have named 4 GS on our CAF, then my preferred Church High School. I really hope he gets into one of the GS, but we don't live terribly near & if it all goes wrong & tons of Dcs passed who live nearer than us, I want him to go to the Church School & not for the Borough to give him Dumpsville. I think its a sensible back-up plan.
HTH

Starmum 2000 - do you live in Kent? Confused about you putting down 5 schools? Also does anyone know - if we get allocated a HS that we named on SCAF, but appealed to any of the 3 GS we named - would appeal panel know that the HS was one on our list or just that we were allocated a HS?

[starmum2000]

Sorry JLT, no, strictly speaking we are not in Kent but Bexley Borough (though address is Kent ?), but will be applying to some Kent schools.
We get to put 6 schools on our CAF, as they are common I assumed they are all the same, is that not true? So in reality, I couldn't fill all my choices with GS as there aren't enough, I suppose if you have less choices on your form then it is a harder choice.
It will make no difference to your appeal at all if you name a HS on your CAF.

(BTW - our Kent GS is nearer for us than our Bexley GSs !)

[hermanmunster]

one of the (many) odd things about school allocations is the variation in the number of slots on the CAF..... Causes many problems eg Birmingham and Worcestershire often are for the same schools but one has 6 slots and the other 3 (I think) ... tricky when one has to the local comprehensive as the results of the test are not known in advance of the CAF.
Other times too many slots for the number of schools in reasonable distance.

[Lass]

I have named 2 grammars and 2 high schools on DS SCAF. Would an appeals panel even know what choices you made, or in what order? I just figured, like you, that I would rather DS be given a place in a school of our choice than the one KCC would prefer to fill! And hopefully if we aren't allocated a grammar we can go on waiting lists or appeal. But I'd rather have a HS school in area than a grammar miles away, and I'd rather have a successful HS than an underachieving one!

[bigchill]

JLT, we also live in the Herne Bay area, I think this is a highly unlikely scenario of not getting into a grammar school, especially when Chatham House and Dane Court struggle to fill places and take a high percentage on appeal.

The only worse case scenario I could think of where you would get into difficulty would be by putting these schools on your application, Langton, Barton court, QE, Archbishops or Anselms, then more than likely you wouldn't get any of the first 3 due to catchment area, and unless you are practicing faith you may also not get a place at the faith school also due to catchment area, although probably unlikely, as Archbishops particularly are taking more and more non faith children.

So then in this case you would be offered the nearest high school that still has places!

[frustrated]

JLT, we also live in the Herne Bay area, I think this is a highly unlikely scenario of not getting into a grammar school, especially when Chatham House and Dane Court struggle to fill places and take a high percentage on appeal.

Two years ago Herne Bay, Whitstable and even parts of Canterbury lost out on GS places but as far as I know this was the only year it happened(?) so please bear in mind that it can and does happen.

It's a bit of a Catch 22 - if you put all Grammar schools on your SCAF and nowhere can offer you a place, you will end up at your nearest school regardless of whether or not it is a grammar. If you put Three GS choices and a HS choice, then you could still miss out on a possible GS place which you could have had as your fourth choice.

IF you were offered the HS choice and it went to appeal for a GS place, then the panel will know as they will have a copy of the offer letter you would have been sent. This is what happened to me two years ago and the paperwork sent to me that the appeal panel had copies of included the offer letter and the letter assessing DS as suitable for GS a well as copies of the paperwork I had submitted to them.

Which schools are you thinking of JLT?

[frustrated]

IF you were offered the HS choice and it went to appeal for a GS place, then the panel will know as they will have a copy of the offer letter you would have been sent.

Sorry, the panel will only know which school you were offered and not whether you had it on your form or not

[JLT]

Hi Frustrated - think I could happily steal your user name!

DS didn't like SLBS or Dane Court, so really that only leaves us with QE, Barton Court or Chatham House. Surprised to hear about Chatham House and Dane Court having unfilled places as I heard of people last year having to appeal to get in there when it was their first choice If we were to put HBHS and DS was offered it, and then appealed for our choice of GS, would appeals panel be allowed to ask if we'd put a high school down on our SCAF? Also I assume we could then appeal to all three of our GS choices, and if need be put in a late appeal to Dane Court or SLBS if we wanted to?