Halp needed on admissions criteria for TWGSB?

shuff · Post by **shuff** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 1:35 pm

Thanks for that Kentmum1!

perplexed · Post by **perplexed** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:44 pm

I don't know how useful "facts" that schools throw out at this point in the admission process could be. Schools don't know which position people have put them on their CAF.

There are four places on the CAF now in Kent? Used to be three. When schools quote how many people applied to them it now includes people who put them 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place. In the past it was people who put them 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.

Everyone only goes to one school, so now there are four places rather than three probably every school might look as though it has more applications than it did before, but it might make no difference in the final cut.

Of course there will be a few who may go to grammar rather than independent (or to non-selective rather than independent) due to the credit crunch, but I would have thought this would be at the margin only.

And was this birth year a bulge year - did you experience this at primary school entry?

shuff · Post by **shuff** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 7:52 pm

It was a large birth year, all the primary schools in our area were full. Strangely, numbers declined from then on and the millennium baby year, which everyone thought would be huge, was very small.
So is it true that at this stage only the schools have dealt with the lists but no allocation has been done by the LEA?

Guest55 · Post by **Guest55** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 8:46 pm

Yes - allocation to specific schools doesn't take place until later this month as it is co-ordinated nationwide.

kentmum1 · Post by **kentmum1** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 9:44 pm

Yes, at this stage all a school like TWGSB has done, at this stage, is to take all the boys who have named them, without knowing their preference, and have simply put them in all geographical order and sent it back to the LEA. At TWGSB they don't even see their scores. Usually they get at least 600 applications, of which at least half have been 1st choce preferences (they find this out eventually). Last year, Skinners had about 400 odd applications and again about half of these were 1st choice preferences. Knowing this info, it will be interesting to see how it works out this year. I don't want to scaremonger, it just sounds like they had a lot more this year. I didn't dare to ask too many questions!

perplexed · Post by **perplexed** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:24 pm

What do you think the application numbers are this year then from what you have heard, and the likely proportion of first choices ? And when did the number of spaces on the CAF rise from 3 to 4?

The odds of getting in in past years cannot have been too bad. If 600 applied for 180 places (and then more places are frequently created there on appeal). Some of the 600 would not have passed the 11+. And about half of them did not put it first choice so up to 300 would have gone elsewhere given the chance.

Can the odds really be much lower this year, particularly as only people who have passed the 11+ will have put it on their CAF?

Do you know of any people who have not got into TWGSB in past years who tried the waiting list or appleas

kentmum1 · Post by **kentmum1** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 10:45 pm

The figures I am talking about apply to Sept '07 entry.

kentmum1 · Post by **kentmum1** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 10:49 pm

I do know of people who have got in on appeal, who had mainly passed but had been just past the cut-off geographically.

Villagedad · Post by **Villagedad** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 12:19 pm

Does anyone know what the distance in miles "cut off" has been for TWBGS in the last few years..?

And is it "as the crow flies" in terms of how they measure it..?

It seems for TWGGS for the leat 2 years it has been 2 miles which is tight..

Thanks
Villagedad

Villagedad · Post by **Villagedad** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 12:57 pm

kentmum1 wrote:TWGSB does take on distance, rather than score and usually extends out to Sevenoaks. However, this looks set to change a little in the coming years and as they are likely to become a Foundation school and possibly make it fairer for those out-of-county by giving an all-round distance from the school, rather than just Kent. This may take a few years though. I do know (for definite!) that they have had to turn down a lot of applications of those who have passed this year. All the boys grammars are usually heavily oversubscribed.

When you say TWGSB will become a "Foundation school", what does that actually mean? Will they still be a selective / grammar school as well?

Thanks but confused
Villagedad