Tiffin Girls' Draft Admissns Arrangement 2014-2015

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geling
Posts: 153
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:18 pm

Tiffin Girls' Draft Admissns Arrangement 2014-2015

Post by geling »

( To Moderaters: if this information should not be posted here, please deleted.)

I think it is a good new for local Kingston parents :lol: , but...

Here we go:

The Tiffin Girls’ School http://www.tiffingirls.kingston.sch.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Preamble to the
Draft Admissions Arrangements


For entry in the Academic Year
2014 – 2015

Preamble to the Draft Admissions Arrangements for The Tiffin Girls’ School for entry in 2014

The Tiffin Girls’ School is proposing to introduce a ‘Designated Area’ as part of its over-subscription criteria for Year 7 entry in 2014.

The Admissions Code 2012 paragraph 1.14 states that:

‘Catchment areas must be designed so that they are reasonable and clearly defined. Catchment areas do not prevent parents who live outside the catchment of a particular school from expressing a preference for the school’.

The purpose of this preamble to the Draft Admissions Arrangements 2014 is to set out our reasons for introducing a Designated Area for admissions at The Tiffin Girls’ School and to explain the method by which the boundary of the area has been set.

Q: Why are you introducing a Designated Area?

A: We are delighted that the school is popular and thriving however we are increasingly concerned about the distances some girls are expected to travel each day to and from school. We believe that all our students should be able to participate fully in the life of the school, both in and outside lessons, and have time to enjoy their time outside school too. If a girl has an excessively long journey at each end of the day it can cause tiredness during the school day and affect her ability to maintain her friendships and pursuits outside school.

We have also noticed in recent application rounds that growing numbers of applicants for a place at the school live increasingly far away from the school and so the issue is becoming more pronounced. We also have far more candidates registering to be tested for a place at the school than we have places and the numbers have increased rapidly in recent years (to 1879 for 150 places in 2012). We feel that the school has a role to play in guiding potential applicants regarding all the factors that should be considered when choosing a school – and we believe that travelling distance to the school is a very important one.

Q: How have you decided on the boundary of the proposed Designated Area?

A: The proposed Designated Area is where a significant majority of the School’s existing students live. We identified the area where the vast majority of the students across year groups in the school live. All postcodes within that area were included. We also analysed the average travel times of students who are travelling the furthest distances. For postcodes which overlapped the edge of the area we considered a combination of both the number of students currently in the school who live in that postcode and the travelling time to school from that postcode area. In this way we identified a clear boundary for the area based on postcodes. The proposed Designated Area reflects the current profile of the school.

Q: Will it affect the standards of entry to the School?

A: The Tiffin Girls’ School is a highly selective school and will remain so. The effect of introducing a Designated Area will have a negligible if any effect on the standards of entry. We know this because we have considered the effect on the lowest cut-off score of previous applications by modelling the effect of the proposed Designated Area on scores in tests in past years. The cut-off score has remained within or very close to the range of previous cut-off scores. At that level of performance there are a significant number of applicants on the same score and so the standard for entry is not lowered in order to fill the places. In addition we strongly believe that ensuring our students do not have excessive travelling times will enable them to participate fully and successfully in all aspects of their lives and this will have a positive benefit for their well-being and achievements in all areas.


Q: What should I do if I want to comment on this proposal?

A: We welcome comments and responses to this proposal as part of our consultation on the Draft Admissions Arrangements. If you would like to contribute to the consultation then please do so in writing using the form provided in the Admissions section of our website by the closing date Wednesday 13th February 2013 at 12 noon.

Q: What will happen next?

A: We will consider all the responses we receive as part of the consultation process and provide our response to the consultation in March 2013. We will then publish our Determined Admissions Arrangements in April 2013 having taken into account the consultation feedback.
twelveminus
Posts: 208
Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2012 7:58 pm

Re: Tiffin Girls' Draft Admissns Arrangement 2014-2015

Post by twelveminus »

According to the email it isn't good news for local Kingston parents because

"The effect of introducing a Designated Area will have a negligible if any effect on the standards of entry. "

The intent seems to be reducing the complexity/cost of testing by excluding those from very long distances away.

I think they should give more detail about their model.

Q: Of the applicants in 2011:

how many were outside the proposed catchment area? Of these, how many were offered a place, and how many are now at the school?
how many were inside the proposed catchment area? Of these, how many were offered a place, and how many are now at the school?

Also, perhaps

of the applicants in 2010 who were outside the proposed catchment area and selected a place, how many are still living outside the proposed catchment area?

Secondly, how much does it cost to test single girl?

Obviously they are testing 300 girls outside catchment and only say 2 took a place, they might conclude that this is a waste of their funds.

If however the number was say 20, that would be a very significant change.

As it is, the proposed change does not explain the actual effect of the changes.
tiffinboys
Posts: 8022
Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 11:00 pm
Location: Surrey

Re: Tiffin Girls' Draft Admissns Arrangement 2014-2015

Post by tiffinboys »

Thank you geling for posting the rationale for the proposed changes. It seems like I had written most of it over the last year and posted on this very forum.

I would only point to the number of applicants for this year: 1879
A significant increase over last few years.
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