11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi All,

My daughter has just been offered her first choice school, however its very late in the day and she hasnt had a chance to go to the induction day or meet the girls in her class.
She has done all this at her second choice school which was offered at Easter.
My question is, does this affect the girls in any way? Will the other girls have already formed friendship groups on the induction day?
Sorry to sound ridiculous its just that it has happened out of the blue and we are not sure whether to now stay with her second choice or reject that and accept her first choice!!

There will be other girls who haven't made the induction stuff for various reasons. With my oldest son, the people he met on the induction day he really doesn't have much to do with now, with my youngest, the person he met on his induction day is till his best mate now (just going into y9!) so it's horses for courses.

Think about why you had it as your first choice school and if those reasons still apply then go for it - whatever, make the decision quickly and move on and do not think about it again - if you take the place then you have to immerse yourself in getting ready for it (possibly go and visit it before term ends, to meet the tutor etc) and if you decide not to take the place, release it asap so that someone else can be offered it.

Good luck.

Thank you so much.....its put my mind at rest I must admit I was shocked that offers are made so late in the day! Unfortunately the school has already closed for summer......

samk wrote:Thank you so much.....its put my mind at rest I must admit I was shocked that offers are made so late in the day! Unfortunately the school has already closed for summer......

Offers are still made in September, when some year 7s apparently on roll don't turn up

It's a pity the school is closed - there might be someone in the office at least to the end of the week, if you wanted to just have a chat with someone? How does your DD feel about the relative merits of the two schools? I know that if our DD had been given her 'CAF 3' school and we had forgotten to take her off the list for 'CAF 2' and a place had come up, she would have turned it down - she realised quite early in the November that those two were on the form the wrong way round.

If the school is running entrance exams in September you will probably find that it is manned at some point over the summer.

Ring reception and see what message they have left for callers on their answerphone. DG

My elder DS missed one of the two induction days as he wanted to go on a yr6 trip with his then current mates. He went to the second induction day but to be honest his friendship group doesn't really include boys from that day, he has a wide circle of friends made via various mutual interests.

As somebody else suggested, is it still your first choice school? if you were offered both schools at the same time which would you choose?

Good luck, I'm sure your dd will flourish whichever you choose.

Thank you all

Do let us know what you decide. I would go for the first choice school else you might always wonder "What if."

My dds have had reverse siblings join in their years in Y8 and Y9 and they have fitted in like a glove.

Your dd has not really missed anything and you have the summer to sort out some play dates with anyone else you might know going. DG

Daogroupie wrote:Do let us know what you decide. I would go for the first choice school else you might always wonder "What if."

Actually - you could say the same about the second choice school, if you opted for the 1st choice school and it didn't work out...!!!

Very often, OP, on here we have people who have changed their mind about the school they listed first - sometimes before offers are made, sometimes after - sometimes they don't get an offer from their first choice and accept the second, like you have, and realise that actually the second choice is the better fit after all.

Ask yourself, and your daughter, honestly whether there really were reasons that made it leaps and bounds your "first" choice or not. If there were, fair enough, if not, then you can happily stick with the second choice!

My DS is at his second choice school, having failed appeal for first choice, and he could not be happier He had his heart set on first choice school, but he enjoyed induction day at second choice and now, a year on, he would rather "fall in a bush of stinging nettles" (don't ask ) than go to his first choice school! As others have said, there may specific reasons for choosing your first choice but, if they are both as good as each other, I think a sort of school tie pride comes in once they are settled.