11 Plus Exams Forum

Hello, I was hoping someone could clarify the rules around secondary transfer. My DC is in yr 6 at an all through indie. DC has been offered a guaranteed place for the senior school, but we can only accept this place now if we 'forego all other options'. Alternatively, DC can be reconsidered for a place in February, alongside the external candidates.

The only other option I'm considering is a selective state school, exam next month, results March. Do state schools count as considering other options, or is it only other independents?

My guess is that "all" include state and independent. What is the penalty for accepting the place now and turning it down in March? Bear in mind that for external candidates some indies still want you to accept the place before National allocation, unless this is diff in your school.

The letter doesn't mention any penalty at all. It only says school is following HMC North London regulations and that offers not taken up after 1st June incur a charge of one terms fees.

Sorry by penalty I meant what the terms and conditions say. Term's fees is the standard and if you are prepared for them to continue at the school if they dont get into the grammar then may be just bite the bullet and accept the offer now and lose the terms fees if they get into the grammar. Its a lot of money but having a bit of choice is better than none.

The only penalty mentioned in terms and conditions is the one term's fees on withdrawals after 1st June. I can understand about not being able to accept one indie while waiting to hear from another, but what does state secondary school transfer have to do an indie?

I think the indie are just trying to work out how many of their current pupils are staying on to the senior school. They need to get the numbers as near capacity as they can.

The "carrot" in this case is that a DC can have a guaranteed place without the stress of any exams, great if you have any concerns about how they would perform against all external candidates - some parents are delighted with this offer. However if you are keen to try the state selective (and they will know you are keen - hence the offer!) you may have to accept that your DC will have to take the exam in Feb with the external candidates if you want him/her to stay at their current school.

If think you have to decide whether taking the selective exam is enough of a benefit to risk the exam in Feb. If you feel your child has a chance at the state selective then I suspect they would do OK against the externals in Feb - particularly in a school that is prepared to give places without exam!

I think the school is trying to lock you in now and scare you into thinking you must do this. It may be able to stop you applying for other indie places in the consortium of North London boys schools ( I do know that the schools all follow a policy of not offering places to boys who have already accepted a place from another school in the consortium) but I don't see how they can stop you from applying for a state school place. They won't know whether you have applied for a state school place unless you choose to tell them - and you presumably won't do that until you know whether you have been offered a place at the school you want.

Thanks for your replied. I don't respond well to this kind of 'encouragement' so I won't let it stop me from applying to state schools as well. As, at this stage, I'm not considering other indies, I'll work on the assumption that the restriction only applies to the North London consortium, and has nothing to do with the state school application process.

Is the state school exam on a school day so you'll need a day off to take it.

Hilltop - that can be a problem. Plenty of kids at indies are "unwell" on the day of state school exams as they don't want the school to know they are taking tests elsewhere.

New2me - it is just the sort of thing that would annoy me too! Good luck with the applications