Results coming in before CAF - is it helpful??

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suzanne

Results coming in before CAF - is it helpful??

Post by suzanne »

Hi

From reading some of the posts in Gloucestershire and other areas, I am left wondering if the changes to the new admission code ( which require parents to have an indication of score before applying to schools) actually helping? It seems to be causing a lot of stress for all concerned.

Are the new admission arrangements good?
Daogroupie
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Re: Results coming in before CAF - is it helpful??

Post by Daogroupie »

No, it does not help unless you can see your mark in context. A random number with no clue as to if that is a good result or a bad one does not help at all. QE boys sent marks today without even telling applicants what the mark was out of and so no idea at all if the mark represents 90% or 60%. If you are toldl how many sat, what the perfect score would be, what you got and where you came in the total rankings of everyone who sat and how many places are available then you have the data you need to decide if it is worth applying. QE has said any candidate achieving more than 210 should apply but no clue as to how many condidates reached that milestone. Many will have sat QE as a dry run to private schools and/or a back up to other schools, but how many? That is what nobody knows and so once again it is the very long wait until March, even longer this year as exams were sat in September. DG
hermanmunster
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Re: Results coming in before CAF - is it helpful??

Post by hermanmunster »

I think a number in isolation is so confusing ! Comes down to sites like this where people get together to compare scores and decide where they fall in the range - can be some help anyway.

It is not impossible to give more info - for score based allocation parents could be told the score and then how many children have scores in each range eg 250-259, 260-269 etc. For distance (and if out of catchment) it could be the number in each mile (or half mile ...)
stevew61
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Re: Results coming in before CAF - is it helpful??

Post by stevew61 »

Having been through the old long wait until March system twice I'm in favour of getting some information, any information early.

I accept with eyes wide open that we may get sufficient information to make a decision, positive or negative, or end up in limbo. :shock:

That's my opinion before an early result :D but I reserve the right to change it. :oops:
hermanmunster
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Re: Results coming in before CAF - is it helpful??

Post by hermanmunster »

I have had the early result twice - first time round we didn't live in catchment and had to wait to March to know if we had a place but was so dozy about the whole thing it didn't occur to me that there could be any problem (there wasn't bit that was luck not judgement :roll: ).

Second time around we got an October result which was effectively a confirmed place as living so near and less then 40% of places taken up by catchment kids. was good to be in that position - one school on CAF.

Thinking about it, it is the areas with few GS that can be in this position, where most people only have the option of one school.
doodles
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Re: Results coming in before CAF - is it helpful??

Post by doodles »

Kent changed a few years ago to a results before CAF submission system and from speaking to people who applied under the old system the changes are for the better as you can put realistically achievable schools on your form.

However, and it is a big however, in Kent we do know that the score is out of 420 (423 this year :? ) so you do have some idea of where that scores fits into the bigger picture.
Reading Mum
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Re: Results coming in before CAF - is it helpful??

Post by Reading Mum »

The school we are trying for, along with Steve, has a minimum qualifying mark so at least we will know if we haven't reached that and can stop even considering it as an option. Beyond that mark it will continue to be a waiting game as this is the first year of a designated area ( catchment) so past scores are not necessarily representative of future performance.
On he whole I am grateful for having some info rather than none but I have seen the chaos in some regions such as Devon where the phrase chocolate teapot seems to come to mind when thinking about the info parents are being sent.
BusyQueenBee
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Re: Results coming in before CAF - is it helpful??

Post by BusyQueenBee »

Wilsons just give a pass or not pass, no way of finding out if your child is number 2 or number 390 (the last one).

I find this very stressful because if I knew DS had a place at Wilsons he would not be trying for any bursary place/ scholarship in the independent schools, he would not have to put up with more exams, pressure, days off school, etc and we would not be spending hours filling registration forms, financial statements, gathering reference letters from music teachers, paying up to 100 pounds to register him in every school...etc. This is all the nightmarish stuff DS could be spared by something as simple as telling him his score and/or overall position...
scary mum
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Re: Results coming in before CAF - is it helpful??

Post by scary mum »

In Buckinghamshire - the only place not to give the results before the CAF went in this year - the pass mark is 121 so it would help a lot of people as it is a definite cut off. If the timing was right it might save a lot of wasted visits to school open evenings as well. However, the people it won't help are the borderline ones who will want to go to appeal, they will still have to put both GS and non GS schools on their CAF.
scary mum
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