Hillview girls - safe distance for 1st round allocations?

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Indy
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 10:30 am

Hillview girls - safe distance for 1st round allocations?

Post by Indy »

Does anyone know how far our Hillview tend to go for first round allocations? Am thinking of moving to TN10, about 2 miles as the crow flies from the school and have spoken to the school and they say we should be fine. However I have heard rumours that first round places may only be given much closer than that, and the final boundaries usefully provided by the school may only really be showing how far out the furthest girl was, who may have gained a place not through distance but one of the other criteria, or a successful appeal etc. Does anyone know?

Thank you.
Kent99

Re: Hillview girls - safe distance for 1st round allocations

Post by Kent99 »

I have to admit that I don't know. Common sense, however, suggests that their map will show how far out they went on the distance criterion (i.e. not siblings or performing arts places); otherwise not only would the map be useless but they would surely have used dots to show where individual girls lived rather than drawing circles. The outermost girls can hardly live in a perfect circle around the school. Plus there would be no reason why adding an extra form would have moved the catchment boundaries as it has.

The maps probably show final distance cut-offs, however, after waiting list places are allocated. Not first round allocations.

For what it's worth there is at least one child from our village at Hillview and we are about 10 miles from Tonbridge.
Indy
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue Nov 30, 2010 10:30 am

Re: Hillview girls - safe distance for 1st round allocations

Post by Indy »

Appreciate the "common sense" idea, but you know what they say about assumptions.......don't want to hedge my step-daughters' futures on an assumption!

Was sure I once read somewhere that the school is now so popular you have to be within a mile to guarantee a place! But then again, maybe I am going mad....
sherry_d
Posts: 2083
Joined: Tue Sep 01, 2009 4:38 pm
Location: Maidstone

Re: Hillview girls - safe distance for 1st round allocations

Post by sherry_d »

You can ring the school and find out how far they went out last year, they may be able to tell you. If not I think you can request that info from KCC under the freedom of information but that can take up to 40 days.
Impossible is Nothing.
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Hillview girls - safe distance for 1st round allocations

Post by mystery »

I think you need to find out more ......... is this for applications in a future year, or is it about an application that has already been made?

My understanding is that apart from ones that get in on the performing arts criteria via the informal test, and siblings, the distance to the school is usually quite close - but I don't know how close.

The school should be able to give you data from several years past about whether you would have received a place in the first round allocations from the distance at which you live. Have you tried e-mailing them? But don't always trust the answer you get - you do get told rubbish by school offices quite often.

Also, it was recently judged outstanding so this could send its popularity higher still in future years. I think its much easier to get outstanding than it was say 10 years ago, so follow your own nose more than OFSTED's.

If you have the option, I still think the church schools - St Gregs and Bennett Mem - might be better schools in lots of ways.
trixytoo
Posts: 19
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:35 pm

Re: Hillview girls - safe distance for 1st round allocations

Post by trixytoo »

Last year (September 2010 intake) there were three girls in my DD's class whom all live at least 5 miles from the school (not one of them lived in Tonbridge) and were all allocated a place at Hillview on the first round (it was each child's first choice). I cannot guarantee this will happen this year but the three girls parent's were told by Hillview when they applied for a place that the catchment area had changed and been extended from previous years, perhaps it is worth contacting the school. I hope this helps :D
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Hillview girls - safe distance for 1st round allocations

Post by mystery »

If you look on the website and read about admissions it says that the school added an extra form of entry in recent years. This will be why the "catchment area" changed - the school admits mostly on distance - so more places means people from a wider distance are likely to get in. So probably the distance from which children get in has probably widened since I looked at the admissions data a few years ago.

But it's still worth getting some hard data, particularly now that the school has been judged outstanding. If you live at a "grey" distance - unclear whether you would get a place or not from your address, I'd apply down the performing arts route which obviates the need to be judged on your distance from the school (but check the policy to be sure that if you do live close to the school and fail on the performing arts admissions route you haven't scuppered your chance of getting in on distance). It looks as though their admissions policy might not be definite for 2012 yet.
trixytoo
Posts: 19
Joined: Mon Nov 02, 2009 2:35 pm

Re: Hillview girls - safe distance for 1st round allocations

Post by trixytoo »

Just to add to my previous post - two out of the three girls applied through the performing arts route and did not succeed, but this had no bearing on allocation of places on distance given in March 2010.
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Re: Hillview girls - safe distance for 1st round allocations

Post by mystery »

Indy, have you found out some hard data for the last few years, taken into account the school having got bigger a few years back, the recent outstanding OFSTED, and read thoroughly the admissions policy for next year that is currently only draft? You need to have all the up to date facts at your finger tips before you make any decisions.

I don't think anyone on this forum can give you the all the correct facts you need - apart from anything you can contact the LEA twice or the same school twice and get a different answer on stuff like this every time!! You have to be very thorough and untrusting in your approach to the data.

And how much do you love this school? If it were me making a choice in the next year or so I would personally plump for St Greg's or Bennett Memorial - but you may not fall high enough up their policies if you don't have the strong church connection.
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