Secondary school admissions procedures

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Dougal

Secondary school admissions procedures

Post by Dougal »

I have just received information about the admissions procedure for September 2007 from my local LEA. It states that I have to send in my preferrences by October 25th. My daughter wont have taken her 11+ by then, so how will I know how to chose which school to put first?!! Can they do this? :?
Dougal
Guest

Post by Guest »

You have to put the preferences down before she sits the examination. Go round, look at the schools, decide which you like best and then put them in order. You may find that some schools are easier to get into than others. I think this is the situation everywhere.
Catherine
Posts: 1348
Joined: Sun Dec 04, 2005 4:47 pm
Location: Berks,Bucks

Post by Catherine »

Hi Douglas,

Unfortunately it is the situation everywhere and it is very stressing for parents. We have to go and visit lots of potential schools thinking 'this a good school, but will my child ever get a place there..'
Try to collect as much information before hand because the choice is not always straightforward.

Best of luck
Essex mum

Post by Essex mum »

This has always been how it is done. You have to put the schools in the order that you want them, take the test and then they decide if they want you.

Out of interest, which LEA are you?
Guest

Post by Guest »

I don't know if it is the same everywhere, but in some instances the schools won't consider you if you don't put them first on your list. I think some LEAs don't tell the schools where you have put them on the form, ie, first or second or third. If they do, however, you need to think very carefully about the order on your form. It is really hard, I know, I am going through it all now. It is the system though and we have to live with it unfortunately. Our LEA doesn't tell the schools the order on the form, but I know that others do and friends of mine have been wringing their hands over whether to put the grammar first or not.
Guest

Post by Guest »

It seems the admission procedure is very much like it was this year (deadline Oct 21st). This is indeed incredibly early so the sooner you start the process of looking at schools the better. We began when our child was in yr 5 and we still felt the pressure a year later.

Do not feel obliged to list six school preferences unless you are happy with those 6 schools. In other words, do not put down schools just because you feel you have to. If it's only 1 or 2, so be it. I felt obliged until I spoke to an educationalist who gave me real food for thought i.e. dont give the LEA too much choice, list the schools that you REALLY want!

One school we listed contacted our LEA to find out what order of preference they were. They wrote and told they had done this!

Good luck!
Guest

Post by Guest »

In Birmingham the deadline for putting in forms was something like 26 September (I can't remember exactly). We put 6 schools because, although we don't really want option 5 or 6, there are some schools in Birmingham that you wouldn't send your dog to. I know of people who have only put 2 or 3 options and then got the most terrible school of all. You need to be very careful and perhaps talk to people in the area that you are applying to.

I would agree that you should start looking in Year 5 if at all possible, as there are so many schools to look at you can't get round them all in Year 6.

We are getting close to the 1 March deadline and I have to say, that I think the stress is worse now than it was in October/November time. I won't want to open the envelope!
Dougal

Post by Dougal »

Thanks to everyone who has replied. It seems that we just have to live with the situation as it is. I did hear that the government were going to change it after a legal challenge by someone in Kent. This obviously isn't the case, so I will look out for the open days at all the local schools. The problem is that where we live it is virtually impossible to get into the only good secondary modern in the area, especially if you don't put it first. So the question is, do I gamble and put the Grammar school first or not? :(

Dougal
Guest

Post by Guest »

Hi,
4 weeks and 3 days to go until national offer day, I'm feeling physically sick :cry:

Footymad.
Guest

Post by Guest »

Note: LEA’s make you aware of 1 school offer only, based on your order of preference – or so say. I cannot speak for elsewhere in the country but here in London an alarming number of children are left without a school place each year. The LEA/schools have to juggle the numbers somehow.

Who’s to say that in some cases order of preferences are ignored to allocate places to as many children as possible? Listing only a few schools is a gamble I agree. I took it and listed only 3. Am a conspiracy theorist. I don’t think so.
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