Movement on the Tiffin boys and girls school waiting lists ?

Eleven Plus (11+) in Surrey (Sutton, Kingston and Wandsworth)

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minicab
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 7:36 pm

Movement on the Tiffin boys and girls school waiting lists ?

Post by minicab »

Dear all

I am sure that somewhere among us there are people that have their DS or DD on a waiting list and I assume that there is a high level of anxiety for the parents and children as well. I had my son coming to us couple of times at 1 am saying that he cannot sleep as he is worried about his chances of getting a place at his preferred school.
Now, if there is anybody out there that has any information that could help to steady our children nerves (and ours!) , please let us know.
Particularly interested to hear from anybody who was offered a place and decided to turn it down.
I am aware that there are only 2-3 weeks (could be earlier :) left before we get some information through the formal channels, but this wait is affecting us and that's why I am pestering you with this (new) topic.
Thank you.
tiffinboys
Posts: 8022
Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 11:00 pm
Location: Surrey

Re: Movement on the Tiffin boys and girls school waiting lis

Post by tiffinboys »

I am pretty positive that you will hear from your schools before Easter break (4th April); could even be before coming week-end. I am sure that Tiffins Admission staff would love to make such calls.

Did any one call the school today?
minicab
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 7:36 pm

Re: Movement on the Tiffin boys and girls school waiting lis

Post by minicab »

We called in today and we were politely told to wait as there might be some news, as you said TB, before this weekend. It looks though that there is not much movement (at least on the boys list), which is very worrying. Not all LEA updated their lists and this causes delays in working out the waiting lists by the schools. Or at least this is what I understood . Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
In mean time we have to keep positive and pray.
Peridot
Posts: 2195
Joined: Thu May 16, 2013 5:02 pm

Re: Movement on the Tiffin boys and girls school waiting lis

Post by Peridot »

Hi minicab - I know it must be difficult, but stay optimistic and be prepared to wait a while if necessary: one of my DD's friends was allocated her place from the waiting list in May or June last year. Have they told you what your position is on the list? Not asking you to say what it is, but it would be very useful for you to know how many refusals of a place you need to get one!
tiffinboys
Posts: 8022
Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 11:00 pm
Location: Surrey

Re: Movement on the Tiffin boys and girls school waiting lis

Post by tiffinboys »

Today was the deadline for submitting/receiving acceptance/decline data to/from LAs.

So hopefully schools would have better picture by tomorrow or Wednesday.

All the best to all of you waiting for the good news.

http://www.kingston.gov.uk/downloads/fi ... ember_2014" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
loopylou
Posts: 403
Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:08 am

Re: Movement on the Tiffin boys and girls school waiting lis

Post by loopylou »

Peridot is correct. In theory, each local authority now has totally up to date information about the children in their area. Tiffins more than other schools will rely on numerous councils feeding into this process because their offers go out to more authority areas than others. In reality though, all local authorities will have people that still need to be chased for an answer and some will be quicker than others at getting current lists updated.
Certainly, in the past few years, lots of movement on the Tiffin lists appears to have happened in and around May with offers still being made well into the summer. It may be earlier this year since the principle of waiting until all children on an identical score can be made an offer does not apply. Children with identical scores can now be offered places one at a time with priority given on the basis of distance I believe. It is a pain having to wait but don't give up hope if there isn't positive news before the Easter break.
minicab
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 7:36 pm

Re: Movement on the Tiffin boys and girls school waiting lis

Post by minicab »

Thank you all for the good words and for encouragement. It is a waiting game, a game that I am not very good at. There should be some news soon and I will prepare my son to take it bravely.
I explained to him that Kingston Grammar is at least as good as Tiffin and he should be proud of his results! He is worried not being able to be with his older brother, but hopefully he will get used with the idea.
As soon as we get any information will let you know.
tiffinboys
Posts: 8022
Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 11:00 pm
Location: Surrey

Re: Movement on the Tiffin boys and girls school waiting lis

Post by tiffinboys »

If there is a news soon, it will be the positive one for those on the waitlist; other wise the wait is long. I know children getting places in Tiffins even after the start of the school year. Good Luck.
Snowdaddy
Posts: 257
Joined: Tue Mar 05, 2013 10:45 am
Location: Kingston upon Thames

Re: Movement on the Tiffin boys and girls school waiting lis

Post by Snowdaddy »

I think the schools and admission officers also get frustrated by parents who dither and don't confirm/reject. I know admission teams at Councils end up sending out chasers, they would have a large problem if they just decided if they didn't see a reply by deadline the offer was cancelled. Would put a big risk on admin oversights. The reality is they would still need to ensure a place was found somewhere to meet their statutory obligation to provide a place, sort of moves the problem so chasers come first.

This year a weekend hit the offer day, last year 1st March was a Friday, so by Mon 18th was easy to chase those that hadn't replied within 2 weeks, and a week later a pretty good idea would have been known. This year delayed a couple of days.

I hope that waiting lists are starting to evolve, Both Tiffin schools have to collate data from 10+ local authorites (many schools deal with just 2 or 3). They also have to then check the validity and results of those on the waiting list to rank them. It isn't as simple as saying the nearest with next best score gets first wait list place as there may be some who had the school as lower preference but exceeded the pass mark who have asked to go there instead (effectively changed their preference after knowing the scores).

I realise it is frustrating but some schools appear to free places in batches and list might suddenly jump with multiple places offered same day

Good luck
minicab
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2014 7:36 pm

Re: Movement on the Tiffin boys and girls school waiting lis

Post by minicab »

I didn't know that once you know the cut off mark you can change your mind and choose a different school?! But I assume that this could work in many ways as this would free places to other schools, and that would free places to other schools and so on....
No wonder it could take months to get everything sorted out!
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