realistic advice please

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mad?
Posts: 5621
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 6:27 pm
Location: london

Re: realistic advice please

Post by mad? »

katka1311 wrote:so if I am correct..if children who put these schools as their first preferance and they qualify for it they will fill up the spaces therefore i might end up loosing out on these choices...does it make more sense to move them higher on my list?
No, that is not correct. Put them where you truly want them, if you do not qualify for any of the schools above then you will be allocated them as if they are your first choice. That is to say, your DC will be allocated the first school for which he/she has qualified, and that school effectively becomes your first choice, and cannot be 'filled up' by other people who ranked it higher, unless they qualify before you (ie by distance/sibling or any other aspect of the admission criteria).
mad?
hel_tcw
Posts: 91
Joined: Sat Oct 10, 2015 8:42 pm

Re: realistic advice please

Post by hel_tcw »

Have you considered St Joseph's Catholic High School in Slough.
I know it isn't a grammar school but it is a faith school which has set to improved over the last couple of years.

Transport wise have a look at the train journey times from Hayes to Slough or Burnham to see which is feasible.

Don't forget that all faith schools will have a supplementary form which means you will have to get one filled in for each school (a pain I know, as had to do it for both of my kids).

Look to see if there were any reasons why she didn't perform as well on the Slough test as she did on the Bucks.

And good luck.
hermanmunster
Posts: 12817
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 9:51 am
Location: The Seaside

Re: realistic advice please

Post by hermanmunster »

katka1311 wrote:.so if I am correct..if children who put these schools as their first preferance and they qualify for it they will fill up the spaces therefore i might end up loosing out on these choices...

No you will not lose out by putting somewhere like St Marks's 3rd or 4th on your list - the process from the school point of view goes like this:
  • Parents fill in CAF
    LEA send the school a list of ALL the children who have put St Mark's ANYWHERE on the list but don't state where on the parents list it is
    The school creates list of all the children in order according the oversubscription criteria and sends it to the LEA
Then this cycle starts: https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum ... 30&t=28833" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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scary mum
Posts: 8841
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: realistic advice please

Post by scary mum »

I don't think you will find people in Hayes to share the journey to High Wycombe, it's really not worth the journey.
Concentrate on which schools you want & put them in the genuine order - you can't play games, it doesn't work. As has been said, include one which you know you will get & are reasonably happy with.
scary mum
BlueBerry
Posts: 1014
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2010 3:05 pm

Re: realistic advice please

Post by BlueBerry »

Travelling from Hayes to High Wycombe is absolute madness. I would urge you to consider the effects of travelling on your daughter and to look for schools closer to home.

My DS's journey is only 30mins by public transport (door to door) and he comes back absolutely shattered each night. He also attends a lot of afterschool clubs and get back home by himself. Can your DD do the same?
MightyMum
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Jul 17, 2017 10:46 am

Re: realistic advice please

Post by MightyMum »

I'm on the edge of Hillingdon Borough and fully aware of all of the schools that you mention having been through this process a few times.

You have had a lot of good and valid advice here.

My observations:
5 points off is a lot and you have to consider if you really stand a chance at appeal for St B's. Your DD's desire to attend will not be relevant, her academic ability (and support from her current headteacher) will be key.

Burnham went to 8.7 and 8.2 miles over the last 2 years, you might be lucky or you might not.

St Marks - FAB school, easy transport from Hayes. You have a priest reference, approx. 38 kids from Hillingdon - serious contender.

Swakeleys - Another good school, do you know yet where she was in the banding 1-9? Worth a place on the form.

High Wycombe - Madness! (sorry!) Not only are you too far but that's a terrible journey. Even if she got in she'll be miles from friends, getting home late etc - it's 7 years - including 4 years of full on homework for GCSE/A levels.

What I'd do:
1-St Bernard's (but only if I was going to appeal and had a GOOD case).
2 - Burnham
3 and 4 - St Marks and Swakeleys in genuine order of preference
5 and 6 - 2 other schools that could be contenders if all else fails.

If you don't have something like Douay in there you could end up being offered where ever has spaces - e.g. - Harlington or Park. So decide what you could live with in a worst case scenario. Douay - you'll get in (catholic). How far out do Vyners go?

Good luck.
namirs
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Oct 16, 2018 10:22 pm

Re: realistic advice please

Post by namirs »

hi can anyone let me know whether my son can get a place in slough grammar school for score 118 and we live is reading area. is there any link to check the exact miles slough grammar schools are away from reading home address
Reading Mum
Posts: 1841
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 9:44 am
Location: Reading

Re: realistic advice please

Post by Reading Mum »

Each Slough school has their own criteria - you need to read it yourself as only you know exactly where you live, whether you qualify for pupil premium, whether there are siblings at the school, whether you are a practicing catholic etc
katka1311
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:35 pm

Re: realistic advice please

Post by katka1311 »

Right...
So I must be the only one who has not submitted the CAF yet.
Just really worried that I will make a mistake, so I need a last push before the submission.
Can you please advise on my list of preferences, my list would be as follows, but I think it has some flaws so I would need to clarify..
1. St. Bernards- appeal
2. Burnham- hoping to get a place during the later allocation rounds we are OA 10 miles
3. Swakeleys- she is in the highest banding, would not like to miss out on this one if Grammar does not work out, but I am worried that they fill up their spaces from the first prefenrences, plus last year they offered only 9 places in this band-
4. St. Marks- popular, oversubscribed, last year they filled up from first and second places, plus Catholic schools are aware of each other's preferences, and we might not be offered a place anyway- is it a space waster on my list? is it worthed to include more grammars?
5. Wycombe High- I think once other comprehensive schools are placed higher we will not be considered - am I right?
6. Douay Martyr- catholic shool, again, same rule as with St. Mark, they will be aware that I have placed other schools before them, might not get a place- this was my safety choice

So I am thinking that my preferences move up by one, because we are not eligible for our first choice, so Burnham and Swakeleys are top 1 and 2, fair chance?????
But would it be more reasonable to revise my list and do it as follows:

1. appeal St . Bernards
2. Burnham
3. Wycombe high
4. Chesham
4. Swakeleys- too low????
5. St. Mark
6. Douay
I think I am trying to concentrate on too many choices here.
How do I make sense of all this, really really need help.
Should I put all the grammars on the top and might not get an offer even in later rounds BIGGER RISK, also knowing that most likely will miss out on Swakeleys, which she really liked and would like to go to if Grammars do not work out. In this case my first list is more reasonable. /?/
Please help.
Tinkers
Posts: 7240
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 2:05 pm
Location: Reading

Re: realistic advice please

Post by Tinkers »

Schools will not fill up with those who put the school first or second. The schools do not allocate according to where people place them on the CAF but how they are placed in the school admissions criteria.
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