7 days to go and the countdown is on!!

Eleven Plus (11+) in Birmingham, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Wrekin

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Cecilcaterpillar
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:47 am

Re: 7 days to go and the countdown is on!!

Post by Cecilcaterpillar »

Having just received an email from Birmingham it all seems very real now. Think I was in denial before. Just hope I get the email before 5.15pm
femalemidlander
Posts: 59
Joined: Sat Oct 07, 2017 2:06 pm

Re: 7 days to go and the countdown is on!!

Post by femalemidlander »

kenyancowgirl wrote:Well, no, it is t worth staying up because you cannot influence the result and, unlike some private schools who will remain nameless, the LEA do not operate an exploding offer system but give you a reasonable time to accept your offer. Also, until you know for sure, you have hope!

:D
you're right of course about 'hope' and of course about being unable to influence the result but I do liken it to Christmas ant the chance the email be there like the hearing of the sleigh bells lol
femalemidlander
Posts: 59
Joined: Sat Oct 07, 2017 2:06 pm

Re: 7 days to go and the countdown is on!!

Post by femalemidlander »

Cecilcaterpillar wrote:Having just received an email from Birmingham it all seems very real now. Think I was in denial before. Just hope I get the email before 5.15pm
positive vibes being sent from me
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: 7 days to go and the countdown is on!!

Post by um »

For everyone's information, the email from Birmingham to parents is as follows:

(Other LAs, such as Solihull, Walsall, Worcs etc, may have a different timetable)

Offer emails
As you applied online, you will be sent an email informing you which secondary school has been offered to your child. Emails will be sent on Thursday 1 March and you will receive your email any time up to 5.15pm. You will also receive this offer by letter on Friday 2 March.

Please do not contact Birmingham City Council before you have received the offer of a school place.

The School Admissions team will be unable to inform you which secondary school place has been offered to your child by phone or email. You must be in receipt of your email or letter before contacting the School Admissions team.

Accepting the offer
The email and letter you receive will name the secondary school your child has been offered for September 2018.

If your child has not been offered a place at any of the schools you applied for, this will be because the school(s) received more applications than there were places available and other children met the admission criteria better than your child. Details of school admission criteria are available at http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/schooladmissions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The offer letter will explain how to accept or refuse the offer that has been made. If your child has been offered a place at a secondary school in Birmingham, you should return the acceptance slip to the school. If your child has been offered a place at a school outside Birmingham, you should return the acceptance slip to School Admissions. The deadline for acceptances is 16 March 2018.

You are strongly encouraged to accept the offer so that your child has a guaranteed place for September 2018. By not accepting the offer, you could risk losing the place as this may be given to a child on the waiting list for that school. Accepting the offer will not affect your child’s waiting list position for any of your higher preference schools, or influence the outcome of any appeal you may submit.

Waiting lists
If you do not receive an offer of a place at your higher preference schools your child’s name will automatically be placed on the waiting lists for those schools.

Please note that waiting lists are compiled in the same order as the oversubscription criteria, eg siblings first, etc. Late applicants are also added according to this order, so your child’s name could move down as well as up a waiting list. Having a place on the waiting list is no guarantee that a place will become available.

Information on waiting list positions will not be available until 26 March 2018, when we have received acceptances from parents.

From 26 March, you can contact the Children’s Advice Service on 0121 303 1888 who will let you know who holds the waiting list for the school you want (either School Admissions or the school itself). Waiting list advice will not be available before this to allow time for offers to be accepted and refused.

The Admissions Team will contact you if a school place becomes available for your child from a waiting list.

Appeals
If you are considering the possibility of submitting an appeal, please read the advice regarding appeals on the School Admissions website carefully. You can only appeal against the refusal of a place at a school you applied for.

Appeals are heard and decided by panels who are completely independent of the Council and the school(s) you may appeal for. Consider the likelihood of your appeal being successful. For example, were you realistic with the preferences you submitted for your child? Appeals are generally only successful if you or your child have exceptional reasons for needing admission to a particular school. There are no guarantees that any appeal will be successful (see below for the number heard and successful for appeals administered by Birmingham City Council over the last two years).

(Unable to copy table but it tells us that 3% of appeals in 2016 and 4% of appeals in 2017 were successful)

Should you wish to appeal, the closing date for submitting your written appeal is 29 March 2018. Appeals received by this date will be heard within 40 school days (between May and the end of June. If you submit an appeal after this date, it may not be heard before the beginning of September.

You will be able to access the appeal form online via http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/schooladmissions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: 7 days to go and the countdown is on!!

Post by um »

Not giving info on waiting list position until 26 March :? ...
femalemidlander
Posts: 59
Joined: Sat Oct 07, 2017 2:06 pm

Re: 7 days to go and the countdown is on!!

Post by femalemidlander »

um- thanks although not in Birmingham myself. Did get me thinking though as there is a long time to wait for waiting list info what is the reason for this? I guess there are endless possibilities so best not to analyse any further.
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: 7 days to go and the countdown is on!!

Post by um »

I think it's just due to low staff levels at Bham LA and trying to reduce the workload of parents calling repeatedly through March for waiting list updates.
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: 7 days to go and the countdown is on!!

Post by um »

I got my daughter's email very late in the afternoon - 4 years ago!
However I already knew where she'd got a place due to info provided by Solihull parents on scores-in.
Cecilcaterpillar
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2018 10:47 am

Re: 7 days to go and the countdown is on!!

Post by Cecilcaterpillar »

It must be a nightmare trying to coordinate the waiting list with so many children from so many different authorities applying. Hopefully Solihull results will give a good indication
A_Mum
Posts: 40
Joined: Sat Sep 16, 2017 11:10 am

Re: 7 days to go and the countdown is on!!

Post by A_Mum »

Thanks Um, that's really helpful. We're in Walsall, but have not received an email, although I have checked my log-in details on the portal countless times lately for easy access on the day! Hopefully, it will be posted on there or emailed, but I know I will be constantly refreshing this site for info on the day...
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