Can anybody help shed any light on the shock cut off score for admissions into QMGS 2018 and the rise of 13 points. I am so upset if this is because of Pupil Premium as we are a hard working class family and by no means the privalledged. My son scored 337 for the September 2019 admission and it looks extremely unlikely if not impossible for him to gain a place now as he is right on last years cut off score. On a score of 337 he would have walked it in the last 6 years and just got in September 2018. He desperately wants to go QMGS so me and my husband warily put it as his first choice potentially jeopardizing our chances of getting into our local comprehensive school. At first glance it seems that Pupil Premium has adversely affected his chances. Would this be correct or was 2018 a freak year for QMGS bearing in mind QMHS also introduced PP 2018 and was unaffected? I am trying to prepare my son for the inevitable and heartbreaking news and it makes it worse that a class mate who is Pupil Premium and scored 16 points lower than my son will gain a place. Nothing against PP but I am praying for miracle on March 1st and feel we have become a victim of the education and class system.

I’m not Birmingham based so can’t commemt on the scores, but wanted to put your mind at rest about your second choice.

You won’t have jeopardised your place at your second choice by putting QMGS first. If you don’t get QMGS, your second choice automatically becomes your first choice. Where you put schools on the CAF has no bearing on whether you get a place.

We have too, but just by birth.

Thank you that puts my mind at rest a little. Roll on March 1st!

Fingers crossed for you. There’s no reason why it should rise so dramatically again this year. No one knows for sure why it did last year, it could be coincidence that PP was introduced. Some DC’s perform better in one test than the other (B’ham or Walsall) and thus choose one over the other which may have resulted in more applicants which pushed the score up? One of DS’s friends scored 198 and 353 respectively.

Agree with Tinkers though - if QM is your first choice putting it at Number 1 on the CAF was the right decision; it will in no way jeopardise choice number 2 if you’re not successful on 1st March. You will be on a W/L for QM if not successful, and think it dropped to 334 / 333 last year.

All the best and try not to stress (yes, I know it’s easier said than done).

Not quite sure I understand. Are you referring to being a summer born DC? If so, with age standardised scoring you are not a victim - you are only standardised with other children in the same birth month, not the entire cohort. If you don’t mean that apologies.

Thank you that it has given me some reassurance. You just automatically think it will keep rising but fingers crossed it was a freak year! Trying not to stress as I know there are far worse things in life to have to worry about!

Hi,

I am just wondering what are the other schools on your list ?

Its premature to speculate how the scores will play out.No one can really say how it will work out bearing in mind no one would have predicted what happened last year.

Sadly with any system designed to help those with the least educational opportunities there is an impact on others.

_________________
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

Abraham Lincoln

I don’t know if the demographics in B’ham are the same but in South London 2018 was a shock year too. The grammars that go by pass and then distance saw a massive reduction in their distance, one school going from 8 miles down to just about 5, meaning lots who would have got in on previous years didn’t. In Kent the scores for out of county governor places was also high. I gather this was due to a high birth year and this year I understand is similar - the trend getting worse (sorry!). The pressures on places that were on primaries are now hitting secondary school children. I gather this upward pressure will continue for a few more years until those born in 2011 start going to secondary when total numbers started going down again https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulation ... wales/2017. - births of course are only part of the picture and doesn’t take into account emigration or immigration - but does help with understanding some of what is going on.

First of all, please take a breath.
Your son got a commendable score.
The last two years especially have seen bigger jumps at QMGS. Last year took everybody by surprise.

We are still not sure why, given that it still jumped a fair bit in 2017 too. But we know the school is very popular.

We don't know yet if 337 will be enough or not this year. The fact is we won't know until March 1st.
Have you checked the final cut off score on here too? I thought it went down to 334 off the waiting list but could be wrong.

This will not jeaopardise your second choice as others have said.

Can I ask which area you are in? Have you put down any other gs or just QMGS and comps.

I know how easy it is to worry ahead of March 1st, but please try to remain positive until we know (also bigging the second choice school up). 337 remains a contender still.

I have a son at QMGS so feel free to ask me any questions.