11 Plus Exams Forum

Does anyone know do Bucks publish the numbers who have applied for each school before the allocations are made in March?

I can't remember from last time but I am trying to work out the chances of DS2 getting his first choice school (which is not our catchment school).

Hi Greta

The schools receive the numbers, and I know that they have already seen them.

I can't remember if the numbers are published openly before March 2nd - I suspect not.

Sally-Anne

Hi Greta and Sally-Anne, and thanks Greta for flagging this up - I remember reading something about this last year.

No time for research as OH is home today so I need to look busy.

Regards

I also couldn't remember - but it seems like we shall just have to wait it out which I guess is fair enough.

I will be glad when March comes!

Hi Sally Ann,

Having thought long and hard about this, and reading your posting I can't help but believe that panels must have an idea about how many spaces schools have. It just wouldn't make sense to say let through say 400 kids then only have space for 300...I can believe they would leave it to chance. Vice versa if there were schools with 30 short in year 7...they need the numbers for funding. If that's true, then they, the panel, would know before the childs appeal if the catchment school is full etc....?


Phil

No I can assure you that Sally-Anne is correct - indeed there are empty places in Year 7 in several GS.

There are places for roughly a third of the cohort and roughly 30% qualify initally so there are enough places for all appeals to be won - which we know they won't.

All that might happen is some OOC pupils don't get their choice - all qualifiers who live in Bucks are guaranteed a place.

The panel have no idea which school(s) you have named and no allocation to any specific school has even started yet.

Hi Phil

I can absolutely assure you that selection appeal panels do not take school numbers into account. They are there to make a decision on whether the outcome of the 11+ was fair or not. They can allow every one of the 900-odd appeals, or none at all.

As an example, my DS1's selection appeal back in 2005 was not successful, and yet one of the schools on our CAF still had substantial vacancies in Year 7 the following September. As Guest55 says, that has been the case at several grammars in Bucks in recent years.

Selection Appeal panels do not even know which schools a parent has put on their CAF.

Sally-Anne

Myths and legends, S-A?

Indeed, Etienne!