11 Plus Exams Forum

Me again! Chances of moving to Cheltenham are now very high and I am trying to understand the admission system. I would want my daughter to try for Pate's , GHSG, and Stroud High School, with Balcarras as 4th choice but I have just read in the Good Schools Guide that only children who put Balcarras as first choice can get a place there- please can anyone explain the Gloucestershire system to me - can you try for the grammar schools but still have the opportunity of a place at Balcarras if you don't get into a grammar school? If so, how do you do it?
Which other secondary schools would be suitable for a very bright child whose social skills lag behind her cognitive development in some ways?

Many thanks to all those people who replied to my earlier queries, it was very useful

Hi Janel, I'll try to help, but trust someone will correct me if I'm at all inaccurate!

The way it works is that you are supposed to place your first preference school at first on the form and so on...and you would get the offered the first school for which you qualified.

This is the end of the first peference system, so for example if you put Pates first , but did not score enough to get in there, you would be offered HSFG if you scored enough for there, and so on...
I don't know whether Balcarras is a selective school, but you would be offered the highest ranking school for which you qualified.

This means that what could have been your 3rd choice would effectively become your first, dependent on test scores.

This syytem means that no-one should lose the chance of a place at their chosen comprehensive if they don't make the scores for Grammar.


hope this helps, sorry if it seems complicated!!

PMx2

Check carefully the catchment area for Balcarras school before moving to Cheltenham. They have changed the catchment area again this year. Last year we were very near to the school but were NOT in the catchment area, so be careful. Otherwise, what PMX2 says is correct. It should be that if your daughter does not qualify for the grammar schools she should get Balcarras IF you are in the catchment area, but it is always very oversubscribed. I would ring the school (you probably have already done all this but just in case.....!).

Balcarras catchment-ring admissions at the LA to check how far they went from the school this year-not far I think.You are also lucky that Gloucestershire will supply the results to you of the 11+ before submittal of the CAF-so you will know then if it is worth putting Pates or any selective school as a choice!
Rumour also has it that all grammar schools will be standardising their scores together this year-whether this will happen won't be known until the 2009 admissions booklet is published.

GM