Parmiters, Watford Grammar, Queens....

[Luna]

...not necessarily in this order.

Are there any other parents around who are aplying for these 3 schools for 2012 for their DC?

I thought I would open this topic so we can change impressions about it, info, how much practice your DC are doing at the moment, we could panic togheter when time comes.

I thought I will start by saying that I am panicking because I have seen the dates out for the open evenings on the schools website so this made me realise that it is really happening.

Anybody else feeling the same?

My DS is doing well and I am doing my best not to stress him too much, as I feel he is not working hard enough in his spare time. But then also, hard enough for me would mean lots of hours every day, so I know that I am not reasonable.

[WP]

A suggestion: think about which you prefer out of Watford Grammar and Parmiter's. It may be that for where you live, the cutoff for your 2nd preference is higher than the cutoff for your 1st. If that is the case, you would lose nothing by removing your 2nd preference and adding a backup as your 3rd preference. Ever if it's not the case, you might want to think about having a safe 3rd preference

[Luna]

Thank you for your answer WP.

We live closer to Parmiters than Grammar, and that is my DS's first option.

What do you mean by safe option? As far as I know the closest school to us would be Francis Combe Academy which is not really on our list. I understood that even if he would not gain a place at any of his 3 options he would be autmatically allocated a fourth one.

Is this true or there are chances to be left without a school place?


As a preference my son would like Parmiters or Queens (as he likes girls so he doesn't want to be in a single sex school ) I am hoping to get him into Parmiters as he is very academic and we don't live that far either so we can apply under two criterias.

Any advice is welcomed.

Thank you

[winner1973]

Also applying to Parmiters and Queens but not Watford Grammer, Dames Alice Owen is chosen instead. I stay in Borehamwood and not in the catchment area for Watford Grammer, hope my DD is able to get into one of the schools.

[Luna]

Winner what is the order of your options?

[WP]

What do you mean by safe option? As far as I know the closest school to us would be Francis Combe Academy which is not really on our list. I understood that even if he would not gain a place at any of his 3 options he would be autmatically allocated a fourth one.

Is this true or there are chances to be left without a school place?

You won't be left without a place. If you don't get a place at one of your 3 preferences, you will be allocated a place at the nearest community school that still has places after everyone is allocated from their preferences, what the county call a non-ranked allocation (NRA). At that point Francis Combe will probably be full and not an option (and it's an academy anyway). Depending on where you live, the NRA could be Westfield, Longdean, Francis Bacon or maybe somewhere further away.

By a safe option, I mean one that's not ideal, but that you won't miss out on if you don't get your higher preferences, thus avoiding an NRA.

[winner1973]

Luna, the order is Dames Alice, Parmiters and Queens.

[Luna]

WP- thank you for your advice. I have to admit I know nothing about the schools you have mentioned. Are they any good? I have to say that with Francis Combe being so close and most of DS's colleagues going there I thought we would automatically be allocated there and to be honest, with all the money that the Gov is pumping into Academies at the moment, I am still not convinced it is the school I would like for my DCs. I'll have to see what other good schools are in Watford.

Winner- good luck with your options, I hope you get the one you and you DC wants.

[Luna]

Few more questions about Parmiters:

1.has it got its own transport service, school bus, or it is all relaying on public transport?

2. does anybody know what was the further distance the last child got in last year under distance criteria?

And as a general question: we are suppose to move in December-January. We are moving to a new development, not far from where we live at the moment. On their website it says that you are supposed to apply with the address where you live at, at the moment of application. Do I need to inform them though about the move?

[tense]

Hi Luna

I know the answer to one of your questions. Parmiter's has it own school buses (well, I mean leased from a bus company obviously but for Parmiter's DC only). Routes go far and wide - St Albans, Hemel, Bushey, Borehamwood, Harrow etc. I pay about £700 a year I think.

On distance, accordng to WP's sticky, the last place offered under distance this year was 1214m. So if you qualify for a distance place you're unlikely to need the school bus