11 Plus Exams Forum

Yes I'm very new to the forum and also just beginning to gather information as my DS will be in year 4 in September.
I just wanted to find out about the order of choices you put on application.So for example if I selected 3 selective schools and 3 state non selective schools you son only passes the exam for the 3rd choice selective will he still get into that school? I was told the choice order matters. is that true? also wanted to find out if you don't pass the exam at all for any 3 schools and you live closer to the non selective school but it's only the 4th choice on the application form, do you stand a chance there? I know it's a silly question but thought for some reason your son/daughter doesn't do well on the day of exam if you would still get the 4th 5th choice of school?
please forgive if it's been covered in another area of this forum.

thanks in advance.

Hi Dots !

Welcome to the forum.. The common application form (CAF) and subsequent allocation of places is a frequent cause of headache amongst parents.
The key points to remember in filling in the form are

1) that you must put the schools in the genuine order you want
2) You will be offered one school and it will be the first school you are eligible for after exams and other oversubscription criteria are taken into account
3) if you put a non selective first and GS second then if your child is eligible for the non selective you will not get a place at the GS .... contrary to what some schools will tell you..
4) If 2 children are equally qualified for a school and one put it first and the other put it 4th (but it is the highest school they can be offered a place at) then they will be treated equally



OK then - If you are allowed 6 choices (some LEA have 3), have just put some examples here:

1 GS1 - DC does not reach cut off
2 GS2 - DC reaches cut off but not with a) high enough score or b) too far away (depends on the schools policy - they vary)
3 GS3 - reaches cut off and can be offered place ie high enough score or within distance (as in GS2) above

However you can reach the cut off but not get a place at any of the above as you do not meet the oversubscription criteria .. so then look at places 4-6
4 NonSel @ 10 miles - maybe too far under the schools admission policy / over sub criteria
5 NonSel religious - may or may not meet the extra requirements for religious school (has supplementary forms and letters etc)
6 Nonsel @ 3 miles - may be within the area of the school and hence may be offered a place

Upshot is that you can quite easily put yourself in the situation of having no offer from one of the schools and hence being allocated a school elsewhere, so you have to think carefully.... Where are you looking at schools?

Thanks hermanmunster for the valuable post!
We live in N9 Edmonton area. Our 1st 3 choice for our son would be Latymar, QE and DAO in that respective order. (though for DAO we would need to move to be the catchment post codes a move is inevitable in any case at the mo as we need a slightly bigger house than we live in) My main concern is for any reason he doesn't reach the qualifying marks for the above 3, I'm left with no better choice in our area for non selective schools. Therefore the dilemma at the moment is whether to move near a good non selective like Ashmole or East Barnet in the Southgate area as a fall back. but this involves paying the extra premium of house prices etc. Though I have all the confidence in my DS the competition so high for the Grammar schools as you can imagine.

Hi Dot

Ah the dreaded N postcodes - I live in 1, 5 and 16 or 17 (can't remember - very long time ago) . It is difficult with these and you have some very oversubscribed schools on your list. I am sure that the some of the local experts may be able to help out a bit more - you have to be very careful about when you move as the qualifying dates are quite strict.

I think it would help if I moved the thread to Herts and Barnet .. get some more local info.

HM

Hi dots5, welcome to the forum. I live in your area of North London (N13). My DS was lucky enough to secure a place at Latymer for Sept coming. As hermanster says you need to put the schools in order of preference ie which you want most. As to where to live if you want Ashmole (it is the local catchment school for my DS's primary) you will need to live very close to ensure of a place. This year the catchment was 0.6. Families who every year would have got an immediate offer were shocked not to get one and had to wait to get a place on the waiting list. Both Southgate and East Barnet are good schools and friends with children at these schools speak highly of them. They both have much larger catchments than Ashmole and your child would do well in either of these schools as well. If my son did not get Latymer I would have ben happy with Southgate. This year the catchment for Southgate went out to over 2 miles, the largest it has been for some time, but you need to be aware catchment areas change and the rising primary population will have an impact on this.

Have a look at the website for DAO and Latymer to see where they converge so that you can apply to them both. Clearly if you want Ashmole you will need to live in the tight knit streets around it but you have more choice if thinking of Southgate and East Barnet. You could also have a look at Highlands in Winchmore Hill which is another good school, but the area you would need to live in is quite expensive. Have a look at the East Barnet area which is a bit cheaper than some parts of Southgate. I would not suggest Palmers Green because although a nice area and parts are in catchment for DAO and Latymer it is hit or miss as to whether you would get Southgate. My eldest in Y9 did not get in as the catchment shrunk but my youngest would have. I would go visit each school before you decide where to live, but all the schools are in nice areas so you should be all right.

Good luck with your decision.

Hi Copella, thank you so much for the input. First of all congratulations on your DS's success in getting a place in Latymar. I will check all the requirements you mentioned. I feel a bit better knowing there are 3 good catchment schools I can rely on as a fall back option if ever needed. Appreciate both yours and HM's input.