Herne Bay parents,we need to lick our wounds !

Eleven Plus (11+) in Kent

Moderators: Section Moderators, Forum Moderators

11 Plus Platform - Online Practice Makes Perfect - Try Now
heronsfly
Posts: 57
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:44 pm

Herne Bay parents,we need to lick our wounds !

Post by heronsfly »

Hi,
I have been reading though all the posts on the other thread,it really seems to be a mystery how our places have been allocated this year.
I am accepting the place we have been offered and am very grateful that we were allocated a GS that was on our list,even though it was last choice,I feel we were lucky to get that.
One of my dds friends has been given the school that was our first choice,but wasent on her list,and I have been given the school she had as first choice (shame we cant just swap :D)
I think we need to accept, that at the present time,both Langtons and QE are out of our catchment range,and the Ramsgate schools seem to be changing there admission rules.
That leaves two schools and some people have not been lucky enough to get either, was this situation maybe why some primary heads were advising parents to put a high school on the list ?
jingle
Posts: 290
Joined: Mon Oct 05, 2009 2:35 pm
Location: kent

Post by jingle »

Would you and/or your friend consider appealing Heronsfly? You can still accept the school offered in the meantime, and really nothing to lose. Maybe worth a shot to try for the school you consider would suit your child best?
I thought we had little chance with my dds appeal and it was successful! And that was without a pass.
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Post by mystery »

It seems a shame that people in your area seem to be have surprised by whatever has happened this year.

It is a mystery to me too, as these posts are only written in a way that someone from your area could understand. However, there will be no mystery to the way the LEA allocates the places. They do it according to the rules and processes and admissions policies set out in the secondary school admissions booklet.

If you think a mistake has been made, then you need to start an official complaint now. Otherwise, it would be useful for others in the area if you all explained what you put on your CAF and why this didn't work for you. It might help next year's applicants from your area realise what they need to do.

It is perfecty possible for someone who put a school first not to get it, and someone who put it third to get it. It all depends how high up the school's admissions policy you came. There is no mystery to this, it is the process as described in the booklet, and has been this way for a few years now.

Good luck.
Tolstoy
Posts: 2755
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:25 pm

Post by Tolstoy »

It is perfecty possible for someone who put a school first not to get it, and someone who put it third to get it. It all depends how high up the school's admissions policy you came. There is no mystery to this, it is the process as described in the booklet, and has been this way for a few years now.
That is true, Mystery, however that is not strictly what has happened according to Heronsfly's post. If this friend did not have the school on their list at all then surely they should not have been offered a place there until the LEA had tried to accommodate all those people who did have it on their list.

I know I live in Gloucestershire but I had assumed that this was a basic rule of admissions countrywide and the reason that people are always encouraged to put at least one sure thing on their CAF form in order to ensure that they do not end up without a school at all or find themselves with a place at a school that nobody else wants.
WP
Posts: 1331
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:26 am
Location: Watford, Herts

Re: Herne Bay parents,we need to lick our wounds !

Post by WP »

heronsfly wrote:One of my dds friends has been given the school that was our first choice, but wasent on her list,and I have been given the school she had as first choice (shame we cant just swap :D)
If that has happened, there has been an error and you should investigate it (while still accepting your current offer). QE (your first choice, I believe) has no limit on its catchment, so you should have been on their prioritized list, just a long way down. People (like your dd's friend) who miss out on all their ranked schools should be allocated a place at a school that has free places after considering all those that applied to the school.
heronsfly
Posts: 57
Joined: Tue Mar 04, 2008 12:44 pm

Post by heronsfly »

Hi,
Thanks for reply's, I am not appealing as I am happy with the school we have been allocated,in fact it was only the fact that it means a long bus ride that knocked it down from first choice,good luck to all those that are appealing,as jingle says,it can be done.
I fully understand the way the system works,I put down 4 gs on my form and was aware that I could be offered any of them.
I dont think any of us are suggesting that mistakes have been made,in fact it seems that most people have been offered something from there list.
But its nice to know others are in the same boat,and we might be able to help next years parents when they are serching for advice.
The reason I started a 'Herne Bay' thread was because I was aware people from other areas would not have a clue what we were talking about. :)
mystery
Posts: 8927
Joined: Tue Jul 21, 2009 10:56 pm

Post by mystery »

I guess that someone could have been allocated a school that was not on their CAF over and above someone who had placed it first on their CAF if it was a school that was selective in some way, but even then that does not seem logical; what was the admission policy of the school concerned?

Are you sure that a mistake has not been made? If it has, I would still say something about it, even if you are happy with what has happened, as it could be that some other people are affected by the error who do not wish to be?
WP
Posts: 1331
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:26 am
Location: Watford, Herts

Post by WP »

mystery wrote:I guess that someone could have been allocated a school that was not on their CAF over and above someone who had placed it first on their CAF if it was a school that was selective in some way, but even then that does not seem logical; what was the admission policy of the school concerned?
That could only happen if the person who put it first was not eligible for the school, but in this case the only eligibility criterion is the Kent test. Also the school would have to be undersubscribed, which this one isn't.
hamster
Posts: 54
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:51 pm

Post by hamster »

mystery wrote:I guess that someone could have been allocated a school that was not on their CAF over and above someone who had placed it first on their CAF if it was a school that was selective in some way, but even then that does not seem logical; what was the admission policy of the school concerned?
I also know someone who was offered a place at a grammar school that was not one of the 4 on her list but was the closest in distance. As an oversubscribed school that seems strange but it is logical that the child should have gone to the nearest school. The parents had not applied so have no idea what the entrance requirements were.

I also know of someone who wasn't offered any grammar place but got a comprehensive place over the border (they must have put this school on the list somewhere, granted) but last year someone in the same location was offered a grammar place miles away rather than the closer comprehensive.

It seems as though proximity to the school has become more important than before ?
dadofkent
Posts: 515
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2008 2:05 pm

Post by dadofkent »

hamster wrote:
I also know of someone who wasn't offered any grammar place but got a comprehensive place over the border (they must have put this school on the list somewhere, granted) but last year someone in the same location was offered a grammar place miles away rather than the closer comprehensive.

It seems as though proximity to the school has become more important than before ?
It seems from the Admissions book that it was a deliberate change in policy for this year. I can only assume that Kent LEA thought it better to put selective children in the closest avilable non-selective school, rather than face again the "Child allocated school 70 miles away" headlines in the Daily Mail.
Post Reply
11 Plus Platform - Online Practice Makes Perfect - Try Now