Allocations day!

Eleven Plus (11+) in Lincolnshire (Lincs)

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Mumtutu
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 2:49 am

Re: Allocations day!

Post by Mumtutu »

Sarah1865red wrote:Mumtutu you must have been so close to a place as I know of someone who lives a similar distance as you and they got a place. I had a feeling it would be a high pass rate after my daughters reaction to the tests which I think has shrunk the allocation area quite a bit unfortunately. We are still debating whether to appeal and I'm hoping to make a decision after speaking to someone at KGGS tomorrow. Do you know your daughters score from the 11+? I think I am going to ask tomorrow - not sure if they will give it me? My daughter is hating the uncertainty of it all :-( I feel so sorry for the girls x
Hi Sarah1865red apparently it wasn’t just about it being a high passing year but also because the year cohort is mainly girls, which I think is shown by the fact that Kings School have dropped their admission score this year to 220 and are still undersubscribed by 7 places.

We didn’t get her score from KGGS just a letter to say she had qualified and I didn’t bother checking because (a) I was just pleased she had passed and (b) a friend of mine’s DD got an incredibly high score and still didn’t get in even after she appealed.

We are working hard on the merits of the school offered with DD and being pessimistic about appeal chances but she says she still wants us to try but it is early days and I hope she will start being more positive. I only intend to appeal if she wants us to.

I think our first step is to see where we are in that reserve list and what they have our distance down as and then start puttting our ideas together.

As you say, the whole thing is so hard on the girls. I hope we all get some optimistic news about that list tomorrow. Good luck x
Sarah1865red
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Feb 24, 2018 12:25 am

Re: Allocations day!

Post by Sarah1865red »

Ah, yes...I'd not even considered the fact that it is a heavily girl dominated year! My daughters current class certainly has a lot more girls than boys. Having spoke to KGGS this morning the admissions lady said we had a 'glimmer of hope' of getting a place off the reserve list but warned me that our position on the list can go up and down. I asked about her score as thought it may help in an appeal but even though she has a very high pass I am beginning to understand that it doesn't really matter at this stage. I'm hoping the score might put a smile on my daughters face though as it proves that she is more than capable for grammar school education and the fact she hasn't been offered a place is nothing to do with her - she is feeling down about the whole thing. The appeals are in May - it seems so far away and not sure she wants another 2 months plus of certainty when her friends are discussing new uniforms etc! Still can't decide whether to appeal!
Hope all the other KGGS applicants feel better after talking to admissions today and let's hope at least a couple of is get in off the waiting list.
Mumtutu
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 2:49 am

Re: Allocations day!

Post by Mumtutu »

We got the same advice, some hope that we might get in off waiting list but could get moved down, she said they may be doing a second round of offers at the end of March if some people decline. So fingers and toes crossed for us all.
Mumtutu
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 2:49 am

Re: Allocations day!

Post by Mumtutu »

Great news re her score though that is worth celebrating :)
Sarah1865red
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Feb 24, 2018 12:25 am

Re: Allocations day!

Post by Sarah1865red »

Definitely fingers and toes crossed for second round offers at the end of March. I'm hoping some of the girls with places at KGGS decide to go private!! I can't see how the reserve list positions will change drastically before the second round offers at the end of March?
KaraD, I hope you managed to speak to KG admissions and got some positive news whether about reserve list or appeals.
AdamV
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2018 10:41 am

Re: Allocations day!

Post by AdamV »

Don't forget it's not just about exam difficulty changing up or down from one year to the next, we're all up against a steady rise in the birth rate too, up from roughly 600,000 in 2001 to over 700,000 in 2008. So all secondary school places are coming under pressure (as primaries already were), and inevitably PANs need to go up or new schools are needed.
Some of the older schools simply don't have physical space to take on more pupils, who will then be there for up to 7 years, plus the same additional number for the next few years. Kings in Grantham is on a site surrounded on all sides, with limited potential for creating more classroom space on the premises (and no playing fields on site to pave over). Adding another class intake of 30 would lead to a total of 210 more pupils to accomodate in 7 years' time.
In 2007 (the cohort currently applying for 2018 entry, approximately) there were about 690,000 births in England and Wales, up 20,000 from 2006. So if kids in your neighbourhood got a place at your preferred school *last* year, you now have about 3% more young people who live nearer to the school for your year than they did. And of course 3% can make all the difference, so catchment "areas" are shrinking geographically (in general) for all schools.
This population trend continues for the next few years, maxing out at 730,000 in 2012 and then dropping quite dramatically by 30,000 in 2013 then remaining fairly steady at just under 700,000.

I know this might not be good news, but at least it might help some of our unlucky members realise that "it's not you, it's just maths".
Mumtutu
Posts: 13
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 2:49 am

Re: Allocations day!

Post by Mumtutu »

Sarah1865red wrote:Definitely fingers and toes crossed for second round offers at the end of March. I'm hoping some of the girls with places at KGGS decide to go private!! I can't see how the reserve list positions will change drastically before the second round offers at the end of March?
KaraD, I hope you managed to speak to KG admissions and got some positive news whether about reserve list or appeals.
Have been mulling over what school said about offers at end of March and the dear John letter we received a couple of days later which said the waiting list was administered by Lincs LA. Their timetable for second round offers was different in their guide so I called the LA and the woman there confirmed that we would not be considered in the second round offers at all. The second round (9th April) only makes offers to late and revised applicants not to people on the waiting list so technically a late applicant could be further away from us but get in if there are places because they do not compile the waiting list until after 16th April. If there are any places still available after 16th then they will make offers from the waiting list. Feeling totally gloomy now :(
Sarah1865red
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Feb 24, 2018 12:25 am

Re: Allocations day!

Post by Sarah1865red »

Oh no, that's not what the school implied at all?? My husband rang the LA to request an appeals pack and was told about 2nd round offers on 16th April (later than KGGS had said) but he thought they would consider all late applicants and then put them into the reserve list wherever they fit according to admission criteria and then allocate any places made available due to people declining places. He must've misunderstood. Do you have any idea how many people would've made a late application? I have a feeling we will be about 50th on the reserve list by appeals time! I know somebody who was 7th on the reserve list last year after first round of offers and they got offered a place before they went to appeal but can't remember exactly when they got a place.
Fingers crossed we get some good news soon.
ToadMum
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Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Allocations day!

Post by ToadMum »

Sarah1865red wrote:Oh no, that's not what the school implied at all?? My husband rang the LA to request an appeals pack and was told about 2nd round offers on 16th April (later than KGGS had said) but he thought they would consider all late applicants and then put them into the reserve list wherever they fit according to admission criteria and then allocate any places made available due to people declining places. He must've misunderstood. Do you have any idea how many people would've made a late application? I have a feeling we will be about 50th on the reserve list by appeals time! I know somebody who was 7th on the reserve list last year after first round of offers and they got offered a place before they went to appeal but can't remember exactly when they got a place.
Fingers crossed we get some good news soon.

What your DH understood should be the correct version. That is, the way round of it is that late applicants won't be considered until after the initial round of allocations, but then they will be added in to the whole 'pile' of those wanting a place at any given school, in their correct ranking according to the school's oversubscription criteria - along with on time applicants for whom that school is a higher preference than the one that they got on March 1st. IYSWIM.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
Sarah1865red
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Feb 24, 2018 12:25 am

Re: Allocations day!

Post by Sarah1865red »

Thanks Toadmum, that was the way I understood it, but I'm no expert on school admissions. Lincs LA have said they will give out reserve list positions after second round of offers so I guess I'll find out then how many late applicants have gone above my dd on the list - I'm trying to remain optimistic and hope not too many!! Trying to focus on the appeal but it seems such a long time away.
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