Allocation Letters
Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2012 1:06 pm
Thanks for the comments. I put CH first and the more local comp second. My daughter did not seem to be interested
in NHGS and it is much further away from where we live. Also I am not sure that introducing other schools helps or not anyway at this stage. So we have decided to progress with our original choice, esp given that her rank of 292 is well within the nominal 310.
We had no idea that there would be such a variation in popularity between CH and NH schools. All the evidence seemed to expect them to be more or less the same. With the benefit of hindsight we may have done things differently. It makes you wonder whether the common entrance exam makes sense if the popularity of the schools is so divergent. Given the experience of my daughter, it is quite misleading and upsetting that you still don't get allocated a place, even when you are ranked within the 310, or close to it, given the number of entrants that you would expects to have another shool as first choice. So there are many others in the same boat and I can sympathise.
After the initial shock, we had a discussion with my daughter about what she wanted. From this we decided to progress with the reallocation process. We also wrote out an appeal with respect to difficult family circumstances over 2011. This has made us feel better. It's an agonising process, but that is the only way forward at the moment.
I hope things turn out OK for us. And I hope it does for others in a similar situation.
in NHGS and it is much further away from where we live. Also I am not sure that introducing other schools helps or not anyway at this stage. So we have decided to progress with our original choice, esp given that her rank of 292 is well within the nominal 310.
We had no idea that there would be such a variation in popularity between CH and NH schools. All the evidence seemed to expect them to be more or less the same. With the benefit of hindsight we may have done things differently. It makes you wonder whether the common entrance exam makes sense if the popularity of the schools is so divergent. Given the experience of my daughter, it is quite misleading and upsetting that you still don't get allocated a place, even when you are ranked within the 310, or close to it, given the number of entrants that you would expects to have another shool as first choice. So there are many others in the same boat and I can sympathise.
After the initial shock, we had a discussion with my daughter about what she wanted. From this we decided to progress with the reallocation process. We also wrote out an appeal with respect to difficult family circumstances over 2011. This has made us feel better. It's an agonising process, but that is the only way forward at the moment.
I hope things turn out OK for us. And I hope it does for others in a similar situation.