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Re: Wirral schools over subscribed this time ?
Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 11:35 pm
by TheWisp
This is really interesting, thanks. Did you get this for earlier years as well? Are these numbers unusual then compared to previous years?
Re: Wirral schools over subscribed this time ?
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 7:53 am
by mitasol
I had pondered for ages over which to put first - Upton or Wirral - and I'd love to know if, had we put Upton first instead of WG, would we now be one of the disappointed families.
If you placed Upton first and they could not offer you a place then you would still have been offered WG.
At each school you applied to you were ranked according to the school admissions policy (pass/score/distance/faith etc). Your CAF preferences plays no part in this school ranking.
Your child will be offered a place at each school before any lower ranking (admissions policy) applicants UNLESS you can be allocated a higher preference school (CAF).
In your case if you had reversed the order of Upton and WG. If you had ranked highly enough in Upton’s oversubscription criteria you would have been offered a place. If you did not rank highly enough to be offered a place you would still have been offered a place at WG as you obviously ranked highly here. The fact that it was your second CAF choice does not impact your ranking at each school.
https://www.wirral.gov.uk/sites/default ... 202018.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Once all the applications have been received, a list
of applicants will be produced for each Wirral school. For community schools we will rank the applications according to our criteria, and decide whether your child is eligible for a place at any of the schools listed.
Schools where the governing body is the admission authority are provided with application information to enable them to apply their own admission criteria and rank applicants. This does not include what order you have put that school in your application, because schools are not allowed to use the order of parents preference in their admission criteria. They will not know whether you have put their school first, second or third.
If you have given a preference for a school in another English authority, that authority will tell us whether they can offer your child a place in that school.
If you are successful in meeting the criteria for more than one school, we will offer you the school which you listed as the highest preference.
It can happen that all the schools given as a preference by a parent are oversubscribed (in other words, there are more applications than places available) and it is not possible to offer a child a place at any of them. If this happens, your child will be given a place at the nearest appropriate school with a place available
. * my bold for emphasis.
Re: Wirral schools over subscribed this time ?
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 11:25 am
by KLJ77
This is very interesting thank you for sharing.
Re: Wirral schools over subscribed this time ?
Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2019 12:05 am
by Heidimaghellian
That was interesting reading and my assumptions were correct - WKGS was undersubscribed this year with more going for Upton and WG hence the surplus numbers in those 2 schools. Wish I could know the lowest score that got into Upton just to see if my daughter would have made it - I ended up putting it 2nd based on her score wasn't as high as I'd hoped, we are not Catholic, we live further away than WG and there were fewer places on offer than WG. I think I made the right choice as had I put WG 2nd I doubt she'd have got in and we'd now be appealing or trying for WK. Thanks for posting this!
Re: Wirral schools over subscribed this time ?
Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2019 10:03 am
by SofiaCerano
Yeah, I’ve heard of girls who put Upton then Wirral but getting Wirral, which has narrowed their catchment. West Kirby is undersubscribed and a couple of girls from my DD’s school are going there, but we’re 6 miles away, which isn’t a huge distance but it would have been awkward getting my other child to school. Just thought this would be useful for prospective parents, especially those out of county.
Re: Wirral schools over subscribed this time ?
Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2019 10:07 am
by scary mum
I think I made the right choice as had I put WG 2nd I doubt she'd have got in and we'd now be appealing or trying for WK
See above - where you put them on the form does not affect whether your DC gets a place or not. The school does not know where you place them, and your DC will be allocated the school highest up their list of preferences that they are eligible for.
Re: Wirral schools over subscribed this time ?
Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2019 11:08 am
by kenyancowgirl
Heidimaghellian wrote:That was interesting reading and my assumptions were correct - WKGS was undersubscribed this year with more going for Upton and WG hence the surplus numbers in those 2 schools. Wish I could know the lowest score that got into Upton just to see if my daughter would have made it - I ended up putting it 2nd based on her score wasn't as high as I'd hoped, we are not Catholic, we live further away than WG and there were fewer places on offer than WG. I think I made the right choice as had I put WG 2nd I doubt she'd have got in and we'd now be appealing or trying for WK. Thanks for posting this!
Please read what mitasol and scary mum have said - the EQUAL PREFERENCE system means that you would NOT have missed out on WG if you had put it 2nd as they would have considered your application as if it was your first choice on your CAF. Schools do not know where you listed them - all they know is that you have applied and they consider if you meet their admissions criteria and, if you do, can they offer you a place. The LEA will then give you a place at the school you listed highest, where you meet the criteria.
It is important that future applicants understand that they should list the schools on their CAF in their TRUE PREFERENCE ORDER. The equal preference system allows them to do this.
Re: Wirral schools over subscribed this time ?
Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2019 1:21 pm
by Heidimaghellian
Thanks to kenyancowgirl, mitasol and scarymum for their info on equal admissions. I now understand the process, thank you! It will be useful information for others next year who haven't got a clue how the system works. Pity I didn't know this at the time of applying as I would have had the courage to have put Upton first! Oh well. Que sera.
Re: Wirral schools over subscribed this time ?
Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2019 1:36 pm
by scary mum
For future reference everywhere has to use this suytem & it will be detailed on the local authority's website, probably on the pages where you applied. Unfortunately head teachers often confuse the issue by stating "If you wish to have a place a this school you must put us first". This is down to one of three things:
1. They don't understand how the system works (which is a bit frightening)
2. What they actually mean to say is "If our school is genuinely your first choice you must put us first, otherwise it will be assumed that the school you put first is genuinely your first choice and the local authority will allocate you this one if you meet their criteria & there is a space".
3. They would like to be able to say "We had more first choices on CAF forms than other local schools", as this information is available (not traceable to an individual application).
Re: Wirral schools over subscribed this time ?
Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2019 4:48 pm
by KLJ77
Hi all, just an FYI if you didn't already know most girls from Ellesmere Port area (that I know) who didn't get into Wirral Grammar ended up with a place at West Kirby so they must have had more space this year
