11 Plus Exams Forum

Hi everyone,

Quick question. What would happen if we have just discovered that someone was offered a place to a selective school and we hadn't but we were nearer to that school?

To our knowledge there are no other grounds other than distance.

They only went onto the waiting list, they did not appeal.

We are of course on the waiting list.

Thanks

Robbo

Before doing anything I would make absoultely sure of my facts. I'd Google my area, print off a map with the school at the centre and use a compass to draw a circle through your house to be certain the other house is outside your circle because it is 'as the crow flies'.

Alternatively you can phone the local education authority, give them your postcode and they will tell you your distance as the crow flies. You would then, of course, have to repeat the exercise for the other postcode.

Should you be definitely be nearer it is either a case of a) the education authority has made a mistake about the other child or b) the other child's parents have used a false address or c) you've been accidentally omitted when they've gone down the list. A and B are bad news for the other child should you 'rock the boat' but will not be of any help to you, other than putting you one place up the list, but obviously C would be good news for you.

Perhaps others might come up with a different scenario.

I hope this helps.

Thanks fm,

We are definitely nearer and the other people have not used a false address.

They have calculated our distance in kilometres and used that figure as miles but have calculted everyones elses distance as miles!

So, in fact, it falls between all your scenarios but someones elses child has got in before ours and lives further away!

Of course, we would not want to take away their place.

Not all areas calculate distance in a straight line, "as the crow flies". Ours uses the most direct route on public roads. It's possible to live closer to a school than someone else if you measure in a straight line, but further than them if you go on public roads. For example, we live very close to our primary school and if we could nip through next door's back garden we'd be there in a jiffy! However, we have to walk to the end of our road and then double back on ourselves.

You should just ring your LEA, check how the distance is measured and mention that you've heard someone closer to the school has got in and ask how this could be.

Thanks Bexley Mum,

I can confirm it is as the crow flies for this particular school.

Are you sure distance is the only criteria?

I ask because you call it a selective school. The partially selective schools in my area admit children on a number of different grounds - academic / music / distance / sibling etc. They operate different waiting lists for different criteria. So it's possible for a child who lives further away than you to be offered a place if they are on a different list from your child, eg, they might have been offered an academic not a distance place.

Hope this makes sense!

Hi Robbo

This site may help - it uses Ordnance Survey software and is essentially identical to the one used by Bucks CC for their distance calucations.

Make sure that you enter the actual addresses, not just the postcode, and then go to Advanced options and select "shortest journey" rather than quickest.

http://www.transportdirect.info/Web2/Jo ... tingloop=Y

If that establishes that the distance is incorrect you should then make sure that there are no other relevant facts, such as sibling priority, special needs, etc.

If you are still convinced that the allocation is wrong you should contact the Admissions authority for the school (email would be best so that you have a record) and ask them to justify the decision.

They would not be able to get away with withdrawing the offer to the other child, so you should go ahead and query it.

Sally-Anne

On the phone this morning, they confirmed that they had used the KM distance as miles for us but had used the correct one for the other child.

Which means, we are nearer - just!

Pinkboots - we don't believe there is any other criteria involved - infact the school confirmed they were given the post on distance.

I hope I am right but I believe that if they had done our distance correctly then we would have been offered the place already. What i don't know is where do we stand in hindsight?

Robbo wrote:What i don't know is where do we stand in hindsight?

Simple, lodge an appeal (which can be done at ANY time) on the grounds that they did not follow their own published admission criteria.

Yes, appeal, it's their mistake not yours and you should be allocated a place even if they are now saying they are full.