My daughter is currently 3rd on the waiting list for Alcester Grammar school, Warwickshire admissions have advised me that the waiting list is dissolved at the end of December and I will then need to complete a change of school request. They advised that I need to do this each term if no place is available and that places are allocated on a first come first served basis, does that mean that if someone else completed the form before me and their child has a lower 11+ score they will get the place? Alcester grammar school informed me that they don’t have anything to do with waiting lists and it’s all dealt with by Warwickshire admissions. This all seems very contradictory and I’m very confused! If anyone has pursued a year 7 grammar school place after December please can you help me out?! Thanks in advance

If you go the AGS website and look at Admissions arrangements 2019 and scroll to page 11, it has the section about in year applications. It does have a paragraph there about children who have taken the test but did not qualify for a place - and from memory says something about they will consider the test result and new information from their current school and possible Eng/Maths testing. It does seem very much like it is first come first served - they actually use that phrase in the paragraph above but that relates to those who have never sat the 11+.

Thank you for your reply. I did read that and got confused about how spaces are prioritised after December, so it seems that if someone else fills in the form before us with a lower 11+ score they’ll get the place? Admissions also said I’ll need to reapply each term, but can’t see that documented.

I think the relevant parts are:

3.1. Change of School Application forms must be submitted to Warwickshire Admissions, and will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. If two or more applications for the same year group are received on the same day then a random generator will be used to determine which application is processed first.

then the bit relevant to your child as they have already sat the test:

3.4. New applications from children who have already been tested and refused entry as non-qualifiers will generally be considered by taking into account the existing test results and newer evidence of the child’s ability and performance in the non-selective school. A retest will be used only where there are grounds and evidence to doubt the validity of the original tests in determining the applicant’s aptitude.

and:

3.6. Where a child is unsuccessful in gaining a place, a new Change of School Application form should be submitted each term where a parent/carer wishes their child to be considered for a place at the school. Each application will indicate a continued interest for a place, should one become available during that term. For the purposes of this paragraph, the autumn term is deemed to end on 31 December, the spring term on 30 April, and the summer term on 31 August.

And so yes you do have to reapply to stay on the list each term - and that reapplication will be considered on a first come first served basis. Then they will take into account your existing test result AND newer evidence of your ability and performance.

Effectively, after a term or so, many people decide to stay where they are so numbers are pretty low - at this point, it does appear as if there is an element of the school deciding by looking at the evidence if your child will cope with the work - and, if a new child who has not sat the test before, comes in before Dec, of course they will sit the CEM test and sit on the waiting list above your child if they score higher. AFTER Dec, the 11+ waiting list ceases to exist - new children (who have never sat the 11+ test) are tested in Maths English and a current school report - your child will have their 11+ test result and current school report as evidence - they may be the first to get their application in to sit on a waiting list for an in year position, but if the two children after them who also choose to sit on the waiting list for an in year position, are performing much better than your child, then I guess the school might well make the decision that they are better suited to the pace of education at AGS.

If this is a route you are considering then I would caution that, although places do come up in year at the Warwickshire Grammar Schools, they are rare and only a handful. It is NOT a guaranteed route - it is also really important that you either do not tell your child that you are registering continued interest or keep it very low key - otherwise they may well not settle in their current school, thinking they are possibly leaving. Also, if a place does come up late on - do think VERY carefully - you have a child who, on the face of it, did not score highly enough to get in intially, and they have missed x number of terms/years so will be very behind - it is especially important at the point GCSEs have been started as boards can vary quite significantly.

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply and for sharing your thoughts. Much appreciated .