Townley

[Blackheathparent]

The wait is really frustrating. Townley admissions told me that Kent doesn’t inform them about the offers accepted on their second round. This means some dc might have accepted other grammar places in Kent but still hold a place at Townley. I think I need to get used to the idea of dd going to the local comp after all. Either that or we get a very late offer from Townley in August or September.

[Nachan]

I’m happy for all the kids who got their preferred schools but it does make me upset to think about them being really exited about their secondary school, going to new starter events etc while we are left in a sort of limbo. I haven’t spoken to my daughter about the waiting list. As far as she is concerned she is going to the school that has been allocated to her (we didn’t choose it- she wasn’t offered any of her choices) and I won’t mention townley again unless we receive a concrete offer. She was so devastated when she didn’t get a place that I couldn’t bear to get her hopes up by reminding her about the waiting list. She has a new starter day in July at the school she has been offered but she’s really not very excited about it- just resigned to the fact now that that’s where she’s going.
I’ve given up contacting Townley to ask for updates about WL movement as it’s so slow/ non-existent that I end up feeling really down every time I even think about it!

[xnataliax]

Oh Nachan, I totally relate to how you are feeling. Our DD totally fell in love with Townley at the open day and we could see it is a perfect fit for her.

She put on a brave face on allocations day but we could tell she was absolutely gutted and found her sobbing into her pillow later that evening. Like you we are slowly coming around to the idea that she will now be going to the local comp. It is sad when I think of all the effort she put in for the 11+ to secure a good result and she will now most likely be going to same school as others who didn’t enter the 11+ arena. It really has been a surprise year and looking at the birth rates after our children, it’s set to get worse.

I know there were never any guarantees but it really does feel like a lottery with terrible odds this year.

But I know kids are resilient and bounce back quite quick. I also know deep down my DD will do well wherever she goes; so hold on to that thought too. What will be will be. Sending positive thoughts for the outcome your DD rightfully deserves

[Blackheathparent]

I thought it might be useful to say I wrote to Bexley and asked (under the FOI act) how many of the children offered a place at Townley this year had listed the school as their first preference on CAF. The answer is 194 of the 224 pupils!

I must say that made my heart sink once again... Good luck to us all, wherever our children go to school. I’m sure they’ll all do well no matter what.

[thickasabrick]

I would still have expected a certain proportion to go private - as happened at the Kent and Bromley super selectives.

A reason this is not happening at Townley could be because they have the largest number of kids on free school meals so private really is out of the question even with bursaries. Maybe private schools have enough paying pupils this year and don't need to offer that many scholarships. Or possibly they could still be negotiating in some cases.

Or people really just want to be part of Townley's 15min in the limelight right now.

[Lysianassa]

I thought it might be useful to say I wrote to Bexley and asked (under the FOI act) how many of the children offered a place at Townley this year had listed the school as their first preference on CAF. The answer is 194 of the 224 pupils!

I must say that made my heart sink once again... Good luck to us all, wherever our children go to school. I’m sure they’ll all do well no matter what.

Trust me. First choice does not mean that you will be offered. Townley wasniur foest chiice and DD was #33 in the waiting list on offer day. And we’re only 0.6 miles outside of 1st offer radius.
I think that the bugger issue is that the top 180 who get theor choice of scholls should be a percentage of those who pass instead. With around 600 more passes and top 180 scorers being the most likely to get offers from independents, it really seems unfair at times.

[thickasabrick]

Trust me. First choice does not mean that you will be offered. Townley wasniur foest chiice and DD was #33 in the waiting list on offer day. And we’re only 0.6 miles outside of 1st offer radius.
I think that the bugger issue is that the top 180 who get theor choice of scholls should be a percentage of those who pass instead. With around 600 more passes and top 180 scorers being the most likely to get offers from independents, it really seems unfair at times.

What she means is that there is only a small number of girls waiting for a higher preference school - presumably this being the main reason for the lack of waiting list movement.

[Seendy1]

There is barely any movement on the waiting list. My daughter has moved up by 8 places since the offer day. She is nowhere close to getting a place. I remained hopeful however now i guess we have to resign to the fact that Townley was simply just very popular this year and so many places went to PP as well and that has had the knock on effect... reduction of catchment area which hasn’t helped anyone living outside the borough like us. It is very sad indeed when the children worked so hard and passed the test to eventually not being offered the school they want. Not sure if anyone will get any place through appeal. It will be good if people would share if they manage to get a place through appeal. Just wondering how successful these are really.

[1971]

Hi Seendy1.

Bexley's admissions brochure for this intake shows that no appeal has succeeded in the last 3 years for Townley, and I think it was the same for the other gs too, but not sure.

However, I believe that if the appeal panel are convinced by educational evidence, sometimes they may say that the child is selective, and even if the appeal is unsuccessful due to failure to win the prejudice to the school argument, the child might be added to the waiting list.

How often this happens, I don't think anybody knows.

Wishing you and your dc best of luck.

[zcacmxi]

Hi Seendy1,

My understanding is that once a child is deemed selective, then the oversubscription criteria must be applied as there are more applicants than the places available. Offers went out to 5+ miles, which is still significant in terms of a childs daily commute to school.

Even if it is were possible for Bexley/Kent schools to expand and cater for larger catchments, it is still at the cost of longer daily commutes in traffic for the children, which is far from ideal.

As well as appealing to Bexley which I wish you good luck with, please also make your voice heard in your own borough of the desire for Grammar schools. Maybe write to your MP? Are they aware there is local demand?

If neighbouring boroughs like Lewisham, Greenwich etc could also satisfy their local demand, I feel every child wins. The children in distant boroughs in terms of shorter commutes, and the children nearer the schools in terms of reduced demand / wait lists.