Draft Admissions Policies 2015

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Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Draft Admissions Policies 2015

Post by Sally-Anne »

The first Draft Admissions Policies are beginning to appear on the GS websites. I will link to them here as they appear, and try to note any significant changes I spot.

The first major change that I noticed was in the Policy for Dr Challoners High School, as follows:
5. Residency Requirements

The process for verifying the normal home address of applicants will match that outlined in the County Scheme except that:
a) The school may require a higher standard of evidence for ‘residence qualification’ as outlined in the County Scheme if there are reasons for casting doubt on the honesty of an application.
b) For applications for Year 7 to be considered as in catchment, applicants must be able to provide evidence of their residency within the catchment continuously from 1st October of the year preceding admission.
I have heard from what I hope is a reliable source that all the remaining 11 grammars (DCGS already has a more stringent residency requirement) will be including the same requirement in their Draft Policies when they are published.

The new requirement means that address evidence will be required before the test results are known. Steve has remarked here http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... 10&t=35583" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; on the issue of educational tourism in the light of Reading & Kendrick having also closed this loophole, and I can only say that I echo his thoughts on the matter. :D

Anyway, back to the Policies ...

Dr Challoners Grammar School: http://www.challoners.com/documents/con ... 5draft.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Minor changes to the Policy for continuing into Y13.

Dr Challoners High School: http://challonershigh.com/_files/25536D ... 85D37E.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Minor changes to the 6th form admissions policy.
southbucks3
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Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:59 am

Re: Draft Admissions Policies 2015

Post by southbucks3 »

:D sensible news...unfortunately people do not always seem to read admissions policies until after their child has passed, so there may be a bit of a learning curve next year, and a few upset parents. Mind you most of the schools allocate to out of catchment anyway, so people will still have the option of moving to closer distance after results, then moving back to wherever a year later.
Definitely procedure going towards the right direction though.
Sally-Anne
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Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Draft Admissions Policies 2015

Post by Sally-Anne »

southbucks3 wrote:people will still have the option of moving to closer distance after results, then moving back to wherever a year later.
Anyone moving after the results are sent out will be treated as a late applicant and not included in the first round of allocations. They are very likely to miss out on a place completely.

Even if they move (temporarily or permanently) to within a stone's throw of their preferred GS they would still be relying on there being some movement in the waiting list and for several schools that simply doesn't happen. It would be a very high risk strategy.
southbucks3
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Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:59 am

Re: Draft Admissions Policies 2015

Post by southbucks3 »

Wow!

I wonder if they will make this really clear when people are applying for their children to sit the tests?

Thank you for being so informative SA...it is nice to have someone on the ball.
Sally-Anne
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Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Draft Admissions Policies 2015

Post by Sally-Anne »

southbucks3 wrote:Wow!
In my time we have seen these variations on the theme in Bucks:

- CAF end October, results late November, address evidence early December: Dramatic rise in property rentals within a mile of the most sought-after schools in late November and December.

- CAF end October, address evidence mid-November, results late November: Dramatic rise in families "separating", with mum and child living in a 2 bedroom flat within a mile of a sought-after school between mid-November and 1st March. Dramatic rise in families "reuniting" after 1st March.

- Results mid-October, CAF end October, address evidence mid-November: Dramatic rise in OoC numbers taking the Bucks test alongside multiple other 11+ tests all around the country, then choosing the alleged "best" school for which the child has qualified. Fall (I won't say dramatic, but it was clearly visible) in the number of Bucks resident children who made the top 30% for a GS place.

Every one of those sequences allowed educational tourists to play the system. The first one was legitimate, but not particularly moral. The second was both immoral and fraudulent. The third was a time bomb in the making for Bucks-resident children.

Finally we have: Address evidence 1st October (1st April for DCGS), results mid-October, CAF 31st October.

Genuine residents of Bucks and surrounding counties only need apply. :D
I wonder if they will make this really clear when people are applying for their children to sit the tests?
It will be clear to anyone who reads the Secondary Schools brochure properly.
Thank you for being so informative SA...it is nice to have someone on the ball.
My pleasure. I do a lot of it in my sleep these days!
avraje
Posts: 47
Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2012 6:04 pm

Re: Draft Admissions Policies 2015

Post by avraje »

Sally-Anne wrote:The first Draft Admissions Policies are beginning to appear on the GS websites. I will link to them here as they appear, and try to note any significant changes I spot.

The first major change that I noticed was in the Policy for Dr Challoners High School, as follows:
5. Residency Requirements

The process for verifying the normal home address of applicants will match that outlined in the County Scheme except that:
a) The school may require a higher standard of evidence for ‘residence qualification’ as outlined in the County Scheme if there are reasons for casting doubt on the honesty of an application.
b) For applications for Year 7 to be considered as in catchment, applicants must be able to provide evidence of their residency within the catchment continuously from 1st October of the year preceding admission.
DD will take the test in 2014 for admission in 2015. Just to confirm we need to show residency only from Oct 2014 isn't it? We have moved into catchment last month (November)
jabba7
Posts: 263
Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2011 1:26 pm

Re: Draft Admissions Policies 2015

Post by jabba7 »

Thanks Sally-Anne for this great news. It does make the process seem fairer than this year.

The only thing that worries me is as SB3 has mentioned, will this be made clear as the rule is pointless if people find out after the exam about the proof of address.

We need to talk about this a lot on here nearer the time in the hope the message gets through........
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Draft Admissions Policies 2015

Post by Sally-Anne »

avraje wrote:DD will take the test in 2014 for admission in 2015. Just to confirm we need to show residency only from Oct 2014 isn't it?
That is correct.
It does make the process seem fairer than this year.
It does indeed. What has not perhaps been obvious to many people is that Bucks is almost unique in terms of the impact of "educational tourism".

We have a fixed pass mark of 121 which is designed to select the top 30% of the cohort. That cohort obviously consists of in- and out-county children. The out-county cohort has risen steadily over the last decade from (roughly) 2000 to around 2600, an increase of around 30%.

The OoC cohort is "self-selecting", unlike the in-county cohort, and as a result, the qualification rate within it has always been substantially higher. If the out-county cohort is allowed to grow unchecked, the in-county qualification rate will decline yet further.

There has never been a problem in most people's minds with the idea of a child from Berks or Herts taking the Bucks 11+, qualifying and taking up a place at a Bucks GS. All's fair in love and war under the Greenwich & Rotheram Judgements.

What we have seen of late is a growing number of children who are taking multiple entrance tests across a huge area - Bucks, Tiffin, Latymer, QEB, Kent, Birmingham, etc. The children are often hot-housed to a really alarming level over many years in preparation for this arduous circuit of testing.

If one of those children qualifies in Bucks but also scores highly enough for a school such as Tiffin, which is perceived to be "more prestigious", i.e. harder to get in to, has higher show-off value, etc, the "better" place will be accepted and the Bucks place declined.

In other areas where there is no fixed pass mark and places are allocated in descending order by score, there would be relatively little harm done because the place would simply go to the next child on the list. In Bucks, with its fixed score, that cannot happen, and the place remains unallocated. There is no redress available through non-qualification reviews/appeals because they cannot operate to a "quota" and every case must be considered on its own merits.

Effectively a place has been stolen from a child who is genuinely resident in or near Bucks by the tourist simply "passing through". Over time that had the potential to leave empty places in Bucks grammars (and a hole in the schools' budgets) and leave a number of children without a GS place that they would otherwise have received.
The only thing that worries me is as SB3 has mentioned, will this be made clear as the rule is pointless if people find out after the exam about the proof of address.

We need to talk about this a lot on here nearer the time in the hope the message gets through........
I am sure that the rule will be made clear to those who take the time and trouble to read the Admissions information, and you can certainly count on me to do my best on here to ensure the others get the message!

We still have an issue with the "tourists" sitting some 11+ exams simply as practice tests, and unfortunately the sea change to the CEM test in so many areas won't help that. Hopefully the residency requirement will prove to be a strong enough deterrent to prevent that happening in Bucks in future.
southbucks3
Posts: 3579
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 11:59 am

Re: Draft Admissions Policies 2015

Post by southbucks3 »

With the bucks test likely to be on Thursday and berks test on Saturday, I am already getting my head in a pickle about the amount of hot house style parents that will use bucks test to familiarise their kids ready for their Saturday exam. I can honestly say if it were the other way round I would consider doing the same, but a. Bucks already has the practice session, and b.my son would really really hate it, and get stressed. I guarantee many kids will be forced into sitting it though...just for fun darling :? Unless the L.A. admissions and school testing bodies actually :shock: talk to one another, and coincide a practice test for berks with the real test for bucks, or something Similar?
Sally-Anne
Posts: 9235
Joined: Wed Jan 11, 2006 8:10 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire

Re: Draft Admissions Policies 2015

Post by Sally-Anne »

Sadly I think there is very little likelihood of different areas coordinating the tests to that degree.

My hope is that the residency requirement combined with the Bucks test being on a school day might just be enough of a deterrent.

Then again, the tenacity of the tourists has to be reckoned with. They remind me of the Americans you sometimes come across who are "doing Europe" in 10 days. :roll:
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