Herschel Grammer or Maiden Erlegh

[Monsoon3]

Hi we live in Reading and my DS didn’t manage to get into Reading school and is in the middle of the waiting list. So we have abandoned the idea of going there.
He has been accepted at Herschel (second choice) but now we are unsure whether it’s worth the commute or we should reject and request one of our other choices which is Maiden Erlegh(3rd choice). Not sure now whether we will get Maiden Erlegh if we reject Herschel
Not sure what to do...any advice is welcome!

[scary mum]

You should accept the school you have been given, and if you want to go on the waiting list for the other you can. Unless your DS can travel on the train I would say hat it would be a terrible journey. The M4 is being "upgraded" to a smart motorway & he could be frequently late for school. A local school is much better socially & for taking part in after school acivities.

[mad?]

The commute would be madness. However, you must accept Herschel or you risk getting no school at all. Then ask to go on the wait list for ME. Whether you get in will depend on where you live, but traditionally it has been heavily oversubscribed.
ETA x posts with Scarymum

[Monsoon3]

Thanks scarymum!
There is a bus going to Herschel from Reading and DS could do it, but I agree with your comment on a local school with ability to attend after school activities etc!
However we fear if he doesn’t get a place into Maiden Erlegh then there are no other good local schools nearby...only JM academy

[mad?]

Thanks scarymum!
There is a bus going to Herschel from Reading and DS could do it, but I agree with your comment on a local school with ability to attend after school activities etc!
However we fear if he doesn’t get a place into Maiden Erlegh then there are no other good local schools nearby...only JM academy

You will not lose Herschel if you go on the ME waitlist, but you must, as Scary says, accept Herschel, in case you do not get ME off the waiting list. You will need to check how the ME wait list works to get a better idea of how likely you are to get a place.

[Tinkers]

At this point you need to accept Herschel, as others have said, or risk having no school place.

Having had to travel on the M4 one morning recently and travelling along Lower Earley way on a daily basis I’d want to avoid having to use the M4. It’s regularly (once a week at least) at a stand still before 7:30 on a morning.

Looking at the allocations for WBC, you need to be within 0.915 miles for ME, but obviously you could ask to go on the waiting list and if you live well within that it would be likely you’d go to the top of the list.

You could also look at other local schools (not just JMA, it’s not your only option), such as Bulmershe. Whilst oversubscribed as well they have taken a few outside catchment and as you are in catchment you’d be at the top of the WL for them. I have quite a number of friends choosing Bulmershe over ME in recent years. All are very happy with it, whereas ME seems to be a bit marmite-y.

I suspect it’s not worth looking at ME Reading, as their allocated distance was 0.666 miles for the ‘any other category’ so unless your DC went to ESP or one of the other feeder schools that’s not looking like a goer.

[Tortuga]

ME Reading allocated distance was 0.666 miles for the ‘any other category’

Hi there Tinkers
How did you find out this info? I'd love to know this year's distances for ME, but the school website and Wokingham's don't look that promising and my google searches have only found an interesting article: https://www.reading.co.uk/reading-secon ... lace-2019/ - it seems there are no spare school spaces in Reading this year!
Thank you
Tortuga

[Tinkers]

This was ME in Reading.
Reading allocations here
http://www.reading.gov.uk/media/10007/S ... _Table.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

ETA Wokingham allocations here.
http://www.wokingham.gov.uk/_resources/ ... 474805.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Tinkers]

Highdown, Wren and Hugh Faringdon have all taken an extra class. MER have taken 12 extra students and upped their class sizes.

Reading does seem full.
As does Wokingham.