CAF advise please

[Mum21]

Our normal school preference order would have been pate's, STRS, Marling and Crypt. With delayed results and 4 CAF choices, can only put 3 grammar school and 1 comprehensive school.

However, looking at past years admission ranks, Crypt seems to go lowest with ranks. It would be quite frustrating if my son qualifies only for Crypt and we would miss getting a place due to this year's circumstances.

In such a scenario, is there a possibility we would still be considered for Crypt when we don't apply for it. Can there be a appeal possibility?

[Bells]

You can always request to be added to any school's waiting list after the 1st of March. You will then be considered with all late applicants in the reconsideration process when places become available. But this is again in rank order so you might end up quite low on the list.

[starcrazy]

Appeals have to show without doubt that the school is effectively the best place for your child; it would be difficult to argue that for Crypt if it wasn’t even listed in your CAF.

We have five choices in Gloucestershire which should leave room for a comp. if you’re elsewhere I would suggest losing one of the other choices and adding Crypt (although when my son sat two years ago, his rank was higher for Marling than for Crypt so it’s worth checking the ranks and places offered for previous years.)

[Glos18]

I agree with starcrazy, if you definitely want DS to be at a grammar then put crypt instead of Marling. If the comp is an acceptable option then stick with your current choice. Given that you are presumably out of county though, at least some of these schools are going to be a long way away, so I would be tempted to put them in order of best commute!

[kenyancowgirl]

Appeals have to show without doubt that the school is effectively the best place for your child; it would be difficult to argue that for Crypt if it wasn’t even listed in your CAF.

We have five choices in Gloucestershire which should leave room for a comp. if you’re elsewhere I would suggest losing one of the other choices and adding Crypt (although when my son sat two years ago, his rank was higher for Marling than for Crypt so it’s worth checking the ranks and places offered for previous years.)

But asking to be added to a wait list for a school is not appealing. It is simply accepting the place you have been offered but asking to wait and see if another school will offer you a place. Appeals are a separate process and can take a school over PAN. Neither are guaranteed.

[starcrazy]

The question was about appeals in particular so that’s what I answered. I’m aware waiting lists are different

[cheltdad]

However, looking at past years admission ranks, Crypt seems to go lowest with ranks. It would be quite frustrating if my son qualifies only for Crypt and we would miss getting a place due to this year's circumstances.

The rankings at each school are of course linked to the set of people that apply to each - and whilst it's tempting to think that everyone applies to all the schools "just in case" that's not really true.

It's also got more difficult to compare the rankings for STRS and Marling with Crypt due to crypt now also taking girls - where the only more equivalent list would now be Pates (but that then gets messed up by the fact that Pates looks for qualifying marks in each section and not just a total, so their order can get affected).

Last year our DD had about the same ranking for Crypt as Pates, and about the same ranking for DRHS, Stroud and Ribston - but I'm not sure I'd like to try and work out the relationship between the two types of list etc.

[Polgara_Glos]

If you look at the lowest rank as a percentage of shares for each school, with the exception of Pates, they are all pretty similar, around 40 something percent. It’s a crude measure but gives an idea.

[ToadMum]

Going back to the appeal question, you can't appeal for a school you haven't applied for. So yes, you can appeal for Crypt if you didn't name it on your CAF originally, but only once you have made a formal application for the place and been informed that there isn't one available.

You would, of course, have to think very carefully about the substance of your appeal - you appeal against the decision not to admit your DC to that specific school and explain how not going to that specific school is more prejudicial to your DC than having to find room for another pupil in an already full year group would be to the school.

Do not just put, 'We want him to go to a grammar school'...

[Mum21]

If you look at the lowest rank as a percentage of shares for each school, with the exception of Pates, they are all pretty similar, around 40 something percent. It’s a crude measure but gives an idea.

Interesting!
I'm not sure I understood. Do you mean that 40 pct of all kids are allocated places?
This year would be hugely different though as previous year, people would apply only if they had QS.