Primary school admissions etc....

[thelittlemermaid83]

Anyone know where i can find out what Primary schools are over and underscribsed in my area?

I have contacted the LEA and they havent bothered to get back to me, someone said it shoud be on the LEA website but I can't find anything not even the website.

I need this information so i can prepare myself if Kyra doesnt get her first choice primary for next September, need to make sure i have a decent 2nd choice.

Its like banging my head against a brick wall and google isnt my best friend right now.

Anyone ideas anyone?

 

[cap'njack.]

Morning Emma

I've just spoken to a friend who works in School Admissions for Medway Council. She has said that it really doesn't matter what schools are over or undersubscribed at the moment as K isn't going this September.

She has said that your best bet is to apply for your first choice of school and nearly everyone in Medway get's thier first choice school unless they live out in the sticks.

They have criteria for what school is allocated and it's based on siblings and medical need first and then distance from the school next so if you live very close to the school you want her to go to then all should be fine with it.

Hope that goes a little way to helping

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

Morning Emma

I've just spoken to a friend who works in School Admissions for Medway Council. She has said that it really doesn't matter what schools are over or undersubscribed at the moment as K isn't going this September.

She has said that your best bet is to apply for your first choice of school and nearly everyone in Medway get's thier first choice school unless they live out in the sticks.

They have criteria for what school is allocated and it's based on siblings and medical need first and then distance from the school next so if you live very close to the school you want her to go to then all should be fine with it.

Hope that goes a little way to helping

I just wanted numbers really to see if her school was over subscribsed, also the council dont deal with intakes at the school i want to send Kyra as its run by the catholic church or something and they chose who gets accepted in. We are not catholic so another reason why i want to see if its over subscribsed as obv catholic children etc have a advantage over Kyra.

Its doing my head in, I'm dreading October for when i can apply for her place and i know i will cry if she doesnt get her first choice. I need to mentally prepare myself for the worst.

 

[PoppyAnna]

I just wanted numbers really to see if her school was over subscribsed, also the council dont deal with intakes at the school i want to send Kyra as its run by the catholic church or something and they chose who gets accepted in. We are not catholic so another reason why i want to see if its over subscribsed as obv catholic children etc have a advantage over Kyra.

Its doing my head in, I'm dreading October for when i can apply for her place and i know i will cry if she doesnt get her first choice. I need to mentally prepare myself for the worst.

Its not always the case but these schools are often very popular and oversubscibed and in my experience they won't admit Kyra if she isn't catholic
Does the school have a website? That might give you idea of their own admission policy and numbers. Or, even better still ask about and see if you can find a nice Mum that is already at the school.

We selected the nearest school as it was also our prefered choice, then the second nearest as it was our genuine second choice and our third choice was a real outsider which we live too far away from, but at the time was the best school in the Borough (DD's school has now overtaken it ).

If you don't get your first choice straight away you should be able to go on the waiting list and you'd be surprised you can be quite far down the list and still get a place due to how the system works. The waiting list for DD's school is 100+ for most years as it's only one class entry.

Good luck, Em. It's a worrying time, and I can see how you're already getting concerned. I was awful to live with when we due our admission statement, I chased up the road to the postman the day the letter was due and grabbed it out of his hands I did apologise the next day

Thank goodness Poppy gets in on sibling preference and I don't have to go through it again.

 

[natalielongstaff]

I agree with Joanne, Catholic schools are often very popular and can be very difficult to get into.

do you know any of this years intake, might be worth asking those mums how they got in

At our school (graded outstanding) even siblings are no longer sure of a place and i know of 3 sets of parents who now have kids at 2 different schools

 

[cap'njack.]

the council dont deal with intakes at the school i want to send Kyra as its run by the catholic church or something and they chose who gets accepted in.

Ah...that makes it different then

I guess you could try caling them or looking at the website to see if they can give thier admission policy to you.

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

Ah...that makes it different then

I guess you could try caling them or looking at the website to see if they can give thier admission policy to you.

They accept 56 every Sept, but i have no idea if get that many applications or not.

Here is hoping they don't

 

[PoppyAnna]

At our school (graded outstanding) even siblings are no longer sure of a place and i know of 3 sets of parents who now have kids at 2 different schools

I know what you mean, Nat. If there was a bigger age gap between my two its possible Poppy wouldn't get in. The school is only 6 years old and will only have its first year 6 class from sept. If Anna was further up the years and we lived further away (the younger the school the further out the catchment went) its likely that Poppy wouldnt get in due to distance. In her year (sept 2010) there are already 13 siblings that we know of for a class of 27
Obviously the more full the school gets the more siblings come through.
For Anna's class (2007-8) the catchment was 0.21m as it was a high sibling year. 2008-9 was 0.35m. It's dropped again for this coming year apparently, another high sibling year, I guess. I think that two year ish ago gap is very popular where I live

 

[PoppyAnna]

They accept 56 every Sept, but i have no idea if get that many applications or not.

Here is hoping they don't

I think you need to find a Mum to get the goss Good luck, Em
Children in care and with special needs get first choice of all schools in our Borough (Bromley) and I think it's the same everywhere but I'm not sure if this type of independant school counts.

 

[cap'njack.]

They accept 56 every Sept, but i have no idea if get that many applications or not.

Here is hoping they don't

The school I want Kacee to go to is one of the most popular in Medway and has been in the top five schools in Medway ever since league tables were introduced. I live miles away from it so there is no chance of getting him in unless we move to Hempstead

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

Its not always the case but these schools are often very popular and oversubscibed and in my experience they won't admit Kyra if she isn't catholic
Does the school have a website? That might give you idea of their own admission policy and numbers. Or, even better still ask about and see if you can find a nice Mum that is already at the school.

We selected the nearest school as it was also our prefered choice, then the second nearest as it was our genuine second choice and our third choice was a real outsider which we live too far away from, but at the time was the best school in the Borough (DD's school has now overtaken it ).

If you don't get your first choice straight away you should be able to go on the waiting list and you'd be surprised you can be quite far down the list and still get a place due to how the system works. The waiting list for DD's school is 100+ for most years as it's only one class entry.

Good luck, Em. It's a worrying time, and I can see how you're already getting concerned. I was awful to live with when we due our admission statement, I chased up the road to the postman the day the letter was due and grabbed it out of his hands I did apologise the next day

Thank goodness Poppy gets in on sibling preference and I don't have to go through it again.

You see Kyra is already in the pre-school section of the school and it was in her favour that she is baptised. Alot of the kids in her class that have gone up to reception are not catholics and there mums have told me not to worry, They have even said the school is undersubscribed .... But it is hard not to worry as a lot can happen between Oct and March when you find out if she has gained a place aswell.

Its just giving me a headache, there is another school near me that has a outstanding Ofsted report and that takes 90 children but I'm not sure if i want Kyra to go there.

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

I just need to see the figures for this years intake and i will be a little less worried

 

[natalielongstaff]

Its just giving me a headache, there is another school near me that has a outstanding Ofsted report and that takes 90 children but I'm not sure if i want Kyra to go there.

might be worth putting that as your 2nd choice tho !

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

might be worth putting that as your 2nd choice tho !

I need to go and have a look around the school before i do that

Its hard when you live somewhere that has like 4 schools within walking distance from your house

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

I just re-emailed the Medway LEA and what a bunch of useless people, there reply was nothing to do with what i asked for.....

You would think I'm asking for the winning lottery numbers the way they are carrying on.

 

[Dimplenose]

I need to go and have a look around the school before i do that

Its hard when you live somewhere that has like 4 schools within walking distance from your house

Go and look at them all. My children ended up at a great school and I didn't plan on looking at it originally as it's close to a main road. As it's my closest school I thought it was only right I should look at it and once I was through the doors it was like entering another world. I am so, so, so, so glad I decided to check it out.

As for their secondary school, it had satisfactory results but it's looked down on by everyone that's not been to visit. (The is a real snob culture in my town.) That too ended up being the right place for them and they've both done well there.

So do look at all your options even if you're sure they're not going to be right for Kyra you might be surprised.

(BTW I now work at their old primary school.)

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

Go and look at them all. My children ended up at a great school and I didn't plan on looking at it originally as it's close to a main road. As it's my closest school I thought it was only right I should look at it and once I was through the doors it was like entering another world. I am so, so, so, so glad I decided to check it out.

As for their secondary school, it had satisfactory results but it's looked down on by everyone that's not been to visit. (The is a real snob culture in my town.) That too ended up being the right place for them and they've both done well there.

So do look at all your options even if you're sure they're not going to be right for Kyra you might be surprised.

(BTW I now work at their old primary school.)

Thanks Libby for the advice.

I don't want to write other schools off just by listening to gossip which is why i want to visit the other one at the top of my road. It may have Outstanding Oftsed reports but if its right for Kyra I don't know.

The pre-school that is attatched to the school she is at now, is fantastic. It got a average Ofsted report but Kyra loves it there. The teachers are fantastic and everything. If she doesnt get a place in the main school I will be putting her on the waiting list. But i know i need to keep my options open.

I do know i've never felt so stressed in my life, and i know i have to go through it again when it comes to Secondary schools

 

[wilma-bride]

It is worth writing to the governors at the school and asking to see a copy of the admissions policy. By rights, they have to let you. They are under no obligation, however, to give you any information about this year's intake and, as it doesn't affect you one way or the other, you can see why.

As others have said, Catholic schools in some areas are popular but I have to say I can't really understand why you would want Kyra to attend a Catholic school if she isn't Catholic as this is the ethos the school will work under

If another school in your catchment area has an excellent Ofsted report, why would you not want her to go there

I will admit that Daniel goes to a church school and I know, firsthand, that preference is always given to children who apply for religious reasons rather than others, when it comes to those outside catchment. But my reasons for Daniel going there was because I wanted him to attend a school which had a strong Christian ethos, not just because it was the school everyone sends their kids to.

Without wanting to sound harsh (because I really don't mean to) I think you are worrying a bit unnecessarily as a) you really have no control over whether Kyra gets in or not b) even if you were to see the application figures for this year, that really will have no bearing on how many may apply next year and c) you do have another choice of what sounds like it is a good school within your catchment area

 

[thelittlemermaid83]

It is worth writing to the governors at the school and asking to see a copy of the admissions policy. By rights, they have to let you. They are under no obligation, however, to give you any information about this year's intake and, as it doesn't affect you one way or the other, you can see why.

As others have said, Catholic schools in some areas are popular but I have to say I can't really understand why you would want Kyra to attend a Catholic school if she isn't Catholic as this is the ethos the school will work under

If another school in your catchment area has an excellent Ofsted report, why would you not want her to go there

I will admit that Daniel goes to a church school and I know, firsthand, that preference is always given to children who apply for religious reasons rather than others, when it comes to those outside catchment. But my reasons for Daniel going there was because I wanted him to attend a school which had a strong Christian ethos, not just because it was the school everyone sends their kids to.

Without wanting to sound harsh (because I really don't mean to) I think you are worrying a bit unnecessarily as a) you really have no control over whether Kyra gets in or not b) even if you were to see the application figures for this year, that really will have no bearing on how many may apply next year and c) you do have another choice of what sounds like it is a good school within your catchment area

The reason I want Kyra to attend the school is because she already attends the Pre-school and also I agree with the Catholic Ethos they apply.

I may have no control if she gets in or not, but i would like to know what sort of numbers I am dealing with. Getting her into a decent school is my main prioity.

ETA- I never said i didnt want to send her to the other school, that one right now is my 2nd choice but I want to visit it first before i make any final choice. Just because it has a great Ofsted report it doesnt mean the school is right for my DD.

 

[joolz1910]

Good luck, Emma - I know making these choices is really stressful. I had a similar situation with DD1 - she was in the preschool onsite, all her friends were starting at the infants and it seemed so right for her. Unfortunately it made me completely rule out the school further up the road. I ended up transferring DD1 to the school up the road when she was in year 2. I have never felt so stressed over the children! The school wasn't what I had expected it to be (to say the least) and it was a really hard decision to take her away from her friends. Thankfully, everything turned out for the best. I think what I'm trying to say is that you should try to keep an open mind and check out all of your options - you might be pleasantly surprised!