School catchment area?

[torsie24]

Hi everyone.

So Jack and I are worrying about this like 5 years in advance, I know.

But I don't really know anyone with school aged children yet, and I know a lot of you do.

Where we live we are in the catchment area for 5 primary and 4 secondary schools.

1 of the Primary is Catholic, so we have to rule out that one (even though it's a fantastic school ) 1 has a great ofsted report, and the other 3 not so much! Trouble is the one closest to us is one of the bad ones.

The second closest one (still walking distance) is the good, non religious one. But as it's not the closest do we have a chance of getting our future children into it? Or do the LEA just assign you to the closest?

Same for secondary schools really, our closest one is really unsatisfactory in my eyes, but our second closest one (we are well in the catchment zone if the current map is anything to go by) is really good.

So would we automatically get into that one? I would imagine they would be inundated with applicants.

Chances are we'll have moved over into Kent (for Grammar schools) well before any kids are at secondary age, but probably not by the time our first LO starts infant school.

 

[gemmybear83]

I think you will have to phone your LEA, it depends on the Council on how they organise admissions. My neighbouring LEA for example is all open and works more on first come first service while my LEA works more on traditional boundaries (with some flexibility).

If yours works with traditional boundaries it makes house prices even more of a nightmare!

 

[torsie24]

Hmm, so I found the admission policy to the school we like:

Where the number of applications for admission exceeds the number of places available, the Governing Body will apply the following criteria in the order set out below to decide which children to admit:

1. Looked after children – children who are registered as being in the care of a Local Authority (for example, fostered or living in a children’s home).
2. Exceptional arrangements.
3. Children who will have an older brother or sister at the school at the time of the younger sibling’s admission.
4. All other children.

If there is an over subscription in any of the above categories, the Governing Body will allocate places within that category in accordance with the distance from the address point of the child’s house, as set by Ordnance Survey, to the school gate, with those living nearer to the school being accorded the higher priority.

And we are exactly a mile.

I hope we'd be OK.

Who knows, over the next few years the other school maybe become a super wonderous school.

Or we may win the lottery and be able to send them to the amazing independent school down the road from us....£12k a year for the little ones!

 

[wideeyes]

We live in a catchment area of a very good school that is a few minutes by train however kids at my daughters school have been given places at schools over 2 hours away by train or a 45 minute drive. No way will I be letting my daughter get on trains for that journey at age 11. The kids did get into the school after the MP intervened.

 

[joolz1910]

Why would you rule out the Catholic school? Unless it's over-subscribed, you wouldn't have to be a practising Catholic to get your child in. We have a Catholic secondary near to us which will be my second choice for eldest DD.

 

[dixonsontour]

It's hard to predict as alot depends on intake each year.

My DD starts school next week.

We'd been told by the headmaster at our preferred catholic school that everyone had got in from our parish for the last 6 or 7 years. Well guess what she didn't make it.

I think this year is a high intake and there has been a huge influx of young Polish families locally.

Usually you apply the year before they start - so when they are 3.

Things can change alot eg a headteacher can leave and a school go downhill etc.

Realistically i'd look at it when your first baby is 2 and if you need to move you've got time.

We'll be moving before DD is secondary age - not going through this again!

 

[torsie24]

Thanks everyone! I know we're thinking ahead of ourselves, but we were both lucky enough to go to amazing schools (mine's 3rd in the UK), and lived in Kent/Bucks so the schooling in Surrey is very different to what we were used to, so we do talk about it a lot.

I looked at the Catholic school admissions and it says about needing a recommendation from your priest. And the amount I'm seen in a church, no priest would be recommending me!

As you've rightly said so much could change in the next couple of years at the local schools, or even with our work and location, that it is just me getting ahead of myself as usual. I'm glad I konw a little more about the process though, as my friend has a baby and she doesn't have a clue about any of this, so at least I can chip in with a little advice if it's ever needed.

 

[Dimplenose]

Are you sure you really are in the catchment area of these school - or are they just within reasonable walking distance?

Just recently our area (also part of Surrey) has amended the boundaries of 4 of our local secondary school catchment areas so that they no longer overlap.

 

[torsie24]

Hi Libby Where in Surrey are you? Always nice to know a local DISer. Although I'm only one town into Surrey, on the Kent border, so if you're over in Guildford we aren't that loca really!

Yeah, there are maps on each of the school websites, and each one we are well within. Funny how even the secondary school boundary maps show the other schools well with their boundaries too. Guess its good to have options, but why everyone doesn't just apply for the good one, and not the other one I don't know. The 'bad' one does have a brand new sports dept so I guess some people could be swayed by that, but the kids you see and hear coming out of there have put me off!

 

[PoppyAnna]

We're in Beckenham (bromley borough) so only "just" Kent. We've lived in our house for almost eleven years (pre-children) and didn't take a blind bit of notice of the schools when we decided on the house, more for the transport links to central London and the appeal of the area generally
When we had our first child we then realised we had a highly regarded senior school on our doorstep (people move into the area to get it) and luckily close to us new primary had been built The primary school gained a reputation quickly and became a direct rival to the best one in the borough. DD7 goes to the school and DD4 will start next week In July it's first year six left and it surpassed all expectations. The catchment is currently .3 of a mile
In Bromley children with special needs can choose their school regardless of catchment so they are the priority, then siblings, then catchment distance (door to door as the crow flies). DD's school has a higher than average percentage of special needs children as due to it being a new build it is very accessable for wheelchairs and other equipment.
My best friends children go to the "other" school but she has absolutely no senior school in her area that she wants to send her children to. So, despite spending ten of thousands of pounds improving and extending their house they will have to move in two years but will still have two daughters at the primary school. IMO this in itself presents so many problems. Do you take the other two out of their excellent primary if you have to move a fair distance away? And what about all their after school and social activites?
I feel its more important to find a primary and secondary school within an area you like that you are happy with sending your child to although they might not be the "best". You will get a "feeling" for a school and it's staff when you visit it, I went to see Primary schools that were doing well on paper but I hated them (children running in the hall etc).
This "highly regarded" senior school close to us isn't necessarily my first choice for our DD's. I'm not sure it's the most well balanced school socially for my girls although I'm sure they will get an above average education there. I also agree with the previous statement about a Headteacher turning a school. A much larger primary school about a mile away from us that I would not have sent DD to three years ago is now getting "outstanding" from Ofsted and parents are very happy with the school since the new Head was appointed.
I wouldn't worry too much yet, see what has happened nearer the time when your child is 2/3