Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Hello all,

I am really sorry to hear that some of you have received a school you are unhappy with. I am happy to help anyone who has problems with their primary school allocation (see my contact details below). If you haven't received any of your 6 schools it means that in the first round there were people who were higher up the ranking list than you up to the admission number. Over the next few weeks there will movement on all waiting lists, so if you have applied to your closest schools, it is likely that you will get a place at one of those schools eventually. You may also decide to be added to the waiting list of other schools that you didn't apply to in the first round.



To anyone who got their secondary offer resent. this was a glitch in the London wide computer system (the system is PAN London) ie not a Southwark issue. This was corrected by around 5.30pm. Notification was correctly sent out to those waiting on primary school allocations in parallel, so all on-line applicant parents should have received their primary allocation. Letters were also sent out as well, so a hard copy notification should be received by parents, most likely today.


Overall more parents than last year received their first choice and more received one of their choices than last year.


This is the letter that has been emailed out to all Councillors, with the details:


Dear Councillor,


Southwark has seen an increase in the number of children getting a primary school of their choice.


In addition all primary school applicants have been offered a place for September 2013 and more children than ever before have been offered a first preference school.


Figures to note are:-

? 100.0% of Southwark primary school applicants have been offered a place for September 2013


? A total of 3,411 applications were received, 57 less applications than last year


? 2,804 (82.2%) children received a first preference school a 4.6% increase on last year's figure of 2,692 (77.6%)


? 3,272 (95.9%) children received one of their preferences a 1.7% increase on last year's figure of 3,269 (94.2%)


? 139 (4.0%) families without a preference and offered an alternative school, this is a 1.7% decrease on last year's figures - 198 (5.7%)


? 3,328 (97.5%) of online applications were received, an increase of 36.8% from last year's figure of 2110 (60.7%).​


Please note that our School Preference Advisers together with members of our parent partnership team will be holding a drop in surgery at Cator Street. for two weeks, (19th - 29th April), on a first come, first served basis.






Renata

Jennifaah and those wanting to contact admissions:


Tel: 020 7525 5337

schools.admissions@southwark.gov.uk


I would wait a few days though as there will be some people who will turn down places very quickly eg if they have a place at an independent school.


Ryekids/Kamath/Bizzylizzie/LizzieF/Kes etc You are automatically put on the waiting list for schools on your list (higher than an offered one if you got offered a preferred school). You can get the waiting list information from Southwark Admissions. Movement on waiting lists can happen well into the next school year (eg some children don't turn up in September).


Vez/Tomskip/Ellandi


it is certainly a good idea to put down 6 schools as last place offered distances can vary a lot from year to year (eg sibling no fluctuations) and sometimes bulges occur due to demand after the closing date. If you have put a school down that has a late bulge class you may get it and not be in with a chance any more if you apply later, once the allocations are released.


Gina3, do you live on East Dulwich Grove, if so, the schools you would have had a greatest chance to get into are Goose Green and Bessemer Grange. You don't mention these two schools as ones you have applied to. I would suggest requesting to go onto the waiting list of these two schools if you do live on East Dulwich Grove.


If you were allocated a school place, this would be the closest Southwark school where there are places. This may not have been the closest school where there were places. If you live close to the boundary with Lewisham or Lambeth, it may be worth requesting to go onto the waiting list of schools that are close to you over the Borough boundary. Some of you have been offered Langbourne. Due to demand it bulged last year and it has also bulged again. Its normal admission number is only 30. This will have been the closest school to you that had places available.


If you live near a C of E or Catholic school it may be worth adding your child's name to their waiting lists, as after the allocation to practicing C of E or Catholic applicants, remaining places are allocated on distance. C of E schools typically have 50% community places, but if there are not enough C of E applicants, or places come up on the waiting list, these could be allocated to non C of E applicants.




Renata

Where is the Grove? All those schools have rather tight catchments and all of those schools are quite some distance from each other (Fairlawn and Heber).



GinaG3 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> We didn't get any of our preferred 6 either, have

> been offered Langbourne (2.4 miles away). What do

> I do now if I don't want to accept a place unless

> its in my top 6?! I did pick Horniman, Fairlawn,

> Eliot Bank, Goodrich, Heber and Dulwich Village.

> All perfectly reasonable if at the Grove, no?

>

> In a daze today, just returned from surgery and

> spaced out on Morphine. Will figure it all out

> tomorrow, struggling to even type. All advice

> welcome though. :-)

Hello there

Our son has been offered a place at a faith school which is close to us, but wasn't in the six we applied for. Our other six were largely the next closest schools to us - all community schools. If we want to hold out for waiting list places at other schools, how do we proceed? Do we just wait without doing anything and see if we are offered places from the waiting list (will this happen automatically?)? - And who do we contact to find out what position we hold on the waiting lists?

Thanks for any help. I guess this info might be in the letter in the post but I may have no nails left by the time the letter arrives... A

Hi Anna,

the details of Southwark admissions are in my post above, they will know your waiting list position. If you email then, be aware that they are dealing with many emails at the moment and it may take a couple of days to get back to you. You will automatically be on the waiting list of the schools you applied to. As the school you have been offered is close to you, maybe contact the school and visit it.

Renata

Oh, I see. Sorry Gina that's a tough one as that area is a bit of a blackhole. Unfortunately, except in a bulge year quite a few of those schools would be out of reach in that location. Did you look at Bessmer? Not sure what its situation is this year but its a good school that historically has been undersubcribed given its a little tough to get too. It might be a better option that what you've been offered though. Good luck sorting it out.

Ok, from above posters info, If Gina, if you live near the Grove Tavern, your closest school I think would be Horniman. You would automatically be on the waiting list on this and the other schools you applied for. The Grove Tavern is 1.8km from Langbourne (distances are all done as the crow flies), and this must have been the closest Southwark school to you with spaces.

Renata

One thing to bear in mind about the waiting list is keep your mobile phone ON and check emails etc. We were on holiday in 2009 and had our phones on by chance when we were offered a place to our 1st choice preferred school and had to confirm it in 4 hours. "Use it or lose it" was the message.


I believe the system has a funny way of sorting itself out but you still need to be fully alert.

This is hideously traumatic. We didn't get any offers from our 6 choices (we picked our 6 nearest schools - and are only 420m ish from Goodrich) and have also been allocated Langbourne (extremely difficult to reach without a car - I seriously don't know how I'd be able to do drop-off and have a job). I only stopped crying at 4 this morning.


The letter this morning from Southwark does contain plenty of useful info, as well as contact details for phoning to find out your place on waiting lists (supplied by Renata above) - I've found out we're 6th for Goodrich, which sounds promising but I'd love to hear from any of last year's parents whether that gives us a realistic chance of an offer at some point.


I'm also confused about whether or not we're automatically put on waiting lists. The general info that came with our letter says we are, but our specific information on our letter says that we've been put on the waiting list for three of our six, but not for the other three. They weren't able to explain this to me on the phone - just suggested I email and request to be added to the lists. Two of these three are in Lewisham, so I then phoned Admissions for this borough, where they suggested that I would be on the lists (but couldn't give me more info for 3 weeks) and it was just Southwark's wording that was misleading.

The wording reads: "Your child did not meet the school's oversubscription criteria so could not be offered a place."

Is j&m correct that you only get put on the lists in your own borough?


This whole thing is a mess.

I don't get this 'automatically' on waiting list thing. There will be so many people who will surely 'slow things up' ? My neighbour got a school they are happy with but will stay on the waiting list just in case they get a better offer. While I've not been offered any of my 6 and would be grateful for any of mine! Seems a bit odd.

I'm a little more with it today so had a re-read of the thread. This has shocked my greatly, I didn't think that any of the schools I put were impossible at all. I doubted getting Horniman, but it was my first preference. Thought if I didn't get any I necessarily wanted I would at least be put into Goodrich or Heber. Dulwich Village was put on the list as a stop gap, to fill up a preference in final place.


By the way, yes The Grove is the top of Lordship Lane/Dulwich Common where the Harvester is no longer.


Langbourne I have looked into as much as I can, their website isn't even live (at admission time of year)! So little information found but I wont be taking the place anyway even if it means educating my child out of school for a while. On the road, it is a distance of 2.4 miles, to walk this with a 4 year is too much to me, 10 miles per day for drop off and collections and back is 50 miles a week! We don't drive and buses would cost me money I can ill afford as low income family. I have health issues too that would mean somedays I cant walk far, or very quickly without tiring a lot, I thought to try and get a freedom bus pass (in eventuality we got Fairlawn or Heber especially as up hill) through southwark but no-one understands the underlying needs of my medical conditions so cant be bothered with another argument.


All in very unhappy and disappointed, trying not to think about it now as too much on my plate right now and hoping there is light at the end of this road.

How many bulges are there this year Renata? 96% of applicants getting one of the 6 choices and 82.2% getting their first choice with 100% being allocated a school is pretty impressive but how much bulging is being done to achieve this?


Also, where do things stand regarding the funding for expanding Dulwich Hamlet and the other 2 Southwark schools you've mentioned in the past.


I feel terrible for the 4% who didn't get any of their 6 choices...

To clarify, you only automatically get put on the lists for your own Borough's primaries .

For most of the posters above this is Southwark. The actual application process is PAN London, but the waiting lists are maintained initially by the LAs. If you live Lewisham and have applied to Southwark schools, you need to contact Southwark admissions. (Sorry, I am not very knowledgeable about Lewisham's processes!).


Waiting lists do move. If you have been allocated a school too far away eg Langbourne I would suggest being added to additional school's waiting lists eg St Francesca Cabrini (does take non-Catholics who live nearby), Ivydale as it has bulged, Hollydale, Rye Oak, Bessemer Grange, Lewisham schools, Lambeth schools, ie whatever other schools are in close proximity to where you live.


Abney, if someone gets a place from a waiting list, this frees up one at another school.


In terms of proof of address, the welcome pack will come from the school and you will need to provide the school with proof of address, this may be council tax, child benefit etc.


I agree with Cora, 6th on a 90 entry school gives you a good chance. Things that will impact on this are things like new residents moving in closer to the school than you; families securing a place at the school for an older sibling or children being recategorised on the waiting list eg due to social/medical need. So warn people that movement on a waiting list can be up or down.


Renata

Indeed, very disappointing, as the two issues (ie, free schools and expansion of school places) are not mutually exclusive hypothetically, but the government seems to be doing a fairly decent job of bungling both! The thought of applying for reception places in autumn (for 2014-15) actually makes me feel a bit ill. And it's definitely driving me to look for alternatives (not that we can nec afford them!).

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • Maybe. Does that kill grass? If so, possibly the same dog that has left its poo outside my house - pretty sure it's not fox poo.
    • Here you are, intexasatthemoment (you seem to have been in Texas for a very long time!) We went to three of the recommended places yesterday,  as they were all in the same road (just near Wallington)  and I needed to give the car a run to avoid another slap on the wrist from my garage (and another new battery). Here's my findings. BARNES Parking We thought we would go here first as it was the earliest to close on a Sunday (3pm). There was no apparent entrance or anywhere to park. One notice said do not park on grass verge, and another one said staff cars only! Flittons was opposite but I'd already passed the entrance, so I had to drive down the road, turn round at the next available place (covered in signs saying do not park here) and park in Flittons car park! Plants Barnes  specialise in hardy perennials, so that was basically what they had, but an excellent selection, and many more unusual plants (or at least, plants you probably wouldn't find in a garden centre), eg Corydalis,  lots of different varieties of Epimediums, Trollius, some lovely Phygelius, lots of different ferns). The plants were divided into sections according to whether they needed sun or shade or could cope with both. They had a particularly good selection of  shade loving plants. There was really useful information above  each group of plants, which meant you didn't have to look at individual labels. All the plants looked in good health and  very well cared for. They don't produce a printed catalogue, but they  said their plant list was online (I haven't looked yet). I assume most of  the plants they have at any one time are when it's their flowering season (if they flower). I wasn't intending to buy anything, though was very tempted, but I'd definitely go here again once I've sorted out my overgrown garden. Other Stuff Don't think they sell pots, compost, etc. No cafe/tea room and I didn't see a loo, but Flittons is just over the road. FLITTONS  Parking Easy to park Plants Sorry, but mostly terrible. There was one section with vegetables and the rest was flowering plants. There was a general feeling of delapidation. Some of what was on display was actually dead (surely it would only take a minute to remove dead plants) and a lot of the rest was very poorly maintained, eg gone to seed, weedy, apparently unwatered, or with a lot of dead leaves. There was a notice asking for volunteers to work there, so I can only assume they can't afford to pay staff. Other stuff There was a notice to a play barn (?) saying invited people only, so I think they must host kids' parties or something. They redeemed themselves with a cosy little cafe with savoury stuff, nice cakes, iced chai and oat milk, and a loo. Also a selection of books and CDs on sale for charity. If you want an Andrews Sisters CD, you can find one here. There is a small shop with gift shop type stuff and a display of the history of Flittons, which apparently is family owned since the sixties (I think it was). I suspect that the arrival of Dobbies down the road must have greatly affected Flittons' fortunes, which is sad. DOBBIES  Parking Easy in theory once you had navigated a rather narrow entrance, but it was very busy so it took a while to find a space. Plants  Lots of plants, well maintained but I imagine their turnover is high. Lots of nice bedding plants for hanging baskets, window boxes etc  to cater for all tastes (ie some of it wasn't mine, but fine if you like those horrid little begonias (my opinion only) but they did have some nice (in my opinion) stuff as well. I was tempted but decided to buy from North Cross Road market. Fair selection of climbers, various different Clematis etc. I'd be happy to buy plants from here. The prices seemed reasonable and they were in good condition. Other stuff  It's a big garden centre with all that entails these days, so a large area selling garden furniture and storage, tools, animal collars, pots, all the usual stuff you would expect. Very helpful staff. There's a cafe which we didn't check out, charging points for electric cars, a Waitrose (no idea how big, we didn't look). Only on our way out did we see that there was a drive through "express section" for compost etc, which was annoying as I wanted compost and hadn't seen any anywhere,  but I was getting tired by that time. Just Down the Road A ten minute drive away is Wilderness Island, a nature reserve in Carshalton, which is well worth a visit. We heard eleven different kinds of bird (according to Merlin) and saw a Kingfisher flying down the tiny river!
    • The swifts & bats are alive & well around Upland Road. A beautiful sight & sound in the evenings. Just be sure to leave plenty of water out for them, as they are at high risk of dehydration & struggle to take flight at ground level.
    • Loads in upland road last night…
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...