Southwark Primary School Admissions for Sept 2013

[Emski]

Thanks Indiana, have tried this site too - from the furthest point of our property to the furthest part of Goodrich is 450m. So looks like being the closest to Southwark's software. (Still suggests we're nearer than this mythical 457m though - grr!)

Attempting to be philosophical, I guess it shows the tiny distances that are making all the difference for us.

[jb1000]

So...our daughter has not been allocated a school in our six choices, but has been given a place in a Catholic school - I am a Protestant, and can't send my daughter to a Catholic school.

What do I do?

As I understand it I cannot appeal against the school we've been allocated, only those we haven't. And if I refuse the place I believe that there's no obligation for Southwark to allocate us anything. This is crazy, the school is rated good, but is very religious by it's own admission, and there are people queueing up to get into it.

We're talking to the admissions team, but none of them seem to know what to do other than the bog standard advice about waiting lists.

Any thoughts? There must be some case law around this. Can I expressly demand that if forced to go to the school that my daughter is excluded from all aspects of their religious education? What about the Human Rights Act (I'm clutching at straws.)

[Mrs TP]

Can there not be some sort of swap shop set up whereby people can exchange their places? Especially for those keen to opt out of and into faith schools.

[Fuschia]

Re places on waiting lists, remember many people are on more than one

Say there were 30 children desperate to get into schools a,b or c but allocated school d

A particular child might be ranked 25th, 28th and 30th for those schools

But if 10 places freed up at each school, they would get into one of them!

[GinaG3]

Just had all my letters from Lewisham this morning. I'm feeling just completely frustrated at this. Its like from my house there is no school with a big enough catchment to get in to. What the hell are you supposed to do?

Fairlawn:

Applications 467

Places available 60

Offered to children with a sibling 35

Distance of last child offered 344.58

We were measured at 1139.11

Eliot Bank:

Applications 392

Places available 60

Offered to children with sibling 35

Distance of last child offered 428.05

We were measured at 994.07

Horniman:

Applications 294

Places available 30

Offered to children with sibling 20

Distance of last child offered 290.17

We were measured at 755.01

Its like there is black holes in London where there just isn't a closest school to you. Southwark offered Langbourne to us as what they are showing on my offer letter as the 21st preference!!

[Renata Hamvas]

In terms of distance Emski, the Council uses point to point distances, ie a certain point on the school grounds. Most web tools will just go postcode to postcode and this can give quite a difference. If you can show however, that the council has made an error in the distance calculation, this would be grounds for appeal. As, however it appears you are likely to be high up on the waiting list, you may be lucky and get a place by this route.

Jb100, If you wish for your child to opt out of the nativity play or Easter bonnet parade at the Catholic school you can do so. The religious aspect of local primary schools is not huge eg I know that St Francesca Cabrini, the Catholic school in my Ward doesn't eg have communion classes. In my opinion it would be a bigger issue for secondary.

Renata

[kamath]

Hi everyone I am 21 on the list for Goodrich - please someone tell me I stand a chance? I am so worried. Not been offered any of my 6 and Goodrich and Horniman are my closest schools. Just a bit of hope might keep me going !

[kamath]

Gina , I am in the same boat as you . I think maybe I am slightly closer to Goodrich and you are closer to Eliot Bank than I am but think I am in the same black hole as you - maybe we are neighbours!. I know how you are feeling it is so so stressful. I am praying that I will get one of my choices as on all thee waiting lists. I can't get to Langbourne as etc.

just wanted to say I know how you are feeling and you are not alone.

[etta166]

> 20-30metres currently seems to equate to 5-10

> places down a waiting list, so it would be helpful

> if Southwark could provide the means by which

> parents could accurately calculate distances I

> think.

The admissions team will calculate the distance for you to any Southwark community school if you ask them to. I posted on this earlier in the year.

Although they will calculate it for you, I wasn't filled with confidence by the result. I was told that I lived 318 MILES from my nearest school in Southwark. When I queried this, the council insisted that they were right, they did mean miles and not metres. In the end, I worked out that they meant 0.381 miles.

I'd email and ask them the distance that they calculated and then check it using googlemaps to see if it is in the right sort of ballpark.

[Abney]

I'm still undecided about whether to accept or reject my offer. The school I have been allocated was not in my 6 and is almost 2 miles away. We have decided that it is too far for us and we would rather, if push came to shove, homeschool, or keep my daughter at nursery.

If I reject the offer, the council will have no obligation to find me a school - but they haven't (in my opinion) anyway.

If I accept, then the council and the school will think I am happy (?) and will assume she will go to this school. (Which we don't).

Everyone is telling me to accept - 'just in case'. But for us, there is no just in case. Can someone (Renata possibly), give me any reasons why I should accept other than 'just in case'? What is the actual advantage(s) of accepting (when we wont be sending our child to the school).

[James Barber]

Just admissions by distance.

simonethebeaver Wrote:

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> James, do those distances include sibling places

> and other entry criteria, or just admission by

> distance?

[James Barber]

Hi Abney,

If you accept you'll still be on the waiting list of all 6 schools you showed a preference for.

If you truly wont ever send your child to Langbourne - and for many it is a very remote school with extremely poor public transport - then I'd pop along to Cator Street for a drop in admissions session. Talk through your circumstances. Make contemporaneous notes of the session as so much info. THEN decide whether to reject. If you reject it's likely a place will come up at some point during the reception year. Most oculdn't hold out that long but if you can that's an option if unusual. Home schooling is a lot of work but can be very fulfilling for children and parents.

[Renata Hamvas]

Hi Abney, have you added your child's name to other waiting lists? This will not impact on your other waiting list positions. The reason to accept langbourne is that you could end up with no other offer.

I will pm you,

Renata

[Renata Hamvas]

Hi, I see you are in Lewisham Abney, it would be worth calling Lewisham and seeing what schools you could go onto the waiting list for. Depending on where you are, also contact Haberdasher's Aske about their free school waiting list?.

[Abney]

Thanks Renata & James - replied to PM Renata.

[GinaG3]

Abney, I feel EXACTLY the same as you. I am just completely unwilling to take Langbourne for a few reasons. Including financial and health reasons. I would far rather homeschool until a position comes up close to me that would be easier for me, but at the same time don't want to be left in a situation where I don't ever get a place or have to accept that place and start her there. Its just not do-able for me.

I intend to drop in to Cator Street if me and my partner can work out a time to fit it in this week. I feel quite confident in my ability to pursue all this to the end but at the same time I'm a young parent and have no experience doing this and have no friends with children (either going through or have been through the same thing) to get advice from so I'm a bit out of my depth besides the forum - for which I completely appreciate all the advice!

[Carbonara]

Abney - there is no disadvantage whatsoever in accepting the place you have been offered. They will not think you are happy, the admissions process continues exactly as in the stated admissions code.

You will automatically be placed on the waiting lists for all schools that you preferred over the offered school - in your case that would be all 6 schools. And you can put yourself on the waiting list for any school you like, now, and as many lists as you like.

Places will continue to be offered according to the admissions criteria for that school.

There are some good schools on that list of schools with available places. Crawford is definitely a school that has turned a corner and will be shooting up the charts evry soon, for example.

School places continue to be made available even through the first term.

[Abney]

Well, how lovely, just been told by Lewisham admissions that we are unlikely to to get any of our 6 from waiting lists. Not based on any evidence (that they were willing to share). I think they had the hump because we were considering 'rejecting' our place. Are there any repercussions for councils if they have a high number of rejections - any funding issues kick in, ie do they lose money?

There doesn't seem to be any difference in accepting or rejecting the offer. You REMAIN on waiting lists anyway. So if you have no intention of sending your child to the school they have given you, you might as well reject - yes?

[huit]

Per etta166's earlier comment:

I just emailed Southwark admissions and they said they will not calculate distances from people's homes to Southwark community schools for them. (Perhaps they used to?) The admissions officer was emphatic that they will not do this.

[etta166]

Try contacting

He replied to my email in September last year with a list of distances, but as per my comment above I'm pretty sure that they were not all correct as they were orders of magnitude out.

huit Wrote:

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> Per etta166's earlier comment:

>

> I just emailed Southwark admissions and they said

> they will not calculate distances from people's

> homes to Southwark community schools for them.

> (Perhaps they used to?) The admissions officer was

> emphatic that they will not do this.

[James Barber]

46% of all the families 63/138 in Southwark who didn't get a one of their 6 preferences come from our area.

This probably helps explain many of the posts here.

The detail by political ward - I've added a star for wards partl of whooly in the East Dulwich area:

Brunswick Park 4

out of borough 11

Nunhead 5

Peckham 5

College 25 *

Camberwell Green 3

Rotherhithe 4

Faraday 2

East Walworth 1

Riverside 4

Village 7 *

Chaucer 2

East Dulwich 7 *

Surrey Docks 1

Grange 7

Livesey 6

The Lane 6

Newington 5

Cathedrals 1

Peckham Rye 24 *

South Camberwell 3

South Bermondsey 5

total 138

[ticket2ride]

This could be interpreted as east Dulwich parents being disproportionately unrealistic about which schools they are likely to get.

[GinaG3]

Yup, thats me there in the College ward. We've got the most, very interesting. There is a big estate here though with a lot of children, where do they all go to school? I know a lot of them walk so the schools are local.

I have a question if anyone can answer it. I don't want to take up my offer but still want to remain on waiting lists. If I reject my offer and start homeschooling my daughter until a place is found is this a viable option and are southwark still obligated to find a place if I'm homeschooling? I'm a stay at home mum so I'm able to do this as an option. If a place is never found, what am I to do then, if I didn't intend to homeschool for the whole of primary years?

[Kes]

James do you know if all those people actually put down 6 options? Just wondering if, in some of the wealthier areas people only applied to one or two very popular schools With the intention and ability to go private if they didn't get them? Would be important to know that if making decisions about where extra places are needed (and they clearly are needed!)

[Otta]

ticket2ride Wrote:

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

> This could be interpreted as east Dulwich parents

> being disproportionately unrealistic about which

> schools they are likely to get.

I think there is probably an element of that. I also think that this will be a problem in any area that goes through "gentrification" (I hate that word) as ED has, because young families with a bit of cash will flood these areas, and you end up with too many kids for the local schools.