2015 Secondary School Admissions - results

[James Barber]

EDITED to add London stats. 68% first choice across London. So Southwark not doing well at 60%. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-31698086

Today is secondary school admissions being announcement day - from 5pm online and letters overnight. GOOD LUCK.

2,637 on time secondary scghool place applications, 42 higher than last year.

Slight reduction in people being offered their first preference 59.6% (61.4% in 2014), first three preference 86.5% (88.5% in 2014), 93.2% first 6 preferences (94.4% in 2014), 6.8% none of their choices (5.7% 2014).

So 179 children not allocated any school their parents and they wished for and 355 families didn't get one of their first three choices.

I've attached the official Q&A, stats results and details of where you can go to ask for support and advice - apart from your local councillors.

If anyone needs help please get in touch. It is amazing how much of s shake down happens and families ultimately getting acceptable school places.

all going well the following year families will have an extra local secondary school to choose from.

[Renata Hamvas]

Hello all, your child will be on the waiting list for schools above the one offered (or if allocated a school, all the schools applied for). Schools that have vacancies at the moment are as below:

School Vacancy List

if you are interested in any of the schools below call

0207 525 5337 or you can email schools.admissions@southwark.gov.uk

Southwark Schools

- Harris Academy, Bermondsey (Girls) ? SE16 3RT

- Harris Academy, Peckham (Mixed) ? SE15 5DZ

- Compass School, Southwark (Mixed) ? SE16 4EE

- ARK Globe Academy (Mixed) ? SE1 6AG

you can also request that your child is added to the waiting list of schools you didn't apply to (particularly if you were aloocated a school, there may be others you would prefer that you didn't originally apply to). There will be movement of waiting lists all the way through to September. Movement varies from school to school and also be aware of the number of waiting lists a school has eg schools that use banding for admissions purposes may have several waiting lists, one for each band,so there is typically less movement than a school that allocates on distance alone.

I'm happy to help if you would like some assistance. There are parent transfer advice sessions starting tomorrow:

Cambridge House, 1 Addington Square, London SE5 0HF

Commencing: 3rd to 6th March 2015

Time: 10am ? 12:30pm and 1:30pm ? 3:30pm

● The School Preference Adviser is part of Southwark Parent Partnership, an arms

length service funded by Southwark Council.

● 20 minute slots will be available on a first come first served basis.

● Please note this is a parent only event; There are no childcare facilities.

● Parents are asked to sign in on arrival and complete the SPA referral form before

the discussion begins.

Alternatively you can contact

Southwark Information, Advice and Support Team

Tel: 0207 525 5211 Email: schoolpref@southwark.gov.uk

I'm always happy to help if you would like some assistance.

Renata

[Mrs TP]

Can I ask all those who definitely do not want their allocated school - I mean those moving before Sept or have other arrangements such as private school - to decline their state school offer asap. I have heard of 3 families already who are desperately unhappy with their offers and are relying on movement up the chain so they get a better offer. Thanks.

[Cora]

Would be really interested to hear which schools are being allocated to those that didn't get their preferences?

[keane]

We have been given harris boys last on our list. Wanted charter live within furthest distance offered last year but not got in. Didn't get any of our first 4 choices. Not happy atall.

[James Barber]

That's a really good point Mrs TP. That makes areal difference and would put a lot of people out of their misery.

It's a shame that Southwark Council dont liaise with the private schools for admissions. That would really move things along.

[Tanza]

Also given Harris Boys East Dulwich as our 6th choice. Where we live we would also have got into Charter every year before.

[newboots]

I have just looked closely at our application. We have been offered a place at our third choice school and I believed we would automatically go on the waiting list for the two schools higher on our preference list. However, I now see that whilst we are on the waiting list for one of them, we are NOT for our first choice Forest Hill Boys. The code against our application is "N - your child did not meet the school's oversubscription criteria so could not be offered a place". I am rather alarmed by this and have no idea why it happened. So this is just a heads-up to other parents not to be complacent and just assume you are on waiting lists for other schools. Check your letter!

[Cora]

Is that because you live in Southwark but the school is in Lewisham? I seem to remember something similar for primary schools. I think Southwark automatically put you on their choices above but you may need to ask to go on Lewisham ones...surely the over subscription criteria are distance though...so everyone should meet that, however far down? Would be really grateful if you would keep us updated on this and how you resolved it....

Renata seems to understand these things...any ideas Renata?

[newboots]

Received a letter from FHB. Surprisingly their most over-subscribed band is 1A. 183 applicants in 1A, 165 in 1B, 130 in 2A, 104 in 2B, 96 in 3.

I really do wonder if this is actually an accurate and representative picture of their applicants this year. How can most applicants be in the "top" (for want of a better word) band when you consider the approx catchment area?

[cactus]

In reply to newboots - because there are many very good primary schools in Southwark and Lewisham, who have high expectations for all of their pupils. It shouldn't be a surprise that so many children fall into the 'higher' bands.

Seriously, stop making assumptions about the children who live in particular catchment areas.

[crescent]

Wow Newboots, really? Have you driven around Forest Hill school? Seen the 'sort of area' it's in? My child goes to a local Forest Hill primary school. It is a really mixed intake, and vast majority of boys will be going to Forest Hill boys. Many of those are band 1a. It's about the great primaries, great kids and great teachers at the local schools, not sure what you are basing this on...

[newboots]

Cactus, I'm not making any assumptions about anything. I live in the area and my child went to a local primary! But if this is a comprehensive intake, why are there twice as many applicants in "Band 1A" whatever that means than "Band 3"? I don't understand how that can be.

[etta166]

Does that also mean that it is easier for a child in band 3 to get in than one in band 1A? Depending on the band can the final distance offer be bigger or smaller? That just seems to open up another "tactic" to school applications...

[newboots]

Yes, the school has an equal number of places to offer in each band. So if you are in the band with the smallest number of applicants then you have better odds on getting a place.

[nunheadmum]

Isn't there some logic that if a school is seen as being a good school, kids with engaged parents who have encouraged them to do as well as they can will be more likely to be applying to it - hence a greater number of academically able kids who achieve in the top band.

So many different aspects to consider. Is any 'tactic' really going to help? Horrible to think you need 'tactics' to get your kids a good education.

[simonethebeaver]

The bands can vary a lot from year to year though so there is no point in trying to get into a certain band as the next year it could be the one with the most kids in it. The Lewisham test is done in all the borough's primary schools and the kids are banded across the borough, and the LA schools then get applications from kids who already have their band (test done at the end of year 5). I have never worked out how Southwark applicants are banded. So theoretically every single applicant to an individual school could be in the same band.

The academies do their own tests, among those who have actually applied, and then most of them (as far as I know - could be all of them) moderate those results, so the applicants are split equally across the bands. Obviously if you have a cluster of kids at one end of the spectrum the bands will be pretty narrow.

So the two systems are quite different. Neither of them should allow anyone to play the system though.

[Mrs TP]

Southwark children applying to Lewisham schools are also banded on their year 5 assessments. The Lewisham secondary contacts the Southwark primary for their yr 5 stats / reports.

[katgod]

The LEwisham system is transparent and the furthest distance offered per band is published in the schools booklet which is freely available. 5 equal bands, administered by the borough with published results.

Harris has 9 unequal bands, based in their own test, with no published data. I know which I prefer.

Bemused by letter from KIngsdale that tells me because KD is 'one of the top 20 most popular and oversubscribed schools in the country [child] should be very strongly congratulated'. Really?? For getting lucky and having name pulled out of hat in their lottery? Or is it not really a lottery after all and they have selected my child? All very bizarre.

[savage]

Hi James

Do you have a breakdown of those stats for East Dulwich, percentages & numbers that got their first choice, top 3, top 6 and none of the above?

Thanks Kate

[Carbonara]

In addition to the great education the local primaries have given, the top band for FHB will be heavily oversubscribed because once a school gets a good reputation / high achieving results parents with high achieving children from miles around will put the school down as a 'long shot'.

Some parents put down up to 5 'long shot' preferences with the local school as the fall-back. This accounts for some of the parents getting a lower preference choice.

Schools do their best to manufacture this sort of interest - often by providing scholarships for music etc, or a semi selective stream (like Graveney or Burntwood in Wandsworth) or like HarrisCP, and which do not depend on distance.