newboots

Yes and sports.

I think I read on another thread that 120 places went to siblings at Kingsdale this year. If that is true and typical then the lottery places go to only a tiny number of applicants.

The Kingsdale lottery is a law unto itself around here though. Very frustrating for families who live nearby. "The greatest supporters of abolishing the sibling tend to be...parents of children without appropriate siblings." I think I don't agree with that at all, whatever "appropriate siblings" might be!

"If you think its wrong - change the rules." Well it would be nice to wave a magic wand like that, can't realistically seeing it happening though. Are you saying that you can't see anything wrong with moving in to catchment temporarily to get a place for all of your children even if you have no intention of staying there?

This playing of the rules (I don't know how common it is in reality, but yes it obviously goes on) is one of the reasons why the sibling priority thing should go. A family moves to Herne Hill for a year or two to get a place for their oldest child, but then move back to wherever they came from, or out to a cheaper area like Peckham or Sydenham - but all their younger children get an automatic place. If that sibling link wasn't there then the dubious buying and renting by the very wealthy would surely become less common? Priority should be given to siblings still living within catchment only. Those of us with mixed sex children at single sex secondary schools seem to survive with our children at different schools! It really isn't that important at age 11+.

Also, do remember that siblings get a place at Charter whether they live within the supposed catchment or not.

How terribly sad and shocking. Thoughts are with this poor man's family.

So how did you get out?

keane Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I'm sure if you are in the teens you will be ok in > terms of movement, we live just 1,600 metres away > & our next door neighbour got in on the first > round last year but the catchment area has shrunk > so much this year that we have not got a place at > what is our nearest local school that we hoped our > child would go to - we are actually 78th on the > waiting list even though we live so near so no > hope of getting in to our local secondary. It's amazing that the catchment can have changed so much in just one year!? I just don't understand how that can be. I know there is more pressure across the board on secondary places this year, but for you to be 78 on the waiting list when your ndn got a first round place last year is just extraordinary.

The new Charter school will greatly alleviate the pressure on places for the original Charter school though. They will practically share a catchment so you'll be positively spoilt for choice where you live.

Yes, of course the point is that these are single sex. Didn't think I'd have to spell it out!

Harris Boys, Harris Girls, Sydenham School, Forest Hill School - many of the hundreds of East Dulwich children who attend these schools don't get the automatic luxury of a sibling place! And as for the Lottery school giving sibling places ... no one will ever be able to convince me of the logic in that. When you have to try and explain all the inconsistencies in the secondary allocation process to your children you really are confronted with what an unsatisfactory mashup it all is.

Winkworth: I rang Winkworth about a Let & Managed By Winkworth sign on a neighbouring property once. It is up all year round, come rain come shine. I told the woman who answered the phone that they should only be up for 2 weeks after a new tenancy has been agreed. She replied that the office saw those signs as "free advertising" and put the phone down on me. Fair dos, but on the back of that we shan't be appointing Winkworth as our EA when we sell.

I gave money to an arm gash guy in Camden more than 20 years ago. I sincerely hope its not the same person.

It really isn't vital for secondary school aged children to live right on the doorstep of their school. Or, if it is, how come so many ED families have no choice but to send their children to school outside of the borough? So its important for some children and not others? And why is the Kingsdale lottery still so popular? Children travel from all over London to get there. It really is hard to argue the case for two secondary schools so close to each other having more or less the same catchment area, especially as the school is only being built where it is because there was no other suitable site available.

Just to clarify, I do not have children who will go to this school, so my opinion is not based on how it will affect my family. Yes, of course a new co-ed secondary is to be welcomed in East Dulwich. But I see my misgivings about the admissions criteria are shared by others on the thread. Are they supposed to just shut up and put up?

The hospital site is so close to the Charter school! And the new school is being built there because there is no other suitable site in SE22 (so we were informed at the start of this process). So there are still parts of East Dulwich which will not be served by this new co-ed school. The words fiasco and shambles come to mind.

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.

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.

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?

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!

Yes. But the catchment has been very small for many years. The children from the other side of Peckham must be older.

It must be a tiny number who come from the other side of Peckham?

Surely it can only be a very small number of children affected? I'm surprised to hear the catchment stretches any further than Melbourne Grove these days.

Rhamnousia was obviously unaware of the shakeup in GCSE results across the country in 2014 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools/gcse-results-2014-inquiry-as-teachers-express-shock-at-variations-in-grades-9684456.html