Secondary school advice needed

[clashcityrocker]

Hi

I hope the forum can help me clarify the school admissions policies and regarding the list of preferences on the CAF form.

By the end of the month we need to complete the CAF form for secondary school admission. There are 6 choices that you can make in the order of preference 1-6. My understanding is that these are just 'preferences' but you can be allocated any school, so not necessarily one on your list. Is that correct?

The only criteria we have for entrance is by distance/or catchment so there are no siblings, special needs etc. to be taken into the account. Of course, I understand that each school may have a slightly different entrance criteria but I feel we are in a grey area of what is our closest school.

My next question relates to Kingsdale. I know they have scholarships for Music and Sport and separately that you have to take a banding test in November/December and then its 'lottery'. If we were to put Kingsdale 2nd,3rd or 4th on our list would our child still be invited to take the test and be entered into the lottery selection?

4th and final question for now! If you were given your 3rd preference on your list, do you get to go on the school waiting list for your first and second preference or is it just the 1st preference?

Many thanks in advance

[redjam]

Yes to pretty much all these questions. No matter where you put the school on your list (i.e. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, whatever) a school will see whether you fit the entrance criteria, be it distance/lottery/banding test/whatever, then offer places accordingly. In other words, Kingsdale will enter into the lottery any applicant who has put its name on the form, no matter which order. There's no preference given to anyone who puts it first. (Though in Kingsdale's case there is a preference given to anyone who's got a sport or music scholarship, but that's a separate issue.)

Where the order of choice is relevant is after the schools have given their initial list of kids to whom they are offering places to the council. The council then correlates those lists with your choices, so if e.g. your child has gained a place in your 2nd-, 4th- and 5th-choice schools, it will offer you the 2nd-choice school and automatically place you on a waiting list for the first choice. So there is a great deal of shakedown before you even get to find out what your first offer is (as obviously your 4th and 5th-choice schools will have freed-up places to fill) and there will also be a lot of shakedown after the offer date (as some kids take up private school places etc).

I always think it's quite an ingenious system, though quite hard to get your head round at first. Good luck with your choices!

[redjam]

Oh and yes, you go on the waiting list for all the schools 'above' your allocated school if you don't get your first choice.

[HannahSE23]

Yes there is no preference given to anyone who puts Kingsdale first but you won't get Kingsdale if you put it third, for example, and you fit the criteria for a school you put first or second on your list. Always always put your schools in order of preference.

[tomskip]

We should have a stickied thread in here about school admissions if at all possible. The same questions come up every year. Clearly people aren't getting the information they need from their primary schools or from the secondary school prospectuses.

[clashcityrocker]

Thank you for all your responses, that's a great help.

[Carbonara]

The schools do not actually know where on your list you have put them, just that you applied.

They rank everyone who applies in order of how they meet the admission criteria. The admission criteria are the ONLY factors they can use to allocate places.

If more than one school can offer you a place, the LA allocates the place that is highest up your list.

So if (for example) Charter and Kingsdale could both offer you a place, the LA will allocate you whichever is highest up your list.

So, list the schools in the genuine order in which you prefer them.

It is OK to put a 'long shot' first, and even second. It will not disadvantage you in getting a place in a school you are more likely to get. But you must list a school which you should be able to get a place in.

If none of the schools you list can offer you a place, the LA will offer you a place at any school that has a vacancy. It may be that your most likely / nearest school is not one you are very keen on, but unless you list it, in last place, you run the risk of getting an equally unfavourable choice but it could be miles away.

If you get allocated a school you are not keen on, accept it anyway. Accepting it will not disadvantage you in getting a waiting list place. Turning it down will not act as any lever or pressure in getting a place - and you may end up with no place at all or a worse place.

Lots of movement on waiiting lists over the summer.

[bettyorange]

Another question for all you old hands,if you apply for school outside your borough does the same preference system apply?

If we put Deptford Green 3rd or 4th would we still be offered a place if the ones above don't work out.We are in Camberwell.

I vowed not become drawn into this,but find myself slightly hysterical and confused.

[HannahSE23]

Hi bettyorange, yes the same preference system applies. You would be offered Deptford Green if you put it third or fourth if you didn't meet the criteria for your top preference schools but did meet the admissions criteria for Deptford Green. Hope that makes sense. Good luck.

[bettyorange]

Thanks Hoonaloona much appreciated!

[Carbonara]

The borough the school is in makes no difference to anything.

Schools are not allowed to prioritise admissions on the basis of borough.

You make your one application via the CAF and your LA does all the liaison with all the schools and the system and process is the same.

Some E Dulwich families might apply to schools in 3 or 4 boroughs!

[Aneshco]

Hi All,

Could you please assist.

I am looking to move to the Crystal Palace neighbourhood from North London for secondary schools. My 11 year old daughter is in year 7 but i am really struggling to find a decent secondary school for her and i have been looking to move. We are moving at the end of March 2018 therefore it would be a transfer from her current secondary school.

I am interested in The Charter school and i see there is one in North Dulwich and in East Dulwich. Does anyone know what the differences are between the two schools? and which one is Charter 1 and which one is Charter 2 and which one would you recommend? Also, there are quite a few Harris schools around the neighbourhood (based on what i have seen online), would you recommend any of these schools and which one?

Also, what are her chances of getting a spot at this time of year? Lastly in order to be considered for a spot in any of the Charter schools, could you please recommend areas we can move to that will give us an advantage?

Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Thanks

Anelisa

[Pugwash]

The Charter 1 and 2 have a small catchment area which is unlikely to extend to the Crystal Palace Area. I have friends who send their girls to Harris in Crystal Palace and they are very happy with the education provided there.

[tomskip]

Charter 1 (the original Charter if you like) is almost next door to North Dulwich railway station and the catchment area is apparently less than 1000m. It is a very oversubscribed school with a long waiting list so your daughter would be unlikely to get a place unless you moved almost next door and there was no one living closer than you on the waiting list.

Charter 2 is only in it's second or third year of existence and is currently on a temporary site. When it moves to it's permanent home in East Dulwich (the old hospital site on East Dulwich Grove) the catchment will overlap in great part with that of Charter 1 (go figure) so families who live on the East Dulwich/Herne Hill/North Dulwich border will be in catchment for both schools.

The catchment for Charter 2 is very much wider than Charter 1 at the moment but it would definitely not extend as far as Crystal Palace.

Perhaps Sydenham School? or you could try your luck with Kingsdale - which gives out it's places by lottery so definitely worth a shot.

[Townleygreen]

Yes, Sydenham school seems to be very well regarded - it's all-girls though.

[flocker spotter]

If you want a charter school, you will need to move to a home within a mile of the school - for ED, that needs to be near its permanent half built site. I would also recommend Kingsdale, which is reasonably close to Crystal Palace and a free bus operates between CP parade and the school.You might find this website useful for finding schools in the area where you are looking to move. https://www.schooldash.com/school/136309/