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Worldwiser, the current arrangements in Southwark are designed to cream off the top pupils and exclude the children of chaotic families. Nothing else. It?s a disgrace.


I understand that the Council can?t do much. However, the little it could do (sending regular informative emails like Lewisham does for example) it doesn?t. I?m grateful to Renata for posting here and always being on hand to help, but we shouldn?t have to resort to the forum for this kind of information. This kind of information strategy targeted at a small subset of the population is unworthy of a council run by Labour. In Southwark, it feels like it is for the few and not the many.

Thanks Hello Sailor and Monkey.

Hi Monkey, several of Lewisham's Secondaries are Council run, others follow the same admission policies as the Lewisham run schools. It is not a Southwark strategy, it's as a result of the hotch potch of admission systems we unfortunately have in this Borough.

Renata

hellosailor Wrote:

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> Thanks so much for getting us that info from the

> admissions office Renata, much appreciated. Thanks

> again



Anybody can get the same information by contacting the school. It has been posted numerous times.

It is true of all schools in my experience.


People just want the council, who manage the admissions process and make the offers, but do not set individual school admissions policies, to publish all distances offered within the borough on national offer day.

Renata, I was talking about the lack of information from Southwark. The lack of simple emails such as ?you can now apply?, ?careful - deadline tomorrow?. All I got from Southwark is a crumpled letter at the bottom of a the school bag and my daughter passing on a message from her school - two days after the deadline - that the school couldn?t see me on the list of applicants and they believed I hadn?t applied. Lewisham on the other hand sent me regular informative emails about the process.


I called the council two weeks ago asking whether I needed to make contact with the schools for banding tests. Person didn?t know. I didn?t get called back as promised. I now understand that letters will be sent by the schools but they haven?t yet because the council hasn?t sent the list of applicants to the schools. Looks like Kingsdale might have to postpone banding tests which were supposed to start on Saturday. I, and many others, have been keeping all the banding test dates free in case we get called in. I?m glad I don?t work in a job where changing a shift is a problem.


I?m grateful for your commitment and availability but I think Southwark, even in the difficult circumstances it has to deal with, is falling short.


On the actual issue of publication of distances (and number of siblings places), can you confirm the council has actually contacted the schools to publish the data and that the schools have refused?


Thank you and sorry to harangue you. I would ask Jasmine Ali, councillor for schools. Unfortunately my emails are ignored unless I put Helen Hayes and Harriet Harman in copy.

pk Wrote:

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> hpsaucey Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > pk Wrote:

> >

> --------------------------------------------------

>

> > But as rahrahrah says, the simpler the

> > better.

>

>

> I don?t agree


You think the more complex the system the better?

Monkey Wrote:

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

> Worldwiser, the current arrangements in Southwark

> are designed to cream off the top pupils and

> exclude the children of chaotic families. Nothing

> else. It?s a disgrace.


^this

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