Year 5 and 6 parents- secondary schools

[Renata Hamvas]

Secondary school forms need to be submitted by the 31st October 2012 for children currently in year 6. On-line submission is now open.

Information about Southwark admissions is here:

http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200172/school_admissions

during the next month or so, secondary schools will hold open days/evenings. I strongly recommend that year 5 parents go and look at schools as well as year 6 parents. I would suggest parents only in year 5 and parents and children visiting a short list of schools in year 6. Please remember you have 6 choices, and do use them as being offered a place at your 4th or 5th choice school is better than being allocated a place by your LA.

The vast majority of parents who contacted me following allocation day had applied to 3 or fewer schools. Please look carefully at admissions criteria (eg do they allocate by distance or random allocation or on religious grounds) and prospectuses, these should be available on school websites. You may apply to schools both inside and outside the Borough on your CAF form. You should fill in the CAF form for the brough you reside in rather than the borough your child's school is in.

Please put your 6 schools in your order of preference. Schools do not know what position you put them in on the CAF form. They just get notified if you have applied to them and they respond whether they can offer you a place. You will be offered one place, by the school highest on your list that has responded that they can offer your child a place.

Check whether any supplementary forms are required for the school. Some schools have banding tests, it is important that your child attends these as the majority of secondaries offer places within a banding system, so without sitting the test, your child is unlikely to be offered a place at that school. Look at previous no of applicants at a school, some schools are very oversubscribed which could mean that your child has only got a low chance to secure a place at that school. Some schools have places allocated to children with a particular talent or ability. Many academically selective schools have their exams in September so that you know the result before the submission date. Be aware that often there are more children passing selective tests than there are places at a school.If you have 6 choices it is fine to have some long shots, but make sure there are some realistic choices schools on your list. If you eg live in Southwark, I would suggest looking at Lambeth and Lewisham schools too. Look at travel times /distances to get to a school. Travel by bus is currently free for children, but you need to pay for the train. You may find however that if you live close to one of the local train stations that this brings many more options for possible schools into the equation.

I shal post more information over the next few weeks.

Renata

[Renata Hamvas]

Open Days/Evenings have started in ernest this week, remember you have 6 places on your CAF form for filling!

Open Evenings today:

Kingsdale Foundation School 5.30-8pm (6 other sessions )

City of London Academy (only chance if you haven't gone!)5-7pm

Harris Girl's Academy ED (5-9pm, 4 more sessions)- I'm delighted to report that every girl passed at least 5 GCSEs at C or above this year!

Thursday 20th

Harris Academy@Peckham 9.30-11am

Harris Academy Bermondsey 8.50am

Saturday 22nd

Kingsdale Foundation School 11am-1pm

details of all Southwark's Open days are on page 7 and 8 on the starting Secondary booklet.

http://www.southwark.gov.uk/downloads/download/2484/secondary_school_admissions

Lambeth's Open days can be found here, look at page 13

http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/EducationLearning/SchoolsColleges/SecondarySchoolAdmissionsForThe201314AcademicYear.htm

Lewisham's Open days can be found here

http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/education/schools/school-admission/applying-to-start-secondary-school/Pages/Secondary-school-open-days.aspx

Renata

[Carbonara]

Cllr Hamvas, you do a great job supporting parents in this schools application process.

Good luck to all appplicants this year!

[Renata Hamvas]

Thanks Carbonara!

Please, check websites for admissions criteria, visit schools, I recommend with your children if they are in year 6 and use your 6 choices wisely, schools do not know the application order and it's good to have a safety net if long shots are unsuccessful! Be aware that last place offered distances can shrink or expand and that where schools select by random allocation (lottery), it can inflate the no of applicants, meaning the % chance for each applicant is reduced!

Renata

[Renata Hamvas]

Open days are still going on for another week or so, (some tonight ) click on the links above to find out when. Remember you can go cross borough boundaries and it's good to have 6 schools on your list as it's better to receive an offer from a low ranked choice than to be allocated a school.

Renata

[prickle]

Just noticed that Charter has put its safe-walking distance map on its website.

[emilydrab]

Yes thank you Renata, you helped me so much last year. I didn't get any of my top choices, but was offered Deptford Green. You told me to give it a chance, and I visited and was blown away! DG has ended up to be the most wonderful school I could have imagined. My son is in year 7 and absolutely LOVES it - it's so warm and friendly with fantastic, empowering teachers and a wonderfully engaged head. Very, very happy!!!! So a message to all you year 6 parents, don't worry too much about what the playground gossip tells you is the "best school" - go visit (and do visit Deptford Green)!

[Curmudgeon]

prickle Wrote:

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

> Just noticed that Charter has put its safe-walking

> distance map on its website.

That isn't Charter's catchment though. It's just a large circle round their location. Eta they do stress no catchment area on their website to be fair. I don't actually understand what help that map is

[prickle]

>

> That isn't Charter's catchment though. It's just a

> large circle round their location. Eta they do

> stress no catchment area on their website to be

> fair. I don't actually understand what help that

> map is

If you look at the map closely there are lines with dots which shows the routes that are included in the safe walking route. You are right that Charter does not have a catchment and to be fair the map does not mention catchment in the blurb.

[Curmudgeon]

Am I going mad? Does that map not include the footpath by sainsburys? I thought that was the appeal that was upheld last year that moved the intake away from the east and towards the north?

[prickle]

The appeal was the cutthrough between Dylways and Wanley Road and it is marked on this map.

[Curmudgeon]

Aha thanks prickle

Still think the size of that circle is misleading but don't blame them for it

[glenfruin]

Hi,

I would like to pick up on the point of completing all 6 choices on the CAF form rather than running the risk of being allocated a school by the LA should you only fill out a few.I personally know of 2 families who filled out all 6 choices and got none and were allocated schools by the LA.One family being allocated a religious school and they were not religious!

[Carbonara]

glenfruin Wrote:

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

> Hi,

> I would like to pick up on the point of

> completing all 6 choices on the CAF form rather

> than running the risk of being allocated a school

> by the LA should you only fill out a few.I

> personally know of 2 families who filled out all 6

> choices and got none and were allocated schools by

> the LA.One family being allocated a religious

> school and they were not religious!

The point here is to fill out the CAF including one school which you stand a v good chance of getting in to. I don't know what the families you mention did but I know people who put down 6 'choices' ALL of which were very long shots in terms of the admissions criteria they could meet, and as none of those schools could offer them a place they ended up being allocated another school. The LA doesn't find you a school off your list - the schools on your list tell the LA whether or not they can offer you a place based on their admissions criteria.

Some people live in areas between 'catchments' so it is harder or they have less choice, or no security that their nearest school will admit them.

[Otta]

If anyone has a child with a SEN, and requires transport to school, please check with Southwark whether you need to reapply when the child goes to secondary. I work for Newham SEN, and in this borough transport does NOT automatically carry over to a new school, and as a result we get a lot of angry phone calls in September from people who didn't know to, or forgot to reapply.

[Renata Hamvas]

Well said Carbonara!

Put down your 6 schools, and try to put a couple which you have a very good chance of getting into. Schools that operate a randon allocation system (eg Kingsdale and Bacon's, later with catchment) it's a lottery system mainly depends on luck. Look at previous last place offered distances and be aware that these can shrink eg Charter, Walworth and Harris Boy's did last year, but could also go up too. No of siblings, SEN and where applicants live impacts on this.

Do look at outside borough as well as in-borough schools. Look at transport links, eg very easy to get to Deptford Green (New Cross, mixed new build Lewisham school) by ELL/Overground from Honor Oak Park or Peckham Rye from December.

Do remember all supplementary forms and that your child will need to sit the school's banding test if they have one. Eg boys who didn't sit the Harris banding test went to the end of the queue for places never mind how close they live to the school. If yor child is ill and can't make the assessment, communicate with the school as they usually have a second date for children in that situation. Be aware for selective schools such as Grammar's that more children pass the test than there are places, so a pass doesn't neccessary equate to a place. The same is true of some other types of selection by schools eg Kingsdale scholarship passes.

I know that it is stressful and a difficult process to whittle down the list to six schools and to put them in order. It's all on-line for Southwark this year. Remember, staff at your child's primary, Liam White (school prefernce advisor)- [email protected] and yor local councillors can help you if you need it.

Renata

[prickle]

Thank you for this Renata, very clear and helpful.

I wonder what is your view if a child has a sibling at a school (that has a sibling policy)? A place is surely guaranteed? Do you still need to choose 5 other schools, given that even if you put them down 'just in case' your child may have to attend several banding assessments to schools that they are not likely to go to.

[simonethebeaver]

Good point on transport, Otta. Southwark DOES require you to reapply when you change schools.

[Renata Hamvas]

Hi Prickle,

in your case, the school has a sibling poicy so you shoudl get a place for your child in their elder sibling's school. In general, I would suggest that parents check this on a school by school basis as not all schools have a sibling policy.

Firstly, make sure that you tick the sibling box, many parents each year forget and go through a stressful time waiting for a waiting list/appeal to come up trumps. I would suggest visiting and putting down a couple of other schools for a younger sibling. Yes, this means then taking a couple more banding tests, but it's probably probably not a bad experience to go and sit a test with a room full of strangers as oftern secondaries do their own tests at the September for banding (usually schools don't go just on SATs results) at a time when they don't know their peer group very well. Also, this could give your child a greater feeling of ownership in their school application, it they help decide on 2/3..... .

Only a couple of weeks to go before forms must be in! Most open days are over. If you missed one for a school you are thinking to put down, it's always worth contacting the school to see if they are able/willing to let you visit.

Renata

Thanks, Otta

[prickle]

Thanks Renata. Sensible advice, particularly about sitting the banding tests?

[Renata Hamvas]

Extra Open Mornings/evening at Deptford Green

I have been informed that Deptford Green are holding an event for prospective students on Thursday 18th October from 5pm to 7pm. This will be an informal ?activity/social? event with a range of activities (PE, Drama, Art, Mandarin) for the children to participate in and a chance to meet staff and see the school. The activities will run in half hour sessions from 5.00 to 5.30, 5.30 to 6.00, 6.00-6.30, 6.30-7.00. Chilren can participate in one or more sessions. Please email the school(by Tuesday 16th October) to let them know you are coming and what time you hope to attend.

[email protected]

They also have additional tours at 9.15am every morning between now and half term.

These are not in the Lewisham Secondary booklet.

Renata

[prickle]

Hi Renata, do you have any news on Kingsdale's GCSE results? Have they been released yet? If not please can you make enquiries? CAF deadline is looming... Thank you.

[intexasatthe moment]

Doesn't look as though the GCSE results will be made public before the deadline .

Sure I read somewhere that parent visiting the school open day had been told by the head that the results would be out in a couple of weeks .

[Renata Hamvas]

I will contact them.

Renata

[Renata Hamvas]

Have contacted Kingsdale and waiting to hear back from them.

Renata