school applications - reception in 2013

[etta166]

I know that there are a lot of threads on this already, but I can't find the answer to this question.

How do I find out how far I live from the main school gate of any given shool? Southwark and Lambeth council websites warn against using googlemaps or similar. They say that they use a special mapping system. So, how do I find out what answer this special system will give? It all seems a bit of a mystery and not very transparent to say the least!!

Thanks.

[espelli]

You may be able to phone Southwark admissions team and ask them to check for you. I know Lewisham used to do this for parents, I'm not sure if they still do but it's worth asking!

[etta166]

I contacted Southwark admissions team and received this useful answer:

"In terms of the measurement system, this is just a straight line meauresment between A and B which is known as the 'crow flies' . In regards to Bessmer Grange measurement to your address is 318miles"

Hmmm... I'm pretty sure I live closer than that to Bessemer Grange. I do live in Southwark, after all. I also live quite a lot more than 318 meters away, so I have no ideae what is going on! Oh dear, this does not bode well for the admssion process...

[redjam]

Ha! That's hilarious - and also rather worrying. As you say, doesn't bode well...

[etta166]

In the interests of fairness, I have now worked out that I live 0.318 miles from the school, not 318 miles from the school.

Not so bad after all :)

[esme]

Useful telephone number for Southwark team - bit late now but you can ask them to check your catchment area and calculate distance etc.

020 7525 5337

[etta166]

Thanks Esme. I will try that as I am still slightly worried about the answer I got by email.

A further development is that I had another email to say that the distance in metres is 450m. But I have worked out that 0.318 miles is 511m. I'm concerned about the inconsistency and mistakes.

[FatherJack]

When speaking with "Southwark Education Services" be mindful that you could be speaking with a call centre employee who deals with anything from refuse, council tax to education calls!

I'm speaking from experience! Last year I was told over the phone that I had "until the 31st August to appeal to the schools I had requested". THIS WAS AND IS INCORRECT.

[toffeese15]

You can try this site. Just type in your postcode and the postcode of the school and it will give you the distance as the crow files. Seems pretty foolproof.

http://www.freemaptools.com/distance-between-uk-postcodes.htm

[Renata Hamvas]

I would suggest using one of the web based tools as suggested in the post above. Be aware that last place distances change from year to year, particularly affected by bulge years and sibling numbers. I would suggest picking putting 6 local schools in your preference order. If you put your closest school second or third because you prefer other local schools that's fine, as it won't reduce your chance of a place being available at school 3, but it means they could be offered a place at school 1 or 2 if they have fewer siblings in the application cohort or they bulge. Be aware that all the C of E primaries have 50% intake of C of E Children and 50% Community intake. Catholic schools prioritise by Catholic Faith and distance. I do know that in the last couple of years there have been some community places in St Francesca Cabrini in Peckham Rye Ward and sometimes in William of York but I don't know about St Anthony's or St James the Great.

Renata

[etta166]

toffeese15 Wrote:

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

> You can try this site. Just type in your postcode

> and the postcode of the school and it will give

> you the distance as the crow files. Seems pretty

> foolproof.

>

> http://www.freemaptools.com/distance-between-uk-po

> stcodes.htm

Thanks for directing me to this tool. However, postcode is not accurate enough for working out school to front door distance. For example, the post code I have covers the entire side of my road, which is about 300m long. It's not a huge problem for something like satnav, but with lots of primary schools in Southwark a difference of 10 or 20m can make the difference between getting a place or not. I think that's why the Southwark website warns against using Web tools to measure the distance to your nearest school

I will persevere with the Southwark admissions team...

[Scrummymummy]

Ok, forget the council. Our daughter

started reception this year and we called

a few schools and one of the schools

said the most accurate tool to use

is daft logic. You can pin point your front door

with the front gate of the school - call the

school and double check where they measure

from.

www.daftlogic.com

Good luck