Secondary School admissions 2021

[whingeo]

Anyone else struggling with finding out about open days and admissions info for local schools this year? And can anyone share if the furthest admitted changed for the two Charter schools changed this year given that Charter East admitted more students?

I have now discovered videos on some of the school websites that give lots of useful information but it does need a bit of time putting aside to do so. A bit strange for children to apply to schools they may not have visited, but hey ho, strange times.

[kristymac1]

And can anyone share if the furthest

> admitted changed for the two Charter schools

> changed this year given that Charter East admitted more students?

Did Charter ED admit more students this year? I thought it was a 180 intake, same as for the last 2 years. Anecdotally I think the distance shrunk this year rather than increased.

[BellendenBear]

That?s what I thought too. At open day last year Charter ED said that their intake will increase possibly for 2021 but more likely for 2022. He catchment was smaller this year than last year but I don?t know the exact distances.

[hellosailor]

This is the info that Renata Hamvas posted about final distances for Charter ED in 2018 and 2019 if it?s helpful.

I have spoken directly with the person who deals with admissions at Charter ED. You are all pretty much correct but for different years! In 2018 the last place offered on distance on offer day was around a km. There was a lot of movement on the waiting list that year and by the start of term it had moved to more than 1.3km. In 2019 the last place offered was at 954m from the school. There was little movement on the waiting list so the places that came up went to children who had moved into the area after 31st October 2018 and lived closer than 954 or had secured a place under other criteria eg an older sibling got a place at the school or they were a previously looked after child or under SEN. The last place offered at the start of the school year in 2019 was approximately 1km, so significantly less than 2018. Something that could inpact this year is that there could be a increase in sibling numbers as the firat intake are currently in year 9 and a 2-3 year gap between siblings is common. The situation will change again in entry for 22 or 23 as the school plans to expand by 2FE then.

[hellosailor]

Charter ED have now updated their website and it says that the furthest distance offered for September 2020 was 761 metres. It?s not clear if that was before or after the shakedown but last year the catchment only grew by a handful of metres between offer day and September so its prob useful info whichever it is.

[Monkey]

Charter North?s distance as published on its website is after September shake-down. If there?s any method behind the madness, Charter ED should follow the same method.

[NEJ]

I see Harris Dulwich Boys is having an online open day event on Thurs 24th Sept, 6pm, according to their website https://www.harrisdulwichboys.org.uk/ - and there's a page of films and other info about the school for Year 6 parents.

I've found this website too https://www.southwark.gov.uk/schools-and-education/school-admissions/secondary-admissions/secondary-schools-open-days-and-evenings which has links to all local secondary school websites so I guess it's a case of checking the different websites to find out about what each school is doing about online events.

[SR]

I request that Renata publishes on this site the last distance for Harris Girls for each of the bands last year. For the sake of parents of Boys please publish that information too. thanks.

[wonderwoman]

Hi planning our daughter's application torn between either Charter ED or Harris girls? Any views much appreciated 😁

[Ole]

It?s still a mystery to me why all our neighbouring Boroughs help parents to make informed decisions by publishing historic distance data.

Meanwhile Southwark parents are left to guess.

Has anyone ever had a viable explanation from Southwark as to why they consider themselves different to every other nearby Borough?

[wonderwoman]

Thanks for the feedback👍🏼

[ianr]

> Has anyone ever had a viable explanation from

> Southwark as to why they consider themselves

> different to every other nearby Borough?

Why not just ask them for all the data you actually want -- I assume Southwark has it -- with, if you like, something like that question as a supplementary. Just make sure your request is drafted specifically and generally enough to get all the information you want or are likely to want, and isn't likely to cost Southwark more than the FOIA limit, currently ? ?450. https://www.gov.uk/make-a-freedom-of-information-request Then you could publish it here or somewhere else suitable, in a form easily easily findable by anyone searching for the information.

[kittysailing]

I think it?s really shocking that Southwark dont offer ?catchment? guidance. Lewisham sent a really clear email with exact catchment information. We are expected to choose schools for our kids having never set foot in any of them. There needs to be extra information published to assist with this difficult and impossible process.

[Ossito]

Ianr, I?ve made a FOI request previously. I was told that Southwark don?t hold the data, and I would have to request it from each school individually.

[ianr]

Ah, I hadn't realised that. In fact I'd assumed that if other councils had the information to hand it would be rather unlikely that Southwark would not have or feel a need to. Perhaps they're just being economically minded, and leaving the public collation bit for anyone who wants to do it.

[Soylent Green]

I think the difference is that Southwark does not have any local authority secondary schools. All the secondaries in Southwark are academies, who manage their own admissions criteria and waiting lists. Southwark council just assists in the allocation process - then everything goes back to the schools.

[SR]

Bromley print the last distance offered for each band for a Harris Academy in their jurisdiction.

[Ossito]

Wandsworth and Lambeth too...

[SamBe]

Soylent Green Wrote:

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

> I think the difference is that Southwark does not

> have any local authority secondary schools. All

> the secondaries in Southwark are academies, who

> manage their own admissions criteria and waiting

> lists. Southwark council just assists in the

> allocation process - then everything goes back to

> the schools.

I don?t believe this is true, the pan-London admissions process means that Southwark are responsible for allocating school places up to the start of the academic year,

No doubt they liaise with schools in the borough with respect to rankings in line with admissions policy, but they will hold all the information for all the schools and it?s disingenuous to suggest they can?t collate and provide the information.

[Monkey]

I?ve asked several times whether Southwark had actually approached the schools to publish these data and no answer. I?ve come to the conclusion that the schools and the council are against publishing this info.

Generally speaking, Southwark is not very proactive when it comes to school admissions. Lewisham sends email reminders throughout the process. Southwark sends a simple letter which I found crumpled at the bottom of my daughter?s school bag. Southwark has a lot to learn from Lewisham in terms of good practice.

[SamBe]

Monkey Wrote:

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

> I?ve asked several times whether Southwark had

> actually approached the schools to publish these

> data and no answer. I?ve come to the conclusion

> that the schools and the council are against

> publishing this info.

>

> Generally speaking, Southwark is not very

> proactive when it comes to school admissions.

> Lewisham sends email reminders throughout the

> process. Southwark sends a simple letter which I

> found crumpled at the bottom of my daughter?s

> school bag. Southwark has a lot to learn from

> Lewisham in terms of good practice.

For someone who has actually quoted school published distances in this thread your accusations of some great collusive cover up seems odd tbh.

I?m not even sure how published distances help that much when populations change year on year.

The admissions process and information is fairly well published on Southwarks website, https://www.southwark.gov.uk/schools-and-education/school-admissions/secondary-admissions

Look it up and put it in your calendar.

[Ossito]

Because there is plenty of evidence that lack of transparency in school admissions worsens educational inequalities and results in lots of public money being consumed by appeals, which might not be necessary had parents had easy access to the correct information in the first place.

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/the-school-appeals-system-is-cementing-inequalities-its-time-for-the-government-to-rethink-admissions/

Strange why a labour authority would want to make this problem worse.

[Monkey]

Do you work for Southwark, SamBe?

[hellosailor]

I thought it was a very peculiar response too Monkey...!

[SamBe]

Monkey Wrote:

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

> Do you work for Southwark, SamBe?

No I don?t. My first post in this thread questions Southwark not being able to publish distances as they manage the pan London admissions process.

I just find posts in this thread a little condemnatory to be honest, even when posting information from schools websites of their published distances it seemed accusatory for some reason. Apologies if not the intent.

On a personal note I have experience of 3 local secondaries and I read the quite clear information that is published on the Southwark site, so I felt that your ?crumpled letter in school bag? was a complaint about your primary schools communication in Year 6 not against Southwark nor secondaries.

The government implies there is choice, and parents consistently feel aggrieved when they realise that doesn?t mean you get the school you want. It?s choice over what you put on your list not what you get.

It doesn?t matter how much you want a school, or how clever or talented or anxious your child is, or what the distance was last year, it only matters who is applying this year and which admissions criteria applies to them.