State secondary schools further afield - any advice?

[redjam]

Samstopit - Kingsdale does both music and sports scholarships (nothing to stop your kid trying for both). Prendergast Hilly Fields (girls) do music scholarships. As do Haberdasher Aske's Hatcham (mixed). Not aware of any others locally.

The admissions process for Kingsdale regarding scholarships is virtually incomprehensible - it's all up on their website but it's really not very clear how it all works (well, not to me anyway). We had a letter saying my daughter has been awarded a half-scholarship there but it doesn't seem to increase her chances of getting a place at all. Or not much. God knows. But they seem to have a good music tuition scheme if you do get in by whatever means, so that was why we went for it.

With Prendergast and Habs it's much clearer - if you're in the top 20 (Habs) or top 12 (Prendergast) you will definitely be offered a place, and if you're not you're told where you are on the waiting list and how far it extended the previous year (i.e. not everyone takes up their scholarship place because they decide to go somewhere else, so they keep offering them down the list in order after the initial offers have gone out/been rejected). This then gives you a good idea if your child will get in via this route or not so you can make a decision whether to include it in your choices.

Be warned - as the scholarship process all has to be completed before the final application deadline, you need to get your act together to apply quite early, for all the schools. Good luck!

[nunheadmum]

Samstopit - the music scholarship tests etc all start to happen mid-end of September so that decisions can be made and candidates informed before they submit their Application Forms to the central system. So I'd suggest reading up on it and visiting the schools when your kids are Year 5 if you think it may be an option you want to pursue - or be ready to get up and running as soon as they're back in Year 6.

[samstopit]

Thanks so much redjam and nunheadmum. I will start looking into it.

Do you know, if my eldest gets a sports / music scholarship, would his younger sibling get a sibling place at the school? Or are sibling places only given to children who get in through the normal admissions criteria?