Did you get your first choice 2016 primary school? Post Reply

[PeanutButter]

If anyone got into Belleville c.400m away or further, please could you comment? Just curious if last years' wider catchment area was a fluke. Thank you!

My little one started reception last year. We are 536m from Belleville and when the results came out last year we were number 21 on the waiting list. We got a place the day before the school term started in September at The Meteor site. I'm very grateful to the parents that didn't take a place and decided to go private as my little one loves it and Meteor site is amazing. I think I'm the furthest parent away in the class and I do drive which is very ungreen but to try and do drop off and pick up and get to work on time with a tired 4 year old is challenging.

To those parents who know they don't need the place they've been allocated do let the council know as there will be a very very grateful parent who will be so pleased to accept the place and can buy uniforms and arrange meet ups over the summer with potential new classmates and not be frantically checking the waiting list website and wondering which uniform to buy.
Good luck to everyone

[Wandsworth Council]

A record number of parents applied for a place at a Wandsworth primary school this September as the popularity of the borough’s schools continues to rise.

Parents were told the outcome of their applications on Monday. Every child who needs a place at a Wandsworth school has been offered one.

The total number of applications from borough residents reached 3,233 - a 4.6 per cent increase on the previous year and a new record high.

The total number of school preferences rose to 11,005 – an increase of 1.7 per cent on last year.

Overall 96 per cent of parents were offered one of their preferences, with 77 per cent offered their first choice school and 90 per cent offered one of their first three choices.

In total 3,191 places were offered at Wandsworth schools, of which 3,038 were offered to borough residents. The number of places offered to applicants from neighbouring areas was 153.

There were 160 applicants who were not offered one of their preferred choices, but all have been offered a place at an alternative school within reasonably close proximity to their homes. There are currently 183 vacancies across 11 primary schools in the borough.

Wandsworth schools are hugely popular with parents because of their high quality of teaching and learning. Nearly every single child being taught in a Wandsworth school is attending either a good or an outstanding one, according to education standards watchdog Ofsted.

A recent report from Ofsted into the quality of schools and teaching in London found that 96 per cent of Wandsworth’s primary schools were assessed as either good or outstanding. This is the capital’s second highest quality rating.

Education spokesman Cllr Kathy Tracey said: “Parents in Wandsworth have some really excellent schools to choose from.

“Our primaries continue to strongly outperform others across the country, including London, and this is testament to the inspired work of headteachers, teachers, teaching assistants and governors to deliver the best possible education to our young people.”

Parents who did not secure a place at the top school of their choice can apply to go on its waiting list. While there may not be a place there today, the position may change over the course of the coming weeks and months as some parents decide not to accept the offers they have received or move away from the borough.

For more information, help and advice call (020) 8871 7316 or email admissions@wandsworth.gov.uk

[Scottov]

anyone with knowledge of the internal war between Oftsed and ISI, relating to how little resource and thin the inspection regime Ofsted dedicates to its schools would be less encouraged about how robust Ofsted adjudications are.

the point being, they are not able to properly implement DFE requirements, so your outstanding school may not be amazing, and your poor school might be better than you think. take your experience on face value, and don't allow others to second guess or invalidate what you see yourself.

in any case, there a couple of things to remember:

1. there is no correlation between class size and academic attainment.

There is little correlation between class sizes and exam results in senior schools and only a modest effect in primary/prep schools. This has been shown at the international level by the OECD/PISA research. Furthermore, in the US, a decision to decrease class sizes led to a FALL in results because smaller classes required more teachers so the best teachers were spread more thinly.

In 2015 Professor John Hattie at the University of Melbourne reported that reducing class size has a ‘very small’ effect on the quality of teaching. He considered the evidence from a total of 113 studies in developed nations – including the UK, the US and Europe – over the last 25 years.

Much of the research in England is summarised here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... -RR169.pdf

The major source of evidence from England, the CSPAR study, did not identify a positive impact of smaller classes on attainment beyond Year 2. So there is no firm evidence of a relationship between class size and results.

What determines results is teacher quality, not set size. And having a small number of excellent teachers is better that a larger number of varying quality.

2. at the primary level, before the age of 11, schooling is as much about socialisation as academic attainment. The idea that DD or DS is going to be set back from their (or your) social mobility aspirations by not getting into your first choice primary is mainfestly untrue.

An engaged parent will achieve far better results, particularly at primary level, than trying to game the system into getting access to a supposedly 'better' school.

the media has a lot to answer for in stoking up fears.

[szerma]

I just noticed the results of 2016 admissions are now on the Wandsworth council website:

http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/downloads/ ... _allocated

Belleville - 396 metres
Honeywell - 242 metres

Best,
M

[Moop]

It does feel like the issue of the area between broomwood and nightingale, quite rightly called a "no mans land" by another user, needs addressing somehow.

It doesn't seem right that parents in this grid are facing a schlep beyond Honeywell and possibly even Belleville to the next closest school.

[Bellybean]

Interesting with five classes of 30, Belleville is slightly tighter than Honeywell this year. Given 80m per class in the latter, B'V should be at least 400m. Still not sure with 150 pupils how the parts at Christmas in years 1 and 2 will be allocated....

[papinian]

Interesting with five classes of 30, Belleville is slightly tighter than Honeywell this year. Given 80m per class in the latter, B'V should be at least 400m. Still not sure with 150 pupils how the parts at Christmas in years 1 and 2 will be allocated....

I don't mean to be critical, but this post shows why so many foreigners feel maths education in English schools is severely lacking.

The distances used for school catchment areas are radii. The distance given equates to a circle with the school at its centre and a radius of the relevant distance. The area of a circle is pie times the square of the radius. Belleville's catchment area is 2.68 times Honeywell's catchment area. However, Belleville's intake this year is only 1.67 times Honeywell's intake.

These figures suggest that, contrary to what Bellybean says, those parents in the area where the Honeywell and Belleville catchment areas overlap are preferring Honeywell over Belleville.

[Bellybean]

I don't disagree with Papinian esp as the Maths I did at University was way back in the mid '90s. In fact the admissions in 2013 were similarly tight in that the furthest distance for Honeywell was c230m for 3 classes and for Belleville it was 240m for 4 classes. It's just interesting that 150 pupils can be taken from within 390m. Last year the distance for first round offers was longer and that was for four classes.

[Vista]

Just checked the Council waiting list and we are 98 for Honeywell, 82 for Belleville and 19th for Allfarthing. So, if we want to send our child to an outstanding school, we will have to pay, as with the vast majority of other families in our road. Good thing I thought ahead and have paid the £4,000 deposit for a private school place. Why can't all local state schools be supported to be outstanding? That would take away the whole darn scramble.

[papinian]

Why can't all local state schools be supported to be outstanding? That would take away the whole darn scramble.

This reminds me of Garrison Keillor quote about how in Lake Wobegon "all the children are above average".

The problem with Between the Commons is that so many parents of pre-school age children move there for the two primary schools there are not enough places. This year there are 240 places. It's not a case of a shortage of supply, it's a case of excess demand.

[sw1234]

Vista - what school did you get offered out of interest? There are lots of great schools in Wandsworth that haven't got "outstanding" ofsteds for one reason or another e.g timings given the increased ofsted requirements. While league tables should be looked at with some scepticism there are some recently good rated schools that are giving Belleville and Honeywell a run for their money in terms of SATS results!

[papinian]

Vista - what school did you get offered out of interest? There are lots of great schools in Wandsworth that haven't got "outstanding" ofsteds for one reason or another e.g timings given the increased ofsted requirements. While league tables should be looked at with some scepticism there are some recently good rated schools that are giving Belleville and Honeywell a run for their money in terms of SATS results!

Vista can't be that interested in SATS results because the 2015 SATS results at Allfarthing put it in the bottom quartile of Wandsworth primary schools. Allfarthing's last Ofsted (2013) ranked it as "good" rather than "outstanding" but Vista doesn't seem to be aware of that. And if Vista cared so much about access to an outstanding school, there are at least two outstanding schools in the borough which didn't fill all their places.

[TLS]

It sounds like you would prefer to send your children to private schools Vista, which is an entirely fair choice. If you would prefer not to do so, I would recommend you visit your other local schools and make a personal judgment without focusing only on a single ofsted rating. Speak to parents who have children at those schools and find out how they feel their children are progressing and learning, and how they feel about being at school. You may be surprised. Remember that Belleville and Honeywell last had an Ofsted inspection before children who are now starting school were even born and there is much more to any school than what is published in inspection reports or league tables. The same is just as true for private schools as state. I wish you and your children well whatever you decide.

[Tom&Jerry]

Hi,
Everyone seems to be talking about Belleville and Honeywell.
Anyone here has heard about Hillbrook Primary School in Tooting?
Our daughter has been offered a place there ( our 2nd choices) and now we might have a choice of 2 schools in the end as she will probably get our 1st school ( Furzedown Primary) choice too as we are high up on the waiting list.
Is there anyone here can give us any suggestions and advice please?

Thanks.

[Scottishdad]

Yes, we got our first choice which was earlsfield primary. Only 15 non-sibling/state priority places offered out of 60 though, so the initial catchment area is down to just over 200m. Smacks of bad planning from Wandsworth council to not factor in the effect of 2 extra bulge classes a few years ago which mean there are lots of sibling places being sought now.