Dear All:

Well we're just a few short weeks away from knowing which school has been offered. On March 1st some will have everything settled - happily. Some will be adjusting to disappointing news about their higher choices. Others will be somewhat in limbo.

First off - because I think in the worry about what happens next we often forget to embrace what is wonderful about our present - do take time to enjoy this half-term, when everything is still possible and everybody is hopeful. If you can take some time out to really enjoy your 10 or 11 year old - at a time when they still want to be around you and are not mortified that you don't understand what they're talking about, etc.... Trust me all too soon doing something with Mum [sorry should add or DAD] will be the last thing they're interested in - unless of course you're taking them somewhere they want to go (an amusement park/ the cinema/ etc...) or are off to buy them something....

Second - and I really think it is important to stress this - whatever the outcome your child is exactly the same wonderful kid they have always been! There are many roads to success and it is very important to understand that a grammar school (or an independent school) is not the only path to success.

So - here we are - if you are anything like I was, you've probably been checking this website for news, discussion or ideas about what the cut off might be, how wait lists might work, when you might hear the news, etc.... There have been lots of posts and there are historic posts from which you can more or less gauge when and where people heard the news first (lucky Solihull!).

February 28th/ March 1st will roll around very swiftly and honestly, from this side of the process, you do instantly forget all the waiting and anxiety over which school regardless of outcome.

My top tips are these (hastening to add this is very much from a Birmingham perspective):

The on-line secondary transfer system will update your application from about 8 a.m. on March 1st. Dust off your username/ password - and try signing in just before the school run.

E-mails confirming the offer come out in batches throughout March 1st. If memory serves I received mine late afternoon.

You may have selected notification by mail with Birmingham City Council (not sure if this was still offered this year) - if you have letters may arrive March 1st - but I know some friends didn't receive the letter from the City Council confirming the offer until the next day.

You will also receive a welcome pack from the highest choice school which your child meets criteria (11+ score/ distance/ etc...). There will be lots of information & forms to fill in. My advice is keep this information all together in a safe place (maybe in a brightly coloured folder) - because you may not instantly fill in forms.

There will be a deadline by which time you have to accept the place offered. Know that you can accept an offered school place but remain on a wait list for a school higher up your secondary preferences list. (e.g. you may have been offered choice 3 and have two other schools higher up - which you will be automatically wait listed for by whatever criteria - 11+ score for grammars & distance for grammars/ non-selective schools).

Birmingham City Council will maintain all wait lists until end December - at which point each individual school will maintain wait lists. Many people opt to stick with the school that has been offered and do not remain on the wait lists after December - so if you are high up on the wait list numbers (< position 25 say) it may be worth it to contact the school(s) you are interested in before end of term Dec 2017 and let them know you want to be maintained on the wait list after December. (I say this because I am aware for the last two years that there have been late entries into grammar schools where children on the wait list have been offered a place starting January of Year 7).

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If it isn't a grammar school - or the one you wanted

Know that you will feel disappointment, anger, envy, embarrassment, concern, etc... sometimes simultaneously - but also know that it is incredibly important you are outwardly positive about the next school your child will be going to - especially around your child. Sure it won't have the kind of average GCSE scores a grammar might - but then it doesn't have the same intake, does it?

Start talking to people at the school - at our school for example, it is clear that gradually over KS3 more able pupils are streamed into 'top sets' and that the scope and challenge of lessons is quite demanding. Also know that being confident - so being a high achiever in your school environment - does reinforce positive attributes like ambitious future plans, desire to go on to a University, confidence to take on challenging GCSE/ A Level topics, etc.... My experience of an ordinary state non-selective has been that it really values hard working, bright pupils and does a lot for them. You can also succeed in that environment - genuinely!

Whatever the outcome March 1st I wish you and your little minnows all the very best.

OT

Thank you so much for that insightful post OT. Just what I needed to read. Really enjoying my wonderful 10yr old son, he is delight. Whether or not his score was enough to get into his preference of HGS remains to be seen. I do honestly feel now that he wil make a success of wherever he goes.

Here's to half term!

Margo

Thanks for the wonderful post OT.

What a thoughtful post!

It should be a sticky ...

If, like me, you aren't in this region but are reading this anyway, please check how your LA handles waiting lists etc.

Brilliant post OT, thank you.

Done

I was here this time last year.

Just one thing to add, I was mortified last year reading parents describing their child as 'failing' when the score wasn't in the desired range. People actually thought their children were failures. Life carries on, and things happen for a reason. My DD didn't get into KEFW, but we survived. She's happy and settled where she is and her last school report was outstanding.

So, your children will never be failures, ever.

Enjoy half term everyone ***

Gosh - the heady heights of a sticky. Thanks guys.

I've strolled down memory lane and found this

https://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/11plus/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=45934&start=50

Last year on 29 Feb (yes it was a leap year) Solihull found out at around 6 p.m. (See post by tired mama)

So if you are in Solihull - whether it is good news or not (and remember that not making the cut off means you are automatically on a wait list so it is in your interest to learn the lowest score for entry) please post your score whether it made entry or not so people can start to gain a picture of what the results might be.

By 7 p.m. On Feb 29th 2016 I knew that 234 wasn't enough for CHG and that 235 might just cut it or be high on the waitlist for score + distance. So thank you tiredmama for your post. Your initial disappointing news helped all of us gauge the cut off and ultimately meant you were high up the waitlist. If memory serves your DD was ultimately offered a place at CHG.

I can't bump the results feed - it's locked but maybe a moderator can make it and the 2016 waitlist discussions stickies to help 2017 entry parents this year & future years.

Best of luck everybody (and that's as much for parents coping with their nerves or their Kids gaining entry to a grammar)

OT

Thank you OldTrout



The 2016 entry waiting list discussion can be seen in full here: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=46101

This is not a missive, but a lesson learned to bear in mind.

This last time year, we thought first choice school was a done deal, as son had way over the previous years entry scores. Sloppy admin errors by the KEG foundation meant our scores weren't sent to first choice school. DS received his second choice school. In the end I had to call my local LEA Warwickshire, KEGS, and Bham Council LEA. They all passed the buck amongst each other. I had to get to the bottom of it myself. In the end I had to take ownership, take a day off work, ring around, gather names and recap things in email to all parties. By the end of the day, my son regained his rightful first place school. So, if something stinks in the process, then challenge it. But, be prepared to do the donkey work yourself, as there is too much at stake. Btw, Warks and Bham LEAs were great in the process. So, too was the KEGS Office once they realised the error lay firmly on their door-step - and had no choice but to 'fess' up.