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Opinion: No longer is it just Kent’s grammars who are selective when it comes to secondary school places

More than one in every four parents has bent the rules, lied or played the system to get their child into their preferred school says a new study, which also warns that number is rising.

It is news that comes in the same week as my colleague Gerry Warren revealed the application numbers for each secondary school and the impact poor Ofsted inspections can have when it comes to attracting interested families.

So much can influence where a child may go to secondary school now that many sites set their own criteria. Image: iStock.
So much can influence where a child may go to secondary school now that many sites set their own criteria. Image: iStock.

No longer is it just the presence of the 11-plus that makes choosing a school place in the county difficult.

In recent years the entire system has become increasingly complicated - a minefield in fact - and one which I’m sure many families still struggle to fully understand.

In Kent parents can currently pick four possible secondary schools in order of preference - in Medway that figure is six.

For starters that means having to get to grips with each individual school’s differing admissions policy - and critically the criteria it will apply to choose children if they’re oversubscribed, which many will be with every family able to list multiple settings.

Enabling many schools to take charge of their own destiny, and set their own admission rules, has also subsequently introduced a stringent selection process and competition for places once associated only with grammar schools.

Long gone are the days of just putting your name down at the local school. Image: iStock.
Long gone are the days of just putting your name down at the local school. Image: iStock.

Where I live, my children’s nearest secondary is less than half a mile away, yet it lists ‘Nearness to school’ in position eight of its criteria.

Pupils demonstrating at interview an aptitude in other subjects such as sport or performing arts - as well as those living miles away in particular rural postcodes - would beat us to a place despite the school gates being just an eight minute stroll door to door.

There are also academy trusts offering priority to children who can pass apptitude tests in core subjects like maths or those that can demonstrate exceptional ability in music or the playing of an instrument for example.

As a result giving parents greater choice now sees families criss-crossing towns or entire districts to find a school, where ability can be just as much of a deciding factor as your postcode.

Choosing a Reception place can feel like a really big choice if it can influence your choice of secondary school. iStock image.
Choosing a Reception place can feel like a really big choice if it can influence your choice of secondary school. iStock image.

The development of academies has also created numerous ‘feeder’ primaries, which can automatically offer secondary school places to current Year 6 pupils schooled by the same Trust.

Not only does this shrink the number of available spaces to ‘outsiders’ - including those perhaps living just a few streets away - but it also places additional pressure on parents of four-year-olds, where their choice for Reception could ultimately dictate where a child sits their GCSEs many years later.

Such stiff competition for places means the responsibility of getting it right weighs heavy on the minds of many, with considerable onus now on parents to do the research, to find out about school specialisms and where their children might ‘fit’ in priority order before making a choice that stretches far past which school they simply liked best.

Long gone, it seems, are the days of putting your name down at the local primary or secondary and just accepting a place.

But does it really offer parents greater choice and a better alternative?

Or simply create a system where parents are prone to cheating and a school’s popularity, and therefore its admission figures, fluctuate like the wind - or with one disappointing Ofsted grade?

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