Hints and tips for applying to a secondary school. For entry in September

Transcription

1 Hints and tips for applying to a secondary school For entry in September

2 Apply online: eadmissions The Pan-London eadmissions site opens on 1 September If your child is currently in Year 6 and born between 1 September 2004 and 31 August 2005, you will need to apply for a secondary school place by 31 October Apply online:

3 The benefits of applying online l It is quick and easy to do. l You can apply from any location with internet access 24 hours a day, seven days a week until the closing date, Saturday 31 October l You can log back on to change or delete preferences up until 11.59pm on the closing date. l You can register your mobile phone number to receive reminder alerts. l You will automatically receive a confirmation , with your application reference number, once you submit your application. l You are able to attach additional documents. l During the evening of Tuesday 1 March 2016, you will be sent an with the outcome of your application. Paper applicants will not know their result until they receive their letter in the post. l Once you have received this , you can log onto the Pan-London eadmissions website and accept or decline your offer. If you would prefer to complete a paper application form, these can be obtained from the admissions team. All applicants including those who applied online will receive a letter in the post with the outcome of their application on 2 March Apply online: 1

4 Where to obtain the information you need Each September, all local authorities must provide information for parents that sets out the admissions process and procedures. This has been produced to provide you with some basic hints and tips on the application process and is a first step towards obtaining more detailed information. Hammersmith & Fulham s Moving on up brochure about transferring to secondary school will be available online from 1 September 2015 at: schooladmissions A brochure can be requested from your primary school from 14 September Where possible, parents/carers are encouraged to access information online. You can also obtain more detailed information from each of the secondary schools by visiting their websites and attending open days/evenings. All the contacts you will need can be found in the brochure of the local authority where schools are located. 2 Apply online:

5 Research, research, research! You must do your research on the schools that you are interested in applying to. You can do this by: l Reading the admission criteria to find out if your child is likely to be offered a place, and look at how places were offered in the previous year. l Attending open days/evenings held at the schools. Dates and times for H&F schools are included in this leaflet. l Checking if the schools you want to apply to require your child to take a test. l Checking if the school requires additional forms to be completed. This would normally apply to church schools. l Speaking to your primary school head teacher. They will have experience based on previous transfers. l Contacting the admissions team for advice if you are unclear how the system works. Apply online: 3

6 Hints and tips for applying Familiarise yourself with the admission criteria for schools When you begin researching schools, you will need to read the admission criteria for the school you want to apply to. You must read the criteria carefully in order to assess the likelihood of your child being offered a place. Church schools will give priority to applicants that demonstrate practice of the respective faith and some schools may require your child to take a test. Hammersmith Academy for example, has a priority area and not all schools prioritise brothers and sisters in their criteria. You must consider these factors. In all cases, if a school receives more applications than places available, the school s admission criteria must be applied. There is no guarantee that your child will be offered a place at your preferred school, even if it is the closest school to where you live. 4 Apply online:

7 Be realistic: remember you can state up to six preferences Please remember that you can name up to six preferences. Even after you have researched the schools and you have decided where to apply, unless you are 100 per cent sure that your child will be offered a place (if, for example, there will be a brother or sister attending and this gives priority in the school s criteria), you should not assume that your child will be offered a place. You should also consider other schools where you know you will have a good chance of gaining a place. Naming other schools will not affect your chances of being offered a place at a higher preference school. Schools are not informed of other preferences you have made or the order in which you place them. Take special care how you order your preferences The preferences you make are treated equally. That means that no matter where you place a particular school in your list of preferences, it will be treated in the same way as all other applicants who also chose that school regardless of where they have placed the school on their list. The reason it is so important to list the schools in the order of your preference is that when results are returned to the admissions team, we may receive offers for more than one of your preferences. As only one offer can be made to your child, you will be offered the highest school possible from the list you provided. Any offers made lower in your list will be withdrawn and put back in the system. Apply online: 5

8 Do I need to provide additional information? There are some schools, usually church schools, which require you to complete a supplementary information form (SIF). The SIFs for Hammersmith & Fulham schools will be available from the individual schools and on the council website. The Moving on up secondary admissions brochure states which schools require a SIF and any other documents. The online system will alert you when you enter a preference for any school that requires additional forms to be completed. You must return the SIF and any other documents to the school, but make sure that you also submit the application itself, naming the school in your list of preferences. You must submit your application on time You must submit your application by Saturday 31 October If you are a Hammersmith & Fulham resident you will not be able to apply online after this date, and will need to request a paper form. If you submit your application form after this date without a valid reason, your application will be considered after all of those which were submitted on time. This will greatly affect your chances of being offered the school place you want. Will I definitely be offered one of my preferences? No. To increase your chances of being offered a place at one of your preferred schools, you must do your research on the admission criteria for the schools you are interested in. You should make sure you put at least one school on your list where you are reasonably certain your child meets the criterion (e.g. sibling already at the school and this is a priority in the school s criteria). For further advice you can speak to the admissions team or the school, who will be able to offer you guidance on the likelihood of your child being offered 6 Apply online:

9 You must submit your application by Saturday 31 October 2015 a place based on the information you provide. It is not possible to give any guarantee of the outcome of your application. What happens to the preferences that I have not been offered? Any preferences lower than the offered school will be withdrawn. You will automatically be placed on the waiting list for any higher preference schools that were not able to offer your child a place. You also have the right of appeal to an independent appeal panel against the decision not to offer your child a place at your preferred school(s). Apply online: 7

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11 Visiting dates for Hammersmith & Fulham schools ARK Burlington Danes Academy Open evening Thursday 1 October 5pm to 7.30pm (drop in) Fulham College Boys School Saturday 19 September at 9am to 12pm Thursday 24 September at 9am to 10.30am Wednesday 30 September at 4pm to 7pm Tuesday 6 October at 9am to 10.30am Fulham Cross Girls School Saturday 19 September at 9am to 12pm Thursday 24 September at 9am to 10.30am Wednesday 30 September at 4pm to 7pm Tuesday 6 October at 9am to 10.30am Continued over Apply online: 9

12 Hurlingham Academy Open evenings Thursday 10 September at 5.45pm to 8.30pm Thursday 24 September at 5.45pm to 8.30pm Thursday 15 October at 5.45pm to 8.30pm For these dates, the Executive Principal presentation will be at 6pm & tours at 6.45pm Hammersmith Academy Open evening Wednesday 7 October at 4pm to 8pm (Headteacher presentation at 5.30pm, 6.30pm & 7.30pm) Open mornings Friday 9 October Tuesday 13 October Thursday 15 October All at 9am to 11am (Headteacher presentation at 10am) Fair banding tests Saturday 21 November Saturday 28 November Open mornings Friday 11 September at 9.45am to 10.15am Friday 25 September at 9.45am to 10.15am Friday 16 October at 9.45am to 10.15am Tours Every Wednesday from 16 September at 9.45am to 10.30am Lady Margaret School Open days Thursday 8 October Friday 9 October Banding test Friday 20 November 10 Apply online:

13 Phoenix High School Wednesday 30 September 6pm to 8pm Executive Headteacher will speak at 7.15pm Tours of the school 9am on the following dates: Monday 21 September Tuesday 22 September Wednesday 23 September Monday 28 September Tuesday 29 September Wednesday 30 September Thursday 1 October Friday 2 October Banding test Saturday 5 December at 10am Sacred Heart High School org.uk Thursday 17 September and Wednesday 23 September: Morning session at 9.30am to 11am (Headteacher presentation at 10.40am) Evening session at 4pm to 6pm (Headteacher presentation at 5.30pm) The Fulham Boys Free School Open evening Thursday 1 October Open days Tuesday 6 October Wednesday 7 October Banding test Friday 20 November The London Oratory School Monday 7 September at 6.30pm Tuesday 15 September at 6.30pm Tuesday 22 September at 6.30pm Monday 28 September at 2.30pm West London Free School Open days will take place at 2 Bridge Avenue, London, W6 9JP Saturday 26 September at 10am to 4pm (six sessions of one hour each) Wednesday 30 September at 6pm to 8pm (two sessions of one hour each) Apply online: 11

14 West Secondary schools in Hammersmith & Fulham Willesden Junction 1 Burlington Danes Academy HARROW 2 Fulham Cross Girls School 3 Fulham College Boys School SCRUBS LANE 4 Fulham Enterprise Studio East Acton OLD OAK Stamford Brook ASKEW DU CANE 8 WEST WAY UXBRIDGE GOLDHAWK PADDE NSWICK Ravenscourt Park 12 5 BLOEMFONTEIN CONNINGHAM DALLING RD KING STREET GREAT 1 WEST Shepherd s Bush Market HAMMERSMITH BRIDGE Goldhawk Road HAMMERSMITH GROVE WOOD LANE SHEPHERDS BUSH Hammersmith White City Wood Lane SHEPHERDS A3220 BUSH GREEN 9 Hammersmith Broadway Shepherd s Bush HAMMERSMITH TALGARTH 13 Baron s Court Kensington Olympia NORTH West Kensington END 10 5 Hammersmith Academy 6 Hurlingham Academy 7 Lady Margaret School 8 Phoenix High School 9 Sacred Heart High School 10 The Fulham Boys Free School 11 The London Oratory School 12 West London Free School 13 William Morris Sixth Form Brompton FULHAM LILLIE PALACE DAWES LILLIE FULHAM Parsons Green Fulham Broadway 7 11 FULHAM KINGS Imperial Wharf NEW Crown copyright Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. L.B. HAMMERSMITH & FULHAM Licence No. LA This map is based upon Ordnance Survey material with the permission of the Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty s Stationery Office. PUTNEY BRIDGE Putney Bridge 6 WANDSWORTH BRIDGE WANDSWORTH BRIDGE 12 Apply online:

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16 Apply online: eadmissions The Pan-London eadmissions site opens on 1 September If your child is currently in Year 6 and born between 1 September 2004 and 31 August 2005, you will need to apply for a secondary school place by 31 October Information from this document can be made available in alternative formats and in different languages. If you require further assistance or more information, please use the contact details opposite. Admissions Team Green Zone, 2nd Floor Town Hall, Hornton Street W8 7NX [email protected] By:design June 2015 By:design Ref: 180_1at Printed by Hammerprint Printed on paper from sustainable sources