Move closer to secondary school - do it now or wait?

klmwong

Hiya,

A bit of advice needed please.

The council has recently changed the way primary sch pupils are allocated to the secondary schools. Before it was a feeder school system so our school was one of the feeder schools for a particular secondary and that was fine. You knew what was going on? You knew where your child was going in year 7.

It's all changed now so if the school is oversubscribed (which it is) the new pupils are chosen using a list of criteria such as children in care get priority, siblings attend the same sch etc etc. However, for "normal" children it basically boils down to the distance as the crow flies from your home to the new school.

We are right on the outer edge and there is a very good chance that the very closest ones in the area might get in but the ones that live half a mile away in the same area probably won't so we are thinking about moving home so we are much closer to the secondary school so it won't be a "will we or won't we get in?" issue.

Two weeks ago I registered with the local estate agencies. My eldest is finishing year 3 so seeing as you don't need to apply tilthe autumn term of year 5 I thought we had just over 2 years to look and find and buy a new home. No pressure, no major worries. I didn't expect to find anything.

However, we have found a lovely 4 year old house in a brand new housing estate which is 0.9 miles from the school. The area wasn't on my wish list but after looking at houses in my wish list area I am happy to compromise. A kitchen diner was a deal breaker for me and the hubby wanted a garage and it's all there in this house. There are certain things I would have preferred such as 2 downstairs rooms (1 for children's stuff and one for grown up stuff) and good sized bedrms but we might be able to do a loft conversion and deal with those two sticking points.

The people in the house are looking to sell quickly as they have found a house which will be ready in sept. They have no upward chain, we are at the end of our chain so it would all be nice and easy (ish).

However, it's all happened so quickly. Two weeks ago I was leisurely registering at the estate agent not expecting anything and now we have found a gorgeous house which we are both happy with.

In a nutshell, should we buy it? There might not be another house that ticks all the boxes like this? We have viewed 8 or 9 others and this one is far and away the best. Before all this happened I was perfectly happy with my current house. No plans to move and even now I wish we didn't have to. If it wasn't for the council's new admissions policy and the need for us to move closer I wouldn't want to.

I am assuming that the council will not change their decision back to the feeders school system and there is a slim chance that we already live close enough to get one of the last few places at the school but as it has a capacity of apx 350 a year and is usually oversubscribed by 2 to 1 it's a chance. If we don't get into this particular school the nearest to my current house is a totally rubbish school in a deprived area and we would have to cross a major arterial road to get there so I wouldn't be able to let the young uns walk to sch on their own.

Anyway, what should I do? It is all happening so fast.

cte1111

Is your own house on the market?

klmwong

We have a mortgage on our current home but can pay it off easily. We are going to remortgage as a buy to let and rent this out and live in our new place. The finances work and we have a mortgage in principle agreed and the mortgage advisor is happy.

katglasgow

I live in Scotland so not sure how the year numbers relate but we have just moved house with a view to changing cat hment for secondary school. My son is in p5 so he will have 2 years in his new area before mo Ing up to secondary I felt this was the perfect time as he will have time to get confident about making friends in our area before having to deal with secondary school.

cte1111

If you think you'd all be happier at the other house and your figures stack up, then why not? Go for it. Would your children still be able to go the same primary school?

pigpen

Here they take your address into account during the year the forms are sent in to transfer.. so moving now is fine.. the council just got sick of people taking out 6 month leases in a certain area so they could get a place at the better schools then moving back out of the area once their child had a place their new criteria means you have to have been living in the area for around 18 months before the places are allocated.

If you are happy with the new house and have a plan for yours.. go for it!

I live in the catchment for one of the worst school in the country .. it was an 'over my dead body' case of the children attending there but there is a school with exactly the same position you are in and my sister moved into that area when she was trying for a baby so ensure her a place.. she best just hope it doesn't all go to pot before her daughter starts there in 7 years time! lol

mandi

:)This has been discussed many times here in MSE .
To quote you..

"We are right on the outer edge and there is a very good chance that the very closest ones in the area might get in but the ones that live half a mile away in the same area probably won't so we are thinking about moving home so we are much closer to the secondary school so it won't be a "will we or won't we get in?" issue."



While I understand you want the best education for your children. the discussion will always remain that why should you be able to jump the queue, because you can afford to and effectively take places from someone else .

In saying that I gave a false address to get my children into the right school , so I understand your predicament klmwong:)

Not helpful really , but just saying

Ms_Chocaholic

I also circumvented the selection process by "moving in with a friend" and then renting a place, this was well before the LEAs caught on to what people were doing.

I understand your frustration OP.

If you think it's the house for you, I'd go for it.

maman

Briefly put, 'closest to the school' is the most common criterion for allocating school places so it's unlikely to change.

It seems you have some reservations about the current available house. If you're really unsure you have plenty of time to hang out for a house which fits the bill more exactly (two reception rooms etc.). I suppose it depends on how frequently houses come up for sale nearest to the school.

notanewuser

The problem is, OP, if there are enough children in the higher categories to fill all of the places then your child/ten won't get in whatever happens.

Are you happy to move and then be allocated a different school? There's no way to guarantee your daughter will get a place no matter what you do nowadays.

meritaten

shouldn't your priority be your home? schools are important but, are not the be all and end all.
a good home base is vitally important for children.