Gloucestershire: Secondary School Places
27 February 2014, 14:25 | Updated: 27 February 2014, 14:26
The wait for news of secondary school places is almost over for pupils and parents.
On Monday March 3rd, parents of pupils going to secondary school in September 2014 will receive an allocation offer from Gloucestershire County Council.
All parents in the county will be offered one school place on the same day.
Gloucestershire parents will have until 14th March to accept their school place or request an alternative school. All parents and carers who applied on-line will be able to accept their place online if they wish.
All parents and carers of children in Gloucestershire who applied for a school place online will receive an email confirming their school place after 9am on March 3rd. Parents who applied online and whose child has been offered their first preference school will not receive a letter in addition to their email.
All other parents and carers will receive written notification of their child's allocated school in the post on Monday, March 3rd. This letter will be specific to each pupil and will contain an explanation for the decision made. More information is available here.
Charlotte Jones, Senior Admissions Manager at the county council, said; "This can be a stressful time for pupils and parents and our Admissions and Transfer Team have worked very hard to try to ensure that as many pupils as possible get one of their preferred schools.''
This year, at this stage, 96% of pupils have received a place at one of their preferred schools, and 85% have been offered their first preference.
Pupil numbers in some parts of the County have risen but all 6767 children will receive an offer of a school place within Gloucestershire or in a neighbouring county in line with parental preferences.
The online application process continues to be popular with parents, with 87% of applications being made using this system.
Parents are encouraged to accept their place online or return their reply forms as soon as possible. The deadline for replies is March 14th.
If parents ask for their child's allocation to be reconsidered, they will be placed on the waiting list for their preferred school(s). If places then become available, they will be allocated in strict accordance with the published admissions criteria for the school.
Even if parents are unhappy with their initial allocation, they are encouraged to keep their allocated place as this will ensure that, whatever the outcome of the reconsideration, their child will have a place at a school in September.
Cllr Paul McClain, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said: ''Starting the next phase of education at secondary school is a big step and I wish all pupils and parents well for this exciting time ahead.''
The Admissions and Transfer Team will write to parents with the result of the reconsideration after April 1st, 2014. Parents who are still not satisfied with their allocated school will be advised of the appeals procedure.