Pictured: SchoolGuru.co.uk's Catherine Bassindale, with her two children
SchoolGuru.co.uk has been launched to help the 24,000 parents in the county who will be applying for state schools this autumn. Parents just put in their details – and in seconds, find out whether they would have got a place in previous years, on allocation day. They can also see whether they are likely to get a place this year.
"People used to know where they stood when we had legally binding 'catchment areas'. But now the system is so complex that many parents haven't got a clue which schools they stand a chance of getting into", says SchoolGuru.co.uk's Catherine Bassindale.
Hertfordshire is home to some of the highest-performing schools in the country – but competition is fierce, and the most popular schools have six or seven applicants per place. Although many parents assume they’ll get into their local schools, thousands will end up disappointed with the school that they’re offered (and around 1,600 will go to appeal).
Mumtrepreneur Catherine Bassindale, 38, founded SchoolGuru.co.uk after she moved to St Albans for the legendary schools… and then failed to get any of them. Instead, her four-year-old son was allocated a school in special measures that she hadn’t applied for. “It was every parent’s worst nightmare. We thought we’d made sensible decisions, but we would never have chosen the schools that we did, if we’d had access to the right information. My partner Lindsay and I went through a year of hell, finding an acceptable alternative, and didn’t see why it should be like this. So in 2005, we set up SchoolGuru.co.uk to provide parents with information and advice.”
SchoolGuru.co.uk started out as a consultancy, helping parents on an individual basis, before launching as a free website in September 2008. The website uses up-to-the-minute official admission data, from Hertfordshire County Council and individual schools. Mum of two and former journalist Catherine says: “The system is simple to use, completely free, and parents now have fast access to the latest information that’s relevant for their circumstances. Our aim is to help parents find the most suitable school for their child, whatever their needs.”
SchoolGuru.co.uk plans to expand, covering other areas of the country soon. Says Catherine: “The feedback we’ve been getting from the Hertfordshire site has been phenomenal. Now we’re ready to take on the world!"
