9th on waiting list!

[Sofiamum]

dd is 29th for our 1st choice (No chance!) and 9th for our 2nd choice. We have accepted our 3rd choice but really wanted either of the other two schools for our dd. Spoke to the LEA today and the lady said no chance of getting either before start of term. Have any of you been in a similar situation to this? Did you eventually get your preferred school? How long did it take? Thanks. x

[pinkgirlythoughts]

My sister was 11th on the waiting list for her 1st choice school seven years ago. She was offered a place within a week.

[Tinatinu]

We got our 6th choice. We are on 13th for our first choice and 22nd for our second choice. Why oh why do they give us choices when they simply allocate to where they desire??? I am losing all hope and faith. We moved specifically for better schools - I guess we didnt move quite close enough to the school!!

[heliotrope]

We are 16th - I guess no chance, as only gone down from 8th when the places were first announced. Will you move your children if places come up in first weeks?

[Sofiamum]

Yes, I will move her any time during the school year if a place comes up. I know many parents are againt this but really not happy with our 3rd choice. Our 1st choice has 3 classes per year and our 2nd choice has 2 classes per year.

[onebigyawn]

This will probably depress you but this time last year we were 3rd on waiting list for our 3rd choice school (4 form entry), we thought we would get a place within weeks once the kids started. Having checked a few times over the year we are now at 16th!!!!

[Sofiamum]

OMG Onebigyawn, that has depressed me. Did you get any of the schools on your list? Is your son/daughter happy in the school you were given?

[plinkplonk]

We were 10th at the start of the allocation process three years ago - we were down to 13th by this time in the school year. Over the past three years, we have been 1st or 2nd - but were not offered a place until Y3 when class sizes were bigger.

I certainly wouldn't risk not having a place because anyone who moves closer to the school than you will leapfrog you in the list. You may find that the third choice really works well - I think it is hard to tell which school will suit your child best because they can be quite different in school than they are at home. The school dd went to was really good for her.

[onebigyawn]

Sorry meant to say 3rd for our first choice school not third duhhhhh!!!

We got offered our 2nd choice school and it has worked out well! Flexible after school club (1st choice school has a 3 year waiting list), ds loves going and has come on really well.
I still would prefer 1st choice thou as I thought the head teacher was amazing and know the enviroment would of suited his personality down to the ground.

[teacherwith2kids]

DD's school year (of 60) accepted its first new child since Reception in the middle of Year 3... I don't know if it was someone who had hung on the top of the waiting list for over 3 years or someone who had moved into the area, but certainly anyone saying 'just stay on the waiting list, a place will come up eventually' would have been disappointed that year!