Reception Waiting Lists...

[Pyrrah]

Does anyone want to join me in obsessing and fretting over the waiting list for the school they didn't get?

LA just told me that we are no. 47 on the list for ours.

Given that I'm nearly 1200 metres outside the last distance offered for last year and this is central London I'm a bit shocked.

At this point every child who had the school as a higher preference than the one they were allocated is automatically on the waiting list whether is was 1st, 2nd, 3rd or whatever choice, and today is before many people will have accepted places so I'm really shocked that I'm not 150th.

LA were also lovely and told me I could ring anytime to check DD's position on the list.

(How often a week is too often? )

[cleanandclothed]

Hello! I am waiting to hear (same LA) but my first choice is a faith school so I think it may be a bit different. Gives me two lots of people to hassle! Good luck. Can I be really nosy and ask you to PM me which one you got and which one you want?

[BreasticlesNTesticles]

I have heard that often if you are prepared to move your dc after September there can be quite a bit of swapping to start with. Fingers crossed for you.

[Pyrrah]

I'm def prepared to move at any point - I'm counting on parents not wanting to move their child after the start of term.

If we get one before September will be a miracle, but school and area have very high levels of mobility so who knows!

[caramellokoalalover]

I'm sat on waiting lists too.

Got our 4th preference so are on waiting lists for our first 3 prefs. I phoned the LA and they won't tell me where I am on the lists. Said they won't know for another month. Can that be right?

Also people have said to get put on waiting lists for as many schools as possible but the schools say the LA controls waiting lists and the LA say I can only apply for continuing interest to a select number of schools who have agreed to CI (and this isn't any remotely near me).

So confused!

[Pyrrah]

My LA asked me if I wanted to know where I am on the list...

Are you in London?

I think if you get no place at all then you can go on waiting lists for every school in the area; if you got one of your preferences then they only put you on the lists for those above to avoid total chaos.

It may be the case that you can go on others after 31st August when 2nd round closes?

[caramellokoalalover]

Pyrrah I'm in North Herts. I called the LA again to pester check about the waiting lists. They said they won't say until 13 May where I am on the lists because 'it's constantly changing'. On 13 May I should find out where I am on the lists.

I think after 13 May, when the first round of continuing interest offers are allocated, I can find out if any other schools have waiting lists I can go on, until then I'm stuck with just the 3 prefs I didn't get.

I'm same as you, prepared to move at any point really, even if it was midway through the year. Just can't imagine many people rejecting offers at the schools I put down and didn't get. Can there really be that many people moving before school starts? I'm not so sure in North Herts.

[Kt8791]

I am the same but in Surrey. Don't find out waiting list position until may 13th. The LA said there will be a lot of movement between now and then and some places will be declined for private schools. Just hoping we are new the top.

[littlecrystal]

If it helps we were 11th on the waiting list for a popular London RC school and we got offered a place just 1 day before starting at our 2nd choice primary.

[littlecrystal]

It was last year.

[Lozario]

Hello again Pyrrah >waves<

We'll stay on waiting list for our 1st and 2nd choices; am a bit baffled as to where we are on the lists but will have a better picture in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, 3rd choice is ok and if we end up there in September I won't be gutted as its a nice school, just a lot further away.

[Lozario]

Why do people apply for a state school place if they're then only going to go private? That's our only hope of 1st place really but I can't understand why they'd turn down amazing 1st choice school, but apparently it does happen?

[AmandaPayneAteTooMuchChocolate]

People apply for a state place for lots of reasons. Most commonly not being sure at the time of application whether they will get into their first choice private school.

[Pyrrah]

Or wanting a back-up if they're worried about redundancy or being relocated or something.

Those tend to free up once the big deposit is due - but some parents don't bother to say till term starts apparently. Grrr.

[Lozario]

Oh yeah I see. My lazy brain was just thinking if I was in that position I couldn't be bothered to fill out the extra form!

[Lozario]

Pyrrah how often are you going to ring? I'm going to phone again on Monday I think! And then will try to leave it until the day all the replies had to be in (2nd may?)

[ninaprettyballerina]

Hello. We're 3rd on the list for first choice and 2nd on the list of second choice. Goodness knows if that will change

[Pyrrah]

Lozario - I rang today and we've already moved up one place.

I'm planning on ringing once a week - or maybe Tuesdays and Fridays (it brings back memories of TTC - I was hopeless and having discovered you could buy 50 pregnancy tests for £1 on eBay I indulged my total impatience to the max).

Once it gets past September when the school runs the list then it will be weekly.

The girl at the council said that I should ring at least once a week to check movement.

Nina - I would be very, very happy in your position, are you in an area where people often move?

[Lozario]

Wildly speculating here, as have found out we are less than 40 metres from the furthest place offered so far! Last year, the furthest distance stretched an extra 120 metres from the April - Sept, so I'm suddenly hopeful again. Today the council wouldn't tell me our waiting list position but they did tell me the catchment area so far. She told me to wait until after 2 may when all the acceptances and declines are in but I think I'll ring again on Thursday or Friday!

[jellysmum77]

Hi
We are on the waiting list too for my son for our first choice school. Slightly complicated story but we lived in an area and my daughter went to the school. Last summer we moved and rented out our house for 12 months to tenants but it hasn't work out and so we are going back to the original area. My daughter will be going back to the school and our house is in the catchment but as we were not living there in january when applications closed my son was not offered a place. So as it stands I will have two children at different primary schools (and I don't drive so not looking forward to that)!!
As a consequence we have brought our move forward and are now going to be back in our house by the beginning of June.
So now trying to sort out proof of the fact that we will live in our own house and that my daughter will be at the school but the local authority we are in now are taking forever to do anything! Been on the phone today and there were not even going to process my daughters application until next week- they are doing it tomorrow now!!
I have no idea where we are on the waiting list as they would not tell us but obviously once we move back we will move up the list.
Stressed doesn't come close at the moment!!

[Lozario]

Gosh jelly that sounds so stressful! How are you getting on with it now?

We find out new waiting list position on Friday - we were 11th on offer day and the woman from the council said they are now processing all the late applications so I should anticipate going down on list!

[jellysmum77]

Oh no Lozario! Hope that turns out to be wrong!

Well we are in the process of filling out appeals forms on the basis that the school's admission criteria states that priority will be given to those living in zone and with an older sibling there at the start date which we explained we would have. As we own the house there was no doubt we would be living there from sales falling through etc and we have emails from the head confirming that they would be able to accommodate our older child back into the school (it's year three and two classes of 19 so again a certainty). The reason they gave us on the form states that we did not meet the admission criteria.

In terms of the waiting list we know no more about it but are planning on calling after Friday to try and find out. I have informed them of our new moving date and called today to explain that my daughter had officially got her place back, so hoping that no one gets in there before our move and takes a place above us!!

[Lozario]

That sounds like you have a really good case. Fingers crossed for you - it would be a logistical nightmare having kids in 2 different schools at this stage (although it has just occurred to me that that will happen for a couple of years when oldest goes up to secondary - gah!!!)

[Lozario]

Anyone had any waiting list updates? I'm ringing on Friday morning to see where we are. All the replies should be in by then.

[Snowme]

You're 47th on the waiting list and you're 'hopeful'?

Wow! I'm so glad I don't live in London.
We've been 2nd on the list for 7 months and still waiting in a provincial market town.

Are London primaries really seeing that much mobility you Have a 1 in 47 chance?