Is there anywhere I can find out the number of children admitted to a school who were out of the normal catchment area?

[Paddypaws3]

Just wondering whether LAs published this data anywhere?

[meditrina]

Yes, it should be published. It should state how many applicants were admitted in each category, and then in the category where a tie break was used, what the greatest distance offered was.

LEAs should publish it for all the schools for which they are the admissions authority, and may well do so for all schools in their area (ours does).

It takes a while after each offers day for it to appear. If you need this information for an appeal, then email and ask for it.

[Paddypaws3]

Thank you.

I don't need it for an appeal, just wanting to assess to likelihood of getting into a particular school not in our catchment area.

Is there a website with the information or do I need to contact the LA directly?

[eddiemairswife]

MY LEA doesn't have catchment areas, but in the Appeal papers it gives the numbers of children admitted under each criterion.

[Arkwright]

My LEA put this information in the booklet they produce for applying for a school place. There is a table showing the figures for the previous year. It is usually available online.

[MissWimpyDimple]

Ours is on the LEA council website for the last few years. Should give you an idea

[ChippyMinton]

Be aware that bulge classes can skew the figures massively for a particular year, as the last distance offered can shoot up.

[TheSkiingGardener]

Our's is on the website for the previous year but you really have to search.

[sleepwhenidie]

Try calling the admissions secretary and having a chat, I have done this in the past and they have been very helpful in giving a steer as to catchment for 1st round of offers then how wide it became once all places taken.

[meditrina]

"Try calling the admissions secretary and having a chat, I have done this in the past and they have been very helpful in giving a steer as to catchment for 1st round of offers then how wide it became once all places taken."

Catchment is fixed! And will be published. Last distance admitted (the admissions footprint) is what may vary. Though of course you might not have catchments (aka priority admissions areas) at all, or perhaps only some schools will. You'll know if you do because after statutory categories (SEN/LAC) it will be something like 'siblings in catchment/other catchment/siblings outside catchment/other children'. If you are not in that school's published catchment, you'll need to look for a school that regularly reaches its 'other children' category, and then see what the distances are compared to yours.

"Be aware that bulge classes can skew the figures massively for a particular year, as the last distance offered can shoot up."

Very true, and remember that in the following 2-3 years (typical family spacing) it will shoot down because of extra siblings.

[StitchesInTime]

Our LEA put information about what category the last child admitted fell into in the booklet they produce about applying for school places, in a table at the back. Although only the religious schools have catchment areas around here.

The booklet is available on the council website.

[sleepwhenidie]

'Catchment' as I understand (in London at least) is changeable because children are admitted according to who lives closest to the school, subject to sibling priority etc. So one year's catchment area may be smaller than another.

[RandomMess]

I too would question what "catchment" means in your scenario.

Some schools do have a true "catchment - if you lived in x area (that his a FIXED boundary) you will attend y school regardless.

Most areas do not operate like this - the boundary of who gets to attend because of where they live is based on distance from the school and it varies every year.

[SquirmOfEels]

If it's changeable, then it's not a catchment. They can only be changed after consultation, and the new catchment boundaries must be clearly laid out in the admissions information.

Much of London simply doesn't have catchments, and it is all on (variable) distance to the school, so OP may need to be looking for 'furthest distance offered' not hunting for a non-existent catchment.

[teacherwith2kids]

Around here they are 'priority admissions areas' - and schools are often full before the edge of the priority area is reached. So the 'area' is a fixed one, drawn on a map, but what really matters is the last distance admitted for non-siblings...in most cases.

However, it is possible to be within the last distance admitted, but outside the priority admissions area, as these are seldom circular!

E.g. if you live 1 km North of school A, and the priority admissions area boundary falls between you and the school, at 980m from the school, you won't get admitted as 'in priority admissions area', and will be 2 criteria lower, even if the last distance admitted within the priority admissions area is 1050 metres.

However if you live 1 km South, and the priority admissions area boundary falls 1100 m from the school in this direction and the last distance admitted is 1050 m, you will get in as 'in priority admissions area' and within last distance admitted.

And as others will have said, last admitted distances can go down as well as up - more frequently down, for popular schools.

[FairyDustDreamer]

Strange things can happen year on year.
A school near us undersubscribed this year when usually massively oversubscribed. Still trying to work out where the missing children are!!

[champagneplanet]

For my area Rightmove shows how many pupils live within a certain area of the school, may be worth checking the source.

[StitchesInTime]

I wouldn't take the Rightmove school maps too seriously.

I've just found our nearest primary school on there. Our house is firmly within the red circle (i.e. the area where many pupils live).

Last year, DS1 missed out on a place at this school as it was oversubscribed. He was the 3rd child to be refused, and there were other children living further away than us (and also within the red area) who didn't get in. When I found admissions information for the last few years, our house is only within the distance cut-off about 50% of the time.

So certainly for us, it would be misleading to assume that map has any relation to our chances of getting into the local school.

[Inkymess]

Op every LA is so different you may as well just call the LA team for a chat

[Wolfiefan]

No such things as catchment here either and data for one year guarantees nothing. Our local school had one weird year where most kids admitted were siblings.

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

In my borough all the secondary schools are their own admissions authority. The LEA has no influence over anything and you wouldn't be able to discover the information you are asking for.

[TheWildRumpyPumpus]

We live 'rurally' although actually only a 3km from nearest town. For u, children in the catchment (this village and next) take priority over siblings out of the catchment.

So catchments do exist in some areas.