Applying for school place in our borough but might be moving to the country.

[RedStripeLassie]

I went to a talk about applying to school for reception sept 2017.
We live in an urban area where school places are really competitive even for the not so good schools. I might be moving to a rural area next year where schools are being closed because they can't find enough children to fill them!
Soooo, I'm going to secure dd a place near our current address as it has to be done before Jan -15th but if we do move do you know how hard it'll be to get her into a local primary? On the face of it she'd be able to get in easily if they are begging for more children but am I maybe missing something?

[vicdim14]

I am in a similar position. We are moving from a village we have lived in for 11 years, we have a business here and my 6 year old is in the primary school. I have a daughter starting in 2017. The village we are moving to (15 miles away) is more affluent but as a result not many people use the village school and go private. It is small in comparison but has a good ofsted report. We have visited the school (which you don't say whether you have done) and they informed that they are never oversubscribed. As we are currently nowhere near exchanging contracts, I will be applying to the school in my current village for safety sake. Anything could happen. If I were you I would keep in contact with the country school and the local authority so you know exactly what to do when you need too.

[RedStripeLassie]

Thanks for replying. I didn't think to call the rural schools but that's a great idea. To actually ask how this sort of situation is managed. We can't be the only families experiencing this!

[MostAppealing]

We were in this situation last year. The house purchase dragged on for so long (sellers were stalling because of an onward purchase they hadn't told us about - claimed no onward chain - as PP said, anything can happen) that we missed the application deadline, plus the late deadline, for the new school.

When we exchanged, I applied immediately (within 20 mins!). DC1 was offered a place as the school had several places available in her year, and in the years below - but DC2 was not, as unexpectedly the school was oversubscribed for YR and all places taken. We were allocated a school several miles away with a bus ticket provided.

we appealed, and won the appeal, but it was very stressful. Without the sibling already at the school, we'd have had virtually no chance.

Clearly we were both unlucky and lucky, but Tiggytape's 'freak years' do happen. I'd advise that it's best to exchange before the application deadline; if that can't happen, either rent locally and apply from the rented address, or postpone exchange until AFTER the offers date for primary places. At least then you'd know if there are places at the school you're about to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds to move near. Or have a private school as backup. I'd also second looking at the schools. I toured many - and we ruled several villages out as a result, despite the schools being OFSTED Outstanding. They just wouldn't have been right for my DC. The school we were allocated was one that we'd dismissed, which was particularly galling, but at least in the appeal I was able to argue exactly why it was wrong for my child, why they would suffer psychologically and why the one we wanted would suit them so much better.