Waiting lists for Pinner and HIllingdon schools

[pinnermum1]

Hi all - we recently moved to Pinner and have two children aged 5 and nearly 3.
The 5 year old is already in Year 1 at a private school much further form our new home in Pinner now. The reason for moving to Pinner was to be in a better area and get some good schools without the fee!
So we moved and i did the in-year applications thinking that my son probably might not get a place straight away anyway.
Our situation is:
We applied and he immediately got offered a place in Field End Infant School. He was also number 1 on the waiting list for West Lodge and number 3 for Newnham Infant.

We visited Field End - liked it and he seemed to be ok with moving BUT the junior school doesnt seem to be doing well and i dont know if its worth me putting him in there to then try and move him again if that school doesnt improve. So we thought we would wait for West Lodge to come through as we were number 1.

BUT now three weeks later we have unfortunately moved down to number 5 on the waiting list for West Lodge. When i phoned they said its because others have applied that are closer. I am annoyed but what can you do. Same has happened with Newnham - we are now number 7.

Does anyone have experience of being on the waiting lists in these schools and what might be best to do? I dont want to just pull him out of his current school and put him somewhere for the sake of it - if field end junior was doing well then i would go for it, but the last two inspections haven't been good.

Any advice???

[YogaDrone]

Pinner is in LB Harrow and Eastcote is in LB Hillingdon. So I assume you live in LB Harrow. How does the application for a junior school place work out of borough, because presumably you'd be very low on the admissions criteria? Plus if you did send DC1 to Field End what about DC2?

West Lodge is in LB Harrow and Newnham is LB Hillingdon.

What is your catchment school? Is this where your DC2 will (hopefully) go? If so, can you afford to pay for private school until DC2 starts school and put DC1 on the waiting list for this school. When DC2 gets a place DC1 will be higher on the waiting list as an in catchment sibling.

I'd also be thinking about secondary. If DC1 is at a school out of borough it's likely they will end up at a secondary where they may not know many of the other children. Depending on the type of child your DC1 is this may be hard for them.

I went to Field End school decades ago

[Zinnia]

 @YogaDrone my DH went to Field End too. He went to Oxbridge so it turned out OK!

Sorry OP - agree with YogaDrone's advice though.

[YogaDrone]

Waves to Zinnia and fellow Field Ender Mr Z Mr Z clearly didn't go to my secondary Although I got a good degree from a red brick (now RG) so didn't do too badly either.

I have fond memories of Field End but that doesn't help you @pinnermum1 I do think that if I had the funds I'd wait and get DC2 into school and then, if DC1 hasn't already got a place by then, trust that they will be top of the waiting list.

Plus after Y2 you could always appeal for a place as Infant class size rules no longer apply.

[pinnermum1]

thanks for your replies and sorry for the delay...

Our address falls into HIllingdon borough...but ironically we are extremely close (and much closer distance wise_) to West Lodge. Field End and Newnham and slightly further but not too far. I am now number 5 on West Lodge and Newnham. Ideally i want my second son to join the same school...but he wont start reception until Sept 2020. So i would have to wait until then to move my first son up the waiting list right? It's annoying that we were 1st for West Lodge and now number 4 - god knows what number we will be by the end of summer!

[Dip873]

@pinnermum1 - Did you get a place in the end?