Applying to secondary school when moving house

[MaccyH]

DH has an 11 year old son who lives with his XP 2 hours away. She has had her & her new partner's house on the market for over a year and intends to move to a different area (only half an hour away from us). Her partner already has a house in the new area which they will then live in (he splits his time currently between both houses). They have said that if the house doesn't sell soon, they will take a low offer to get it sold to ensure they can move in time for DSS to start secondary school next Sept.

DH is trying to get involved in the application process & which schools to apply to and have conversations with his XP who is not very forthcoming with any info. Now she is saying she is applying to schools in the area they live currently as they can't apply to the new area as they don't live there yet.

DH and I thought they could apply in the new area now as they already have the house there & so can confirm the address they will be living at. We are concerned that otherwise DSS will potentially end up at a last choice school or one far away if they don't apply now. Can anyone advise? Can you apply to schools in an area you don't currently live? Can you apply in more than one area? DH would like to be more involved in selecting the schools to apply to and has been pushing XP on it for the last few weeks, unfortunately she seems to think it is a matter for her and her partner to decide.

[MaccyH]

Thanks for the clarification CustardCake, at least we know what the XP is saying is correct then, unfortunately just means that when they do move, he may be restricted as to what school he can get into in the new area.

Am trying to remain detached as he is my DSS not DS & at the end of the day it has to be his parents' decision, I can only discuss with DH, but it is just frustrating to realise the timing of their move (which we have no control over) may impact DSS's school quality.

[MaccyH]

Sorry, custardcake, x post! Based on your 2nd post, i think we need another discussion with XP as it sounds like you are saying she can apply in new area but we will have to be aware that it will be her current address that is taken into acount not the new one. The fact all choices are given equal preference is good as well. Thanks for your help.

[mummytime]

I wouldn't panic, as there is usually a lot of movement after the places have been sorted. Also if they are moving to close to a good school, they will jump above people who applied "on time" but live further away. Also they have a chance with an appeal as the class size is not restricted to 30.

BTW there are a lot worse times to move.

[Mico62]

We receive similar applications each year but if the child moves before final allocations are made in March and we receive proof of the new address the allocation will be made based on that information.

Until then they would probably be bottom of the distance list for a place at any of our schools but we had one family who were moving 200 miles and their child got their first choice - I think we moved with them because mum would phone every week to give us an update!