Is it okay to only list your 1st preference in the secondary school application form?

They are the only schools we can choose from, the ones in the next town are 15 miles away and they have a different system so go in year 8 not 7.
I've had a look for statistics online but haven't been able to find any other then the nor and pan.
Children at the village schools tend to live very close, I don't know anybody from our town who goes to them.

You can also look at statistics for "what happened before". So you might have for example,
a) last year the school took all in-catchment children who applied and 50 out of catchment children (and in the last 10 years they have always offered places to all in-catchment children who apply)

b) last year the school only took some in-catchment children to a distance of 1.5 miles (and you live 1.7 miles away) and that has been a fairly standard pattern in recent years

You would be much surer in case a (we actually have a version of case a which is even more clear cut, hence why I'm happy to put 1 choice on my form) than in case b (where you would definitely want an alternative)

I had a look at DDs application last night, I'm now worried though I wasn't before.

1. The local catchment school, she's at a feeder school but has no sibling. A lot of people live closer than us, we are the other side of town.

1. A c of e secondary ten miles away. We don't meet the faith criteria and would have no chance of a place.

1. A popular over subscribed school 20 miles away. We're obviously not in a feeder school nor live in the catchment area. Again, we would have no chance of a place.

There are two other secondary schools but both are small and rural and have no transport provided or available and I wouldn't be able to take her. Neither would Dh as we both teach in other schools.

They are our five nearest choices, we get to list three. What on earth do you do when you only have one choice where you are relatively confident of getting a place?

Sometimes individual academy school don't put you on the waiting list unless you ask - I nearly got caught out by that for one of my DC (

Hang on, you don't think that if you put other schools as second/third preferences you wouldn't be allowed to appeal if you don't get your first preference, do you?

You can still appeal if you are offered anything except your first preference, even if you are offered your second preference.

Girlie, you may be right and your DD may get a place but if not, she could be offered a place at any school within your local education authority, or whatever they're called now. So that could be within the county.

The admission booklet should tell you under which criteria the last child was admitted last year. If you come under a criteria higher up the list then you'll probably be ok.

In some areas though, the catchment area is only a couple of hundred metres so don't assume that a 5 minute walk is ok.

Girliefriendlikesflowers sorry that plan is terrible and will misfire dramatically if you don't get a place at your only choice. They could give you a place in another town. On what basis would you appeal? Why should your child get special treatment?!

You are free to appeal if you don't like the school you are allocated Girlfriend. However, most appeals fail so it's not a foolproof 'Plan B'.

There's no guarantee of winning an appeal though.

Is there a chance that all the 4 secondary schools in town would be oversubscribed?

"if they do offer her a place at one of the others I would appeal."

What if the appeal failed, are you saying that the other three in town are exactly equal in terms of preference, distance to travel, results etc?

What if she wasn't offered one of those three, what if she got a school in the next town along? Most appeals fail so you can't depend on that.

But there are only a total of 4 secondary schools in the town, none of the other schools are terrible so I suppose it wouldn't make much difference is what I'm saying.

I just text me friend to check what she is doing and she said the same as me, I think it is unlikely that dd wouldn't get a place at the local school given its a 5 min walk and if they do offer her a place at one of the others I would appeal.

Girliefriendlikesflowers but it means that you could get offered a place even further away at an even worse school. Just because you refuse to think about any other school doesn't mean they have to accept your application for your preferred school!

The problem is i would have an issue with any other school she was offered! I honestly wouldn't want dd to go to any other school so if she doesn't get her choice it wouldn't matter which of the other 3 they offered her I would still be appealing.

We only have one secondary in our town. It's 3 minutes' walk away from our house. I still put down 2 other 'wouldn't mind' schools as choices 2 and 3.

Both my DDs got their place but the school is now badly oversubscribed for Yr7 with a long waiting list for Yr 8. If I were looking for a place now (I'm not, not third child) I would put down more than 3 schools.

There is no game to this, you put down the most schools you are allowed to in the order you prefer them with at least one of them being the school for which you have the best chance of getting in. I know that sounds simplistic in a system that seems complex but it really is the best way.

Oh God this makes me nervous, I have only put my dds catchment secondary school down. We live in a small town and there is only 4 secondary choices in total, she is walking distance to the catchment school.

I haven't even looked round the other ones!

If the school is undersubscribed she will get a place. And she will put that down to having shown an interest and the Head having sorted it for her. And she will continue to believe and spread Admissions Myths.

That's what I thought as well but a friend is adamant it's true. She's going to be disappointed!