Is it too soon to start a 1st March (secondary school allocation day) support thread?

Didn't get first choice even tho DD already at the school. 2 secondary school kids in 2 different schools in 2 different counties with 2 different school holiday patterns as it stands! 😩Appeal gone in online already...We love on a county border and had 2 appeals for both kids at infant to junior school admission stage which we lost. Eventually got them both in at the same school by waiting list. So much for parental choice. Hoping third time lucky with this appeal.

We don't need to do this for a few years but I'm strangely obsessed. Had an awful time with reception admissions some years ago where MN savedy sanity and prh, Tiggy, admissions saved the day. So just sending positive vibes.
Also want to hear how Camden handle the process so I know what to expect...

So relieved DS has got into his first choice school.

Bit (probably unreasonably) annoyed that my mum announced she'd been trying to look online at 3:30am to try & find out if he'd been accepted before anyone else. We'd specifically said to family that we wouldn't be announcing anything until DS knew himself. Thankfully it's 'closed' announcements - I think she thought there'd be a list for each school about who was given a place (like they do with exam results).

Our offer letter arrived today. Not sure when it was posted as it says 2nd class on the front and the letter is dated the 1st.

Another BCC waitee here. FFS- all they have to do is press send. Why are we still waiting? Other authority's children already know they have places in Bham schools, but BCC children don't!

thanks @edna1969. I am indeed in London. Why oh why can't they just do them all at the same time?

Email still not received so I contacted the school and they told me he is in. Huge relief. Congrats to those who got in, to those fighting on keep strong and positive

Anyone heard from Norfolk yet? This is the longest day ever!!!

Waiting for 5pm here.

I have no patience so the day is dragging a little.

Great news for those getting their first choices.

I remember getting an email just past 5pm for ds2 primary school many years ago, so I guess it is the same for secondary. 5 more hours to wait…

Same here @HannahLily2014, doesn't give me the option to view application. Starting to get a bit nervous now.

@Goodnamesalltaken if you are in London I don't think anything will be released before 5pm...

I'm sitting here at work and not able to get anything done! Has anyone heard anything from Camden yet?

@coldasicecubes still waiting for email from bcc, have you tried to log onto eadmmisions? When I do it just has Childs name and application closed, getting impatient now!!!

Has anybody had confirmation from BCC yet?

So now its officially afternoon I have just logged back on. Still nothing...

Oxfordshires websites now back up............ got our first choice so happy

A state school cannot insist on a payment. The provision for them to ask for voluntary donations has been around since the state education was set up in the 1940s, and some schools have been soliciting these for decades.

Parents who can't pay, or simply don't want to, don't have to. The school must not portal such payments as compulsory, nor chase/harass parents for them (though a request and the odd reminder is OK). And they must not treat pupils in any way differently based on whether their parents have donated.

@meggle I don't think a state school can insit on a payment (although obviously they can apply significant pressure on parents.

Now we are getting close to 12 so its nearly afternoon yes? Got to be worth checking again :-)

Glad people are getting the places that they wanted and sorry for the ones that didn't. For those appealing and to give people still waiting a bit of hope. My son has got his 1st choice which is a grammer school with a very small catchment area, we are quite a distance outside of it but still got a place.

I don't envy my sons teacher today as he is buzzing but there is hope for out of catchment places.

Mando that is shockingly lame.

Very impressed with our LA admin to be fair. Automated emails issued at midnight last night without a glitch. Its not on leaving people hopping about not knowing - how difficult is it?

I have to wait till this afternoon. Already got a migraine and feel sick. My child announced yesterday he doesn't want the school we put down first but the second one.
He doesn't want to be associated with his sister for 5 years. He could have mentioned that before i filled the forms in.
Now I secretely hope that we will get the second choice. With the funding crises looming over us most schools around us will loose about 15 teachers and on top first choice school now wants to put an extra 75 kids into the school and charge £10 a month per kid to help with the funds.
All things that weren't on the cards while tha applications ran.

According to Oxfordshire Admissions:

'Unfortunately there has been a delay in issuing emails to parents and publishing offers to the website with the results of an offer for a school place. Our system supplier is working with us to resolve this problem as quickly as possible. Letters with the allocated school place have also been posted. Thank you for your patience.'
I hope that we don't have to wait for second-class letters to arrive –could take a week.

The timing thing is awful. My county website was taken down yesterday afternoon, had a message saying that it would be available by 9am. I got an email at 7am ish. It was nice that it came in before we left for school.

I hope everyone who didn't get what they wanted manages to recover something in the days/weeks ahead.