How are places at state boarding schools allocated?

@Mrs Choll- I do realise that the boarding element is not free.

My point is that where you have two applicants for a UK school place, one from a family with a boarding need, resident in UK and paying UK taxes and one from a family which has settled abroad and is not paying UK taxes (which help fund the free edication element) it is interesting that some over subscribed schools appear to be able to offer places to the overseas students ahead of the UK residents.

You do know the boarding element is not free don't you? The education element is free as with any state school but you have to pay for boarding, roughly £4K per term.

True this is much less than independent boarding school fees but the ex pat child would be entitled to free state education whether day or boarding.

A number of state boarding schools seem to be able to offer places to children of UK expats who have settled abroad, want a UK boarding education but at are not prepared to shell out £36,000 per child per year for a private boarding school.

I have always wondered how the schools justify this given that these families pay no UK taxes and that there are children of UK tax payers in UK who also have a boarding need who are refused places.

Maybe check with your DM that, should DS get a place. she would be willing to have him stay for weekends/exeats, and be his named guardian. She could then do things like parents' evenings, if you were unable to, and have him stay at the weekends if he didn't want full boarding.
I know of only one child who has done state boarding, but he did have special circumstances. I don't know if they were taken into account. He didn't start until Year 8 or 9.

OP there are also various types of boarding to consider. DDs school offers full (full time boarding including weekends) weekly (home at weekends) and flexi (a long day at school, dropped off in the AM and go to breakfast with the boarding students then staying on for dinner and prep before going home).

But don't you think she's got a nerve, wanting him to leave home just so that he's living near her? It's not even as though he'd be living with her!

Does she always want everything to be about her?

Have a look at the schools website, in the admissions section there should be a breakdown of the number of applications and how the places were allocated against the criteria. This will give you a good idea how much competition there is for places.

DD is going into Y11 and DS is joining her in Y7 this year. They are both weekly boarders so home every weekend and the school has very long holidays, similar to independent schools.

At our nearest one it is easier to get a boarding than day place.

Anyone can apply. Usually boarding places are allocated by need to board, priority is given to Forces and other mobile government employees (who must be prioritised) then generally LAC, those with social need eg seriously ill parents, families where parents work overseas for charities or companies etc, where policy might vary depending on the school.

It's all a bit dependent on who else is applying and how your reasons for boarding stack up against theirs.

They may also want to check that the prospective pupil is suitable for boarding, which in practice may mean little more than checking the DC knows what is involved and says they want to do it.

Anyone can apply. You need to read and absorb the admissions policy for boarding. You can read the current year policy to get to grips with the process and the criteria for awarding places but these policies change year on year so it is vital to download and read the policy for the year you will be applying for when it is published.

You need to apply for secondary school places via your local education authority like normal, placing the state boarding school as one of your options. You will also need to fill out the schools supplementary information form (SIF) for boarding applications and send this direct to the school. At DDs school you will then be called for a boarding suitability interview.

Places will be allocated on the criteria set out in the admissions policy. At DDs school this prioritises applications from looked after children, armed forces, high level of boarding need and then siblings.

Boarding need is what you will need to demonstrate in your SIF - e.g. your work causes you to travel, family illness etc.

You'd need to check the admissions criteria for the school in question. There is no universal policy.

stateboarding.org.uk/

They open to all living in Uk and most British passport holders living abroad but can be a mix of day/weekly/full boarding and have different admissions criteria for each type of place. Academically some are better than others.