Secondary offers day 2020

Surrey here. 5pm you say?

You guys are lucky to have Prh47!!

This has been the the longest day ever. Roll on 4pm. Congrats to everyone who got their preference!

HappyMumLdn - London + Surrey don't release results til 5pm - you won't hear before then.

Pretty sure it's from 5pm in London - it is in our borough. Log in to eadmissions at 5pm or wait for the email to come through the evening. Good luck!

Anybody from London heard anything yet? I'm driving myself mad clicking refresh, I know I'm making time go slower by doing so. I know they have said by 5pm but is there any chance it will be at least a bit sooner?
I'm worried DS won't get any on our list, and will be offered the local school which I purposefully left out

Thanks for that update @prh47bridge. I'm definitely not an expert and wouldn't want to mislead.

From what's been posted on here before by knowledgeable people, you can go on any number of waiting lists, there's no limit

Unfortunately that has changed. The Office of the Schools Adjudicator has said that LAs can limit the number of waiting lists you are on. Personally I think the OSA got that wrong but, unless someone takes it to judicial review, that is how things stand. Some LAs allow you to be on as many waiting lists as you want, others have a limit - usually the same as the number of schools you could apply to.

Got our first choice, phew! However a Y6 classmate who is 0.03 of a mile further away from the school didn't get in. We must have been right on the edge of the catchment for this year. We're only 0.65 miles away from the school too. Madness. It was a very anxious wait and we were rewarded with the biggest smile when DC was told this morning. Thankfully that's all over with now. Till the siblings turn in a couple of years time!

@SoCrimeaRiver thanks for that, I can relax now!

For those on waiting lists - you won't know until after the acceptance deadline what the lists look like, because they are waiting to see who has accepted a place.

DS already knew where he was going as he has a Grammar School place but I was still really nervous waiting for the email!

@corpsebrid3 it's unlikely you'll find out where you are on waiting lists for a few weeks, as the LA will be waiting for parents to decline places where they're opting for independent schools etc. Give it a couple of weeks before asking, to give time for the churn to settle.

I just rang our first choice school, for which we were rejected - I hate making phone calls blush & it was really no help at all! Admissions lady was very kind & nice, but basically said that until waiting lists come out they don't have any more idea than we do. Warned that as well as potentially moving up on the waiting list he could move down, if other people decide to reject their first choice & this school is next on their list & they have more points. This year they had high demand. But she didn't want to give an opinion either way in case it was wrong & she gave false hope. So is just a wait & see game. Doesn't sound positive or negative. Bloody hate this waiting!

@corpsebrid3 From what's been posted on here before by knowledgeable people, you can go on any number of waiting lists, there's no limit. Hope you get something.

Can anyone tell me whether I can go on 6 waiting lists and whether I can find out our current position on these waiting lists?

I guess option wise if things don't get sorted we can remortgage to go into independent sector or see if we can move a mile or two closer?

Has anyone else been in my position before?

well, we possibly used to @listsandbudgets!
Am in same authority still, first preference offered, sibling priority.

@BabyDubsEverywhere, if it doesn't mention having to accept the place, they're presuming you accept it unless you submit an appeal. Our county have the same system - I was scouring the email yesterday (ours came out early on Sunday morning) for where to accept our place. Breathe easy, you have the place.

Kingsheathen have you got a place now? I am guessing from your user name your dont live far from us

DS got his preferred school. As they had spare capacity last year, we were hopeful he'd get it but it's not our catchment school (which is in special measures and a really poor fit for DS) so we were thrilled to get this. Its SEN provision and facilities will be a great fit for him.

Extra points for being walking distance from younger sibling's nursery so he can hop in the car 3 days a week and get driven almost to the door in time for breakfast at school.

lanthanum That makes sense. The kids were all besides themselves at drop-off this morning, as there is one particular school that some have applied for which has a very tight catchment and some pupils are likely to miss out on a place. Telling them this morning would've been a nightmare for their teachers!

Our LA helpfully included the following wording in the offer emails:

Unfortunately we were unable to offer a place in any of the schools requested however we are able to offer a place in the following school.

The Authority was unable to offer a place for any of the schools requested and has offered the place below. Not Provided

Leading to an initial panic at 5:30am, as not sure my child had a place anywhere!

They have sent an email correcting the wording.

Better than a few years ago, when the email didn't arrive until 3:55, and all DD1's friends knew their schools hours before she did!

DD Got her first choice, though as DS is there it was just a formality really. I can well remember the stress last year so I feel for anyone going through it!
I can't see anywhere to accept the place on the portal, and the email doesn't mention it, either. Do you only have to accept if you've not been offered your first place??

Got offer at second choice school (local comp, all DS friends going there but not great reputation) with 'Waiting list' for our first choice, a fantastic school which we are out of catchment for (out of local authority, even, although it's near) so we knew we were chancing it! We also have a pre-existing offer for an independent school which DS likes but it would mean a move much further away, which he's not happy about at all, and we're not sure what to do for the best.

What do we do about this waiting list place at state school no.1? I'm not sure I understand what the status of the waiting list is. Do I have to respond to the school to say yes please, keep us on the list, and find out when the cut-off date is? I'd almost rather we'd got a firm 'No' from them because then we'd have known where we stood and it would have been a straight choice between state school no.2 and moving away for the private school. But now it's like they're dangling hope in front of us!

If we were to move into catchment between now and the summer, does this bump us up the waiting list? Or will they take as dim a view of that as they do of moving just before you apply? (To be clear, I'm looking for a job - been SAH mum up until now - so could try to get a job in the nearby town where the good state school is, meaning I would have a bona fide reason to move there). But would this in any way help our chances of getting this waiting list place? Or would we be no better off effectively than if we just moved later and tried mid-year transfer?

It's a long wait until 5pm for us and I have to be somewhere dropping a younger child off at an activity then, so prolonging the wait for us unfortunately.

Congratulations to all those who have got their preferred choice of school.

Phew, got our first choice!
Good luck to those waiting