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Anyone else stuck in waiting list limbo?

133 replies

AmeliaEarhart · 08/04/2022 18:16

… And haven’t gone the appeals process? We were offered our third choice school back in March 1st. DH and I are happy enough; it’s not perfect but has enough going for it that we’d be okay with DS going there (walking distance, good facilities, great SEN support) but DS is completely against the idea. He has ASD and can be extremely rigid so we’ll be in for a tough time changing his mind. It doesn’t help that only one other child from his class at primary is going there.

So he’s on the waiting list for choices 1 and 2. Number 19 for school 1 and 9 for school 2. Neither is straight forward as both schools have multiple waiting lists (1st choice because it’s an academy and faith school with different admissions paths, and second choice because it has a banded intake). Everyone keeps assuring us that, being in central London, they’ll be lots of movement before September and DS might still be offered a place at either school. We didn’t consider appealing as our reasons for preferring schools 1 and 2 (other than DS’s insistence that he’s not setting foot in school 3) are that they have better results, which doesn’t seem like a strong argument!

Is anyone else in a similar situation? How are you feeling about it? Are you prepared to hang on in there until September, hoping until the bitter end for a place at your first choice, or preparing your child (and yourself) to settle for what you’ve got?

OP posts:
hayh · 14/04/2022 20:26

The school allocated is fine, but none of his friends are going. To him it’s the end of the world, he is quite an anxious child, so not as simple as ‘just get on with it’…. Had this have been my daughter it wouldn’t be an issue. Fingers crossed…

AmeliaEarhart · 14/04/2022 16:17

Second round of offers has already happened for the borough that school 2 is in (we live on but border of 2 boroughs so applied for schools in both). As we were only 0.14 of a mile further out than the last child admitted in DS’s band, I was overly optimistic and thought he might get a place then, but was surprised to find out that there are 8 other children in his band within that 0.14 mile radius who are above him on the list!

I haven’t been in touch with 1st choice school since early March when I requested that DS be added to their list (it wasn’t automatic as it’s an academy), and the office told me to wait a few weeks before contacting them again to let the dust settle.

I wish we could figure out how to persuade him on the school he’s actually been offered. Why is your son so upset hayh? DS isn’t sad, just adamant that he’s not going to allocated school!

OP posts:
hayh · 13/04/2022 20:05

Is your wait list moving at all?

asdjklasdjkl · 13/04/2022 18:21

Yes me too-she’s devastated not to get first choice and we’re quite a way down the list so it feels really unlikely but this limbo is the worst. Sending hugs 🤗

hayh · 12/04/2022 22:06

I feel your pain….
We are 10th on waiting list for our first choice (and intake of 270)…. Haven’t seen any movement on wait list, and no mention of 2nd round of offers here.
So frustrating waiting… and so much uncertainty.
My son, is heartbroken…

PettsWoodParadise · 10/04/2022 22:52

In some LAs near me there is an official ‘second round allocation’ which isn’t until mid April so whilst DD’s school does drip drip wait list changes, nearby Kent doesn’t, it is more in chunks. Check with the admissions person at the schools and find out any triggers for when they allocate new places. Good luck!

AmeliaEarhart · 08/04/2022 20:00

Yes, I’d really like DS to do the induction for the school he’ll actually be going to, especially considering his additional needs 😬

I need to contact 1st choice school after the holidays to find out if his position has changed since the second round of offers on 30th March. That’s the school most likely to have places freed up by families accepting private school offers, judging by the destinations of his current classmates.

OP posts:
RedskyThisNight · 08/04/2022 18:56

When are the induction type activities? I think these are typically after exams so late June/early July? I think that's the point where you probably need to commit more strongly to the school you have.

as you're in London, I guess you will see a lot of people who are holding private and state school offers start to release one of them?

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