If in London and you got a place at your preferred school via the waiting list, how far down were you and how long did you have to wait for your place?

We too are desperately waiting for our 1st choice. Waiting for the council to respond is like pulling teeth. I wonder how much more movement there will be over the next few months?! The council have told us that no offers were made in august last year which doesn’t bode well at all. I’m hoping the transition day will create some movement and mean any parents holding both private and state will make their choice. Although if they are tied into a terms fees I’m sure that’s already been made. If these people do exist, I do wish they would release state places they have no intention of taking up. There surely can’t be many.

@SueSue12 its so depressing.
If you are close to BW you may be lucky.
Have no idea what happened this year, lots at our primary didn’t get their 1st choices, we got our 3rd x

not yet - havent phoned up yet as dont really want to know! think it may depress me! good luck too

@SueSue12 we want Darrick.
Have you been given a waitlist number?
Really hope you get lucky 🤞 x

we are in Bromley too........hoping for BW but have Coopers
, how about you?

@SueSue12 I’m in Borough of Bromley.

Appealing has crossed my mind but to be honest I don’t think we would have much grounds to do so.
The school we have been offered is very good and I’m sure people desperately want our place but DC has heart set on our 1st preference and the commute is so so much easier. X

@Fruits81 @CloudsOverHead ooohhhh.. .we are in the kent waiting list system too.

What schools are you hoping for? are you appealing also?

@CloudsOverHead
Ps keep me posted how you get on xx

I’m not sure about Bexley, they may not have an “official” second round like Kent x

@CloudsOverHead Let’s keep everything crossed. X

@JM231 My borough doesn’t have a second round but Kent officially does. What seems to happen in our borough is Kent Grammars tend to offer more towards our borough in 2nd round and beyond which then has a knock on effect to the state school places i.e people give up their state place in our borough for the Kent grammars.

I’m so hoping that lots passed the 11plus tests and get offered so it frees up space 🤣🤣🤞 x

@Fruits81 goodluck
we are west London way, hounslow

out of interest how do you know second round allocations are next week? Our borough are very tight lipped

@JM231 Kent and Bexley x

Hi @Fruits81 what boroughs are the ones near you?

@CloudsOverHead We are hoping that once the 2 local boroughs close to us have their 2nd round allocations next week it may move quicker as these are where all the grammars are and where children in our borough want to go. Not sure if this applies to where you are as well?

We were 17 on the list and got offered a place at the end of May.

We are in the exact same position as you. In a London Borough and DC is 41 on waitlist of a very oversubscribed pan 270 school. We have moved 8 places since beginning of April. Literally have everything crossed but not feeling hopeful x

We got offered a place in the second round on 30th May but we knew we were only 5m past the furthest offered distance on offer day.

Since May 30th, friends have moved up the waiting list by 3 places.

The area of London we live in (South west) has had the largest number of applications ever this year. Borough of Kingston has had more applications than they have places so schools are being forced to go over PAN.

Apparently far fewer places have become available after the first round offers in all our local schools, high birth rate and uncertainty about finances limiting how many kids are going private maybe?

With a PAN of 250 and no second round of offers made so far there (or in the surrounding area), I'd say it's certainly possible.

They have had to chase up people who haven't accepted before withdrawing current offers, then there's people on other waiting lists on both this WL and who have previously been offered and accepted, private schools, moving home, siblings moving schools giving the younger ones a higher priority on their WLs, some higher on this WL who have decided they'll stay put with what they've already been offered - a very rough estimate would be a churn of 25 by July without taking into account no second round so far means another 15 or so may have already declined their offers.

Then there's the WLs being open at least until Christmas, probably about 7-10 who don't arrive because they didn't decline before taking up a private place or leave by the end of September... and if there's a WL after Christmas, more start moving then or in the summer term...

Never assume that it'll happen - but it wouldn't be a surprise if it did.

Why wouldn't they want to change in the summer? Loads of kids don't even go to the transition day. I'd understand if they were apprehensive perhaps half a term in, but summer is vry different.

I can understand why your child doesn't want to change in the summer. But in our experience it was absolutely fine. The transition day was so short and not that helpful tbh. Even the kids who started a bit into term seem to settle well. I think it was only in January that friendship groups got more settled.