Struggling to accept our catchment secondary

We were in the exact same
Situation except the 'rumours' were in fact told directly to me by the head teacher of Our catchment school who said we would have to put them first of not get in. I rang the council who confirmed the equal preference legalities but it took several phone calls and emails over the course of a week. And I am left wondering what why I was told that by a head teacher.

The schools don't know your choices. Each application is sent off on it's own without any reference to what choice the parents put it down for. The preference system is just there so if you get more than one offer to a school, the council knows which one you want the most. Again, the council not the school

Its not a game it works exactly like it says on the tin. List the schools you want in order of preference just make sure a school you are a dead cert for is somewhere on the list.

Yes you can go on waiting list for any school in your local authority

It's done on a computer - the schools don't see anything until the end. Put the two you want the most, first and second and the catchment last.

I hear these people peddling these rumors all the time.

That and "put only one and they'll have to give you that." 🤯

Schools do NOT ‘fill up on first choices’, they fill up with applicants in the order with which they meet the published admissions criteria.

Seriously: put the schools down in the exact order to prefer them. Use every space, but put your catchment school in last place.

If a miracle happens you might get a place in one of the schools higher up your list.

You might get a place once the waiting list starts to move: usually shortly after the acceptance date.

Most local authorities automatically keep you on the waiting list for all schools you put higher on the list than your allocated school.

Seriously, if you fail to understand the system and listen to ill informed people in the playground you will mess up your chances.

1. put the schools down In the exact order you like them. THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN DISADVANTAGE YOURSELF BY DOING THIS
2. Make sure that there is one school on the list that you will definitely a place in based on admission criteria. Your catchment school. In last place if you don’t like it much
3. If you get allocated this school , accept it, but check the arrangement for staying on the waiting list for higher choices.You will not disadvantage yourself by accepting the place while remaining on the waiting list

@RudsyFarmer but you're being told that the law says they have to treat each of your preferences as if it is the first preference.

So you can put wildest dreams school first, great school second, catchment school third. You will still get catchment school if you can't get wildest dreams school or great school.

What you must not do is what you are being told others are doing. You must not list only schools which you have no hope of getting. You have to have one school which you are likely to get. If you don't, then you will be allocated any random school with places.

Did the Bison tell you that?

Stop listening to what people are ‘telling’ you and go read the LEA criteria.
As others have said, you are assessed for each school place you have put. If you could have a place at more than one that’s when they fall to preference.

If someone with a lower priority (ie further away or what ever your criteria is) puts the school as 1st choice but you put it as your third choice, you would still get it over that other person if you can’t have your first or second choice.

Waiting lists open after the offers have been made. You can join any waiting list you want even if you didn’t put it on your application. Places are still given in priority order though not first come first served on the list.

Why frightened? You have nothing to lose if you put a dead-cert school on the list but with your preferred one(s) ahead of it.

The people who do have something to lose are your friends who are only putting one school down and failing to express any preference for what happens if their DC does not get a place there.

In England, there is ab equal preference system... schools can't discriminate between first second and third choices. All applicants are listed vs the entrance criteria. Preference only comes into play if you qualify for more than one school.

That is blatantly untrue. Every Local Authority has to operate an equal preference allocation. In other words, they have to treat each of your preferences as 'first preference' and only if you can be placed in more than one school does your actual preference matter.

Are you applying now @RudsyFarmer as in, your child is in year 6? Yes as @Neighneigh says, you can put a non-catchment school down first on your list - just make sure you put the catchment on there somewhere (third or whatever is lowest) so you get it if all else fails.

Plenty of DC round my way go to the next village where there is a very popular school for which we are not in catchment.

Or is your child now in year 7 at the catchment school? Even so, you can still go on the WL for the preferred school. A lot of people don't want to move by this stage so you may be lucky.

I am confused. Is your child in y7 now?

I don't think you do have to accept it - it might depend which local authority you're in but my eldest is not in our catchment school. We applied at the usual time, just listed first choice (non catchment), second (also non catchment), and third choice as the catchment school. We were given third choice (do not check the portal at 2am on allocation day! You will not sleep) anyway long story short we went on the waiting list for first choice, three weeks later we were in and he began year 7 along with everyone else. And is thriving. Best decision I ever made despite the stress.