Secondary school place allocation - 1 March

Waiting lists
If you want to add a school that you have not previously applied for, or that was listed as a lower preference than your allocated school, you should email us and we will do this for you

So, I couldn’t do it on the portal - must be fairly unusual so they’ve not enabled it online but above is the advice on the website

Have also filled in a form indicating that we intend to appeal - hopefully won’t come to that but the deadline for doing that was last night too.

Hopefully we’ll have grounds due to his ASD, EBSNA, and the comp being next door vs a grammar 3 miles away. But if it comes to it, we’ll take advice on the best way to approach the appeal

If your LA won't allow you to do this, they are in breach of the Admissions Code. The Code is clear that you can apply for any school at any time. The fact that you ranked a school lower than the one you have been offered should not prevent you applying for it now and going on the waiting list.

Do you get the option to re-order your preferences? Or do you literally have to wait until a mid-year application can be made? I have a memory that the London Borough of Bromley used to impose the latter restriction, although having looked recently, it doesn't do this now.

Thank you! I’ve done that - deadline was yesterday here. It’s 240 intake so hopefully there’ll be some movement
also registered for an appeal just in case

@Sleeplessi go straight on wait list for this school. You'll likely be at the top & get a place

Has anyone ever appealed for a place lower down on an application form? DS has been offered a place at grammar (1st choice) but things have massively changed for him since we applied- he’s currently suffering from EBSNA and hasn’t attended school since Christmas, the grammar is 3miles away and he’ll need to take public transport, and he doesn’t know anyone else going. He hasASD so the transition was always going to be difficult

We’re now thinking the comp we put 2nd will be better for him - it’s so close we can see it from our house and all his friends are going there. He’s familiar with it from going to sports clubs there over the years and it’s really sporty which will suit him more

is it even possible to appeal for a school that ranked lower on the application form? He would definitely have been offered a place based on distance if it had ranked higher on our form as we live so close

Yes, sometimes parents make mistakes being late or have to move after the deadline. Children shouldn't be punished for these.

I'd say it's fairer to use admission criteria only with no discrimination on submission date.

Sadly, there is one LA in the North West that has found a way round this and the Schools Adjudicator has upheld their approach despite the fact that it is clearly contrary to the intent of the Admissions Code. As far as I am aware, they are the only LA doing this.

if someone applied late because they moved areas do you think they should be bottom of the waiting list? I am glad that the Admissions Code does not allow that to happen.

That’s interesting. I would have thought on time application people on a waiting list should have priority over late application people!

That's not permitted under the Admissions Code. No admission authority in England and Wales can sort their waiting list by any criteria other than their admissions criteria, and time on list is not allowed as a criteria.

Not to mention illegal...

I'm actually a big fan of the Admissions Code, myself.

But that would be “double punishment” as they already missed the first set of allocations

It's not uncommon for local authorities to employ an 'embargo' on communicating re waiting list position until after the deadline for places to be accepted (or not turned down, in areas which work on automatic acceptance of the initial offer). By that point, they will also have had the opportunity to include all the applications received after October 31st / the extended deadline for change of address, where this is allowed etc, as they all have to be ranked along with the on time applicants for waiting list purposes after national offer day.

They don't seem to tell you anything when you ring or e mail. Dont share where you are on waiting lists... I guess time will tell. Thank you :)

How the "second round" is managed does differ by LA - their website might say, or you could email. Some do sit on everything until a next date, where late applications are considered as well as waiting lists/rejections etc, some do it more day by day.

When do waiting lists tend to move? Is it the end of April or updated daily?

Nope nothing - i called today and didn’t get any answers, they asked me to put my concerns in writing and wait for a response and also to wait till April to find out who’s been accepted and who has’nt and what the waitlists look like - it’s been frustrating to say the least - had to go to the main switchboard to get through the cracks to talk to admission's and they had a permanent voicemail on 😵‍💫

Thank you for your response Clearinguptheclutter. I sent them an email just to make sure that I don't need to 'do' anything.

Instead of ranking applicants in the tie-break category by distance, they rank them by lottery result.

That list is returned to the LA, who also get lists from by-distance schools (and who co-ordinate with other boroughs)

Then something like a giant game of CandyCrush happens. Each school has X places. The computer looks at who in the school ranking 1-X has listed it as first preference. They go in the offer pile, and their lower preferences are deleted from other schools lists. And those schools lists all shuffle up a bit. Done for every school, until there is no more movement. Then repeat with 2nd preference, 3rd etc. They "close" each school as X is reached.

🙀 def appeal

I would assume that the lottery sorts all applicants for a school A from 1-1000 (or whatever) by random number, then that list is put into the system. If a child at 47 on the lottery school list lives close to their first choice school B and hence gets a place there, then the lottery list shifts up one because that child is off to school B .

It’s exactly the same as other ways of sorting the lists - the applicant ranking happens first and then a child high enough on more than one list only gets their first choice and comes off other lists, and everyone moves up one