Enrolling at 6th form on Friday after results day due to being a late applicant

Last year my son changed his mind about what he wanted to do - he had a place at a college. He had no trouble getting a place at a different college but there was not a chance of being able to enrol at his school 6th form, or the local 6th form college after results. We even checked again a few weeks after term started in case of drop out/movement but both were full.

No, I have never said that sixth form admissions is not my area of expertise. Yes, offers are conditional and many schools make more offers than they have places. Yes, students may get offers from multiple schools because sixth form admissions are not co-ordinated by the LA. But the Admissions Code still applies to schools (but not to sixth form colleges).

I understand what you are suggesting. However, I disagree that late applications have to be treated in the same way as on-time applications unless the school specifically says so in their admission arrangements. That makes having a deadline pointless, since it makes no difference whether you apply before or after the deadline. The only way OP could enforce your idea is via appeal or through the courts after being refused a place. Neither appeal panels nor the courts would agree with your position.

OP could try to enforce this right she doesn't have by arguing with the school, and it is possible the school would cave. However, it is more likely that they wouldn't, and she would get herself an immediate reputation as "that" parent.

@prh47bridge I think you have mentioned before that sixth form admissions is not your area of expertise. "Processing" a sixth form application is very different to processing a year 7 application because all offers are conditional until results day. Students tend to get multiple conditional offers from multiple schools. Most schools manage the uncertainty by giving offers to all who apply. On results day, the offers become firm if the conditions have been met. However, the most popular schools are now in a position of having dished out more firm offers than places available. They manage this by enrolling external students in the order set out by their admissions arrangements. They give them timed appointments ordered by (for example) distance. Students who have later appointments are more likely to be told their course is full and they have to choose another course or reject the place.

I am not suggesting that the op appeals, because I know it's not possible to appeal a place until you have been refused a place. The op won't ever be refused a place - her dc will be offered a place, just not necessarily on the course he wants.

I am suggesting that she reads the admissions policy to see whether the late processing arrangements are set out. If they are not, then I would question that with the school.

Your first paragraph is wrong. Failing to mention how late applicants will be treated in the admission arrangements does not mean they have to be treated the same as on time applicants, no matter how often you say it. Having a deadline for applications means that anyone who misses that deadline will be processed after the on-time applications, otherwise there is no point having a deadline. Many LAs do not specify in their admission arrangements that late applications will be processed after on-time applications, but that is nonetheless the case. No appeal panel will agree with your position.

Colleges will over recruit as there will be leavers one the first 6 weeks. Occasionally additional courses / classes are offered of demand is there.

Yes, the lack of a coordinated admissions process for 16+ makes things very difficult for schools and other providers. But schools do still have to adhere to the code. If their admissions arrangements don't mention how late applicants will be processed, they will have to be treated the same as on-time applicants.

In this case, the application has been made May, so your clearing analogy is irrelevant. If she applied in late August, after the enrollment days, that would be different.

It is like clearing in many ways. The school has probably issued as many offers as it can, and now won't issue any more until they know who has made the grades, and who hasn't. And also who has been given a place but chosen to go elsewhere won't be known until September - there will be movement for a couple of weeks

"Its like clearing"

No, it's not, because school sixth forms have to abide by the national schools admissions code (whereas colleges and universities don't).

They can definitely hold more than one firm offer. One of my dc had a firm offer from school B after GCSE results day and then turned that down in favour of school C when the offer for that came a few days later.

If you are wondering where school A was in all of this, school A was the school dc was leaving and had been very definitely leaving for months, hadn't been to the July transition day and forms had been filled in rejecting the sixth form place. They still rang up to admonish me on the first day of term for not sending my child in to school.

I would get your ds to talk to the other sixth form about how likely it is that the subjects will be full. I am guessing if the other school is dropping them then perhaps not the most popular subjects. Also talk to the college about the implications of enrollment. I very much doubt it has much effect. Both my dc who have been to sixth form have commented on how much flux there is in the first few weeks. People who they chat to in class one week are never seen again, people who had definitely left suddenly turn up again in week 2.

nonsense. They people who applied on time have first dibs. And if the courses fill up with people who are holding offers, then the courses are full. Its like clearing. A late applicant can apply for spaces that are left. And yes, you can enrol to more than one school. Just withdraw the next week if you have changed your mind

"FE colleges and sixth form colleges don't seem to have closing dates it just seems to be the school sixth forms that do."

The colleges probably aren't oversubscribed, so don't want to put off late applicants. The more oversubscribed a school or college is, the stricter they will be about closing dates.

It could be worth approaching the new sixth form and explaining that your ds is anxious about enrolling a day later. Ask if they could squeeze him in on the Thursday.

I’ve had students enrol at sixth form then come to college in the afternoon and enrol with us instead.

We know that students can change their minds and no one would keep a student enrolled if they didn’t want to be.

The only records we would see are EHCP. But you could not offer that info immediately.

School records aren't required to be transferred to FE colleges and it's usually only by specific request. You would definitely be able to enrol at 2 colleges and it not be picked up straight away but I don't have any knowledge of Sixth Forms.

Well, @eveningqueen456 , if I was you I would check the admissions arrangements. If it doesn't say anything about how late applications will be handled, email them and challenge the late enrollment. You may find that they don't argue.

Ideally, they should state it but, in my view, it isn't absolutely necessary. I think it is implied by the fact there is a deadline for applications.

"so the school can process all on-time applicants prior before her son"

@prh47bridge surely they can only do this if it is stated in the admissions arrangements? The processing of late Reception or year 7 applications is defined in our local authority's coordinated admissions arrangements, not in the admissions code. Local schools and academies reference the council's coordinated admissions arrangements for reception or year 7, but obviously they can't do the same for year 12.

The rules about late applications applied before national offer day existed. In my view, they apply to sixth forms. OP was late applying to this school (not her fault, of course), so the school can process all on-time applicants prior before her son.

At any of our local 6th forms they have spaces right up to September start date, and for most if not all subjects.

There is no "national offer day" for sixth form admissions, so the Code's definition of a late application doesn't strictly apply.

Most schools have an application deadline for external applications to sixth form, to help them to plan their curriculum, but unless their admissions arrangements explicitly say that late applications will be processed later than on-time applications, then they shouldn't be de-prioritised. If they don't set out a process, then they should really treat them like "in year admissions" and re-rank them whenever they get a new application.

Unfortunately, the admissions code doesn't cover sixth form admissions as comprehensively as admissions for other year groups.

@dreadinit At primary & secondary level they process late applicants after all the on time ones, so not sure why you think it might not be permitted at 6th form?

@eveningqueen456 this school may be breaking the admissions code by enrolling you later than on-time applicants. Certainly if they are over-subscribed then they should enroll applicants in the order set out in their admissions arrangements (e.g.by distance).

Interested in the opinion of @prh47bridge.

It's a bit a grey area, because sixth forms can meet their admissions code obligations by offering your child a place on another course if the course they want to do is full. Enrolling a day later than everyone else will make this scenario more likely.

I'm not so certain as everyone else that you can enroll for 2 places. You can apply for 2 places, and accept 2 conditional offers, but enrolling involves the transfer of your record from your previous school. At the very least it will cause some admin confusion, with your child's record potentially being sent to the wrong place. Hopefully you can mitigate this by withdrawing from the college place quickly if you do get the school enrollment.

Enrol in both. Ds had a school sixth form place, he got the grades but when we went in on results day 1 subject was over subscribed. It was a bit stressful but in the end the school re jigged things so ds could do the subjects he wanted.

He can enrol at both as all sixth forms & colleges run their own admissions so won't know where else you have applied to and been accepted. It's common practice for students to enrol at more than one.

Just remember to email or call and let the college know that he wont be attending when you get your preferred place, so that they can offer the place to someone else and not have to waste time chasing up a no show.