School placements-how does it work?!?

[Kat256M]

Please help! I have an almost 2 year old and went down the rabbit hole of schools/reception classes/max radius from school allowed etc. I am not from the UK (I have been here for more that a decade when I moved for work, family life is new)so have no idea how i works. It seems way more complicated that in my EU country.

Can someone please explain to me what happens if we don't get selected by any of our top 3 schools? We live pretty close to a couple but the max radius allowed is ridiculous. I am worried he will be placed someone randomly and I don't drive.

Thank you in advance

www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/schools-learning-and-early-years/school-admissions/primary-admissions info you need is here. I don't think Bristol does have lottery - I was thinking of Brighton.

Yes I don't think it is illegal, just a very weird way of doing it. And it is a bit sad since it is the school closest to me.

@Gymmum82 When I said "random" I meant by lottery. It is a valid way to do it, but it is quite random

I don't think it'd be completely "random". I think if you look at their admissions policy Pupil Premium/EHCP/looked after DC/forces DC/medical need plus possibly DC of staff will still get priority, and the lottery part will probably still have some distance criteria and/or some kind of banding test.

Always worth actually reading the admissions policy.

Thank you everyone for all your answers!! I think I just need a website that you put in your postcode and it tells you if you are in a catchment area. I found a few but you have to pay...well maybe if I get more desperate next year I will!

You can get a good idea yourself using the data for offer distances which will be on the council's website. No need to pay - especially several years ahead! Things really are quite volatile at the moment with the fall in the birth rate. Bristol's own data shows a fall of 26% in the birth rate since the peak in 2012.

www.bristol.gov.uk/files/documents/1546-jsna-births#:~:text=Since%20then%20births%20in%20Bristol,(COVID%2D19)%20pandemic.

I presume you've found this webpage @Kat256M ... https://www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/schools-learning-and-early-years/school-admissions/primary-admissions/information-about-bristol-primary-schools

I've definitely found my LA schools admissions team to be very helpful answering questions when I was applying for a school place before we moved here. I would definitely suggest ringing the Bristol team with your questions and they will be able to tell you if they use catchment areas or not, and if so, which catchment you're in.

However, for reception places, you would usually apply to your nearest schools but read their admissions policy especially if they're church schools because you might be bumped down the admissions criteria if they admit children with religious attendance above yours. Each oversubscribed school seems to have info on the Bristol website giving how many children were admitted in each criteria group and the furthest distance away the last child admitted lived. This is usually 'as the crow flies'. You can use various websites to calculate this distance from your house and compare.

Admissions criteria does change too, so be sure to check again before you actually apply. Don't forget you'll do it all again for secondary applications!!

I think I can guess the school you are referring to- attached to a secondary? There are a few schools close by just outside the centre. There’s another central school but not sure I would recommend it. Have a look at this site- admissionsday.co.uk

This is interesting thank you! Yes you are guessing correctly I think. I just thought he would go there and it is a good school but the admissions criteria make that almost impossible.

Put it as your first choice but you need two other safe options to put also. Happy for you to message me if you want any local advice (primary school leader in your area).