to be even more confused by being allowed to list 5 primary schools

[upsydaisysexstylist]

aaargh, thought I had this admissions thing sussed, but the rules have changed this year and I can now list up to 5 schools. We are in a small town with 4 schools; I was going to put down 3, excluding Catholic as I am not and it takes very few none faith kids, and assume ds1 would probably get in the one were he is at preschool which all the children in our street go to.

This is the bit which seems bollocky to me, all the schools in town are oversubscribed, but only by a small amount each, which seems to me that everyone puts down 3 of the 4 schools and there are enough places, just about. However my neighbour who moved here partway through the year was offered a school in the next but one village, but won all 3 of the appeals she lodged .By putting down undersubcribed schools in next village down as my 4th and 5th choices I feel I am risking DS being allocated one of them over his nearest school which was oversubscribed for the first time last year. So would AIBU to just put down the 3 schools I am happy for him to go to

Don't put them on the list if you wouldn't be 100% happy about him going there

Not putting a school on the form won't make any difference - if it's the nearest school with places, that's what you'll be offered.

You will get the highest ranked school on your form for which you qualify, if you don't qualify for any of your top three, you won't be given a place at one of them just because you didn't put down any more, and if you do qualify for one of your top three they won't give you a lower ranked school just because it is likely to have more spaces.

They won't look at the forms and say 'this person qualifies for School A but we'll put them in school D because they have it on their form and give the place in School A to this person who lives further away but doesn't have any more schools on their form'

Thanks RustyBear, it is as I thought, just seems counterintuitive. Dp thinks I am fussing about nothing as nearest school has 2 form entry of 45 places but took 60 last year and 50 year before, but he comes from tiny rural village where it was one school and has not experienced first hand the sheer ineptitude of Bradford councils education department.

Putting another school 4th and 5th won't lower your chances of getting nay of your top three. It will only prevent you from getting a school that could be anywhere in the borough if you don't get a place at the top three.

They look at your choices in order, if they can provide a place at them, they will. If they can't they will allocate you the next nearest school where they have space. That won't be the one in the neighbouring village if enough others have that as one of their options, because they will always try to give one of the choices you have made. All they are obliged to do is provide a space somewhere withing their LEA, they don't have to offer you a school that you have listed.

I hope that makes sense!

I would provide 5 choices.