school places for 2004 - help!

[Skara]

We're in the process of selling up and moving closer to my family at the moment. I've had the forms through the post recently for dd's school admission but what do I do about the fact that we're going to be living elsewhere in the county by the time she starts? Do I put down my family's address (completely against the rules according to the booklet we've received) or do I just hope that there'll be a place for her when we eventually move? As far as I can see all the decent schools are oversubscribed and I really don't want to have to drive when there's a perfectly good school 5 mins away from our house to be...any thoughts from more knowledgable parents of older children? All this school stuff seems highly complicated to me

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hi there,
i take it this is a secondary school place you are talking about as we dont get our primary school admission forms here till january. i know the timescales vary greatly though depending on where you live. perhaps the timescale for admissions is different in the area you are moving to, its worth finding out. you may have a few more months leeway. we tried to move before we got the admissions forms for the school (primary) but it didnt work out because the house we were going to buy needed underpinning so we had to pull out.
apparently you can use your new address if you have exchanged contracts on the closing date for admissions. my solicitor said that no one from schools had ever been in touch with her to confirm that contracts had been exchanged, so if you are in the process of buying a property you could always use that address anyway (or your mums) as it is unlikely to be checked out. (ask the vendor if that is ok though as any mail will go to their house) unless you have the mail addressed to you redirected. very sneaky. it just depends the lengths you are perpared to go to to get your child into a good school.
my daughter is now very happy at a school a short drive away from our house (but not my prefered area) but i fully intend moving before we get the secondary school forms in 5 years time.
good luck.

i have just recieved primary school forms already. i have no idea if i'll still be living in the area by the time she starts in 2004/05, but am now looking at schools for her in the area i currently live. i think schools are very over subscribed, i'm dreading the thought of the school run as even if i am still in this area, the nearest school is about 3 miles away.

Hi and thanks all for your input. It's a primary school place that I'm hoping for, Firestorm. I called the school this morning and they are ok for places and sounded quite amenable, which is a good sign! I have to call them in 4 weeks and they'll be able to tell me then how many they have on the roll - currently 6 out of a possible 30 so the panic may have been premature Let's hope so.