Puzzled by admissions :(

[tryingtobemarypoppins2]

We have 3 preferences, so I assume we put these in order, easy enough.

But if we didn't get school 1, are we then at a disadvantage for school 2?? And then 3??

Can anyone explain how it works! Thank you!

Assuming this is admissions for state primary secondary then no, they can't "mark you down" for putting them second, it's a mechanical process so just go in the order you truly prefer.

(that should be primary or secondary)

No, the school won't know what order you have put them. You will be judged against the criteria for each school seperately, and then given the offer from the school you have placed highest (e.g. if you meet schools A and C criteria for admittance and both schools could offer you a place, you'll just get an offer from A)

PatriciaHolm and CustardCake are correct. The schools concerned are not allowed to know whether they are your first choice or your last choice.

It used to be the case that some LAs and schools operated a "first preference first" scheme, whereby anyone naming the school as their first choice got priority. That made life difficult for parents who might have to choose between trying for an ideal school where they had limited chances of success or making sure they got a place at a good local school.

All LAs and schools are now required to operate "equal preference" which the last two posters have described. It makes your live easy. You can simply put the schools in your order of preference.

Do make sure that you include a school where you are likely to get a place as one of your choices. If you miss out on all of your preferences you will be offered the nearest school with places available. This is likely to be an unpopular school which you may find unacceptable. I would therefore recommend making sure that at least one of your choices is a school you find acceptable and where you are almost certain to get a place.

Sorry I am being so dim!

So if we put school a, b and c, but both schools a and b are out of catchment, will they not consider us at all for schools a and b and only offer c??

as understand it - it depends how many other children apply in the year and where they live - if lots apply to a and b and they are all in catchtment/nearer than you then you will get a place at c - but if not then you will get a place at a and b- there is normally infomation avaiable about how many children applied last year and how near they lived - the important thing is to have in one of your choices a school you are likely to get into and that you are happy with - ie don't use all three choices at schools you don't stand much chance of getting into

OP, you really need to read the specific admissions policy for the area in which you live, as the rules vary from one area to another. In the area in which I live, for example, pupils are in a higher priority category if the school is their nearest school, but there is no such thing as a fixed catchment area. So in the example you give (assuming the schools were all in the local authority for which you live) the admissions authority would firstly consider you for a place at your first choice school. If they had a place at that school, they would offer you that school even if other schools were nearer. If by "out of catchment" you are talking about trying to get your child into a school in a different local authority's area altogether, then I don't immediately know what the rules would be. Also, for church schools, the prime admissions criteria may not depend on distance from the school but on having links with a church. However, the key point is that admissions policies vary between areas, so there is no subsitute for reading the policy of the local authority in which you live. Also, don't rely on what other parents tell you! In our area there seems to be a myth of "Schools X and Y like you to put them first" even though it is manifestly the case from the admissions policy that whether you put a school first, second or third plays no part in how you rank in the priority categories.

For each preference that you name on the admission form you will be considered for that school. The admission authority for each of the schools will put everybody who applies for a place at the school in the correct order based on the admission criteria. You must initially be considered for all your preferences that you have submitted.
So if you express three preferences you will be on the list for each school. Each school has an admission number which is the number of pupils that they can admit. So the LA will then look at your first preference school and where you are on the list. If the admission number for the school is 180 and you are 190 on the list you will not be offered a place. They will then look at your second preference and see where you stand on that list and so on. If you are able to be offered a place at more than one school then they will offer the school that you placed as the highest preference.
The school does not have any knowledge of where you placed them as a preference, that information is only kept with the LA.

I'm sorry, but the answers above don't reflect how it happens in surrey, unless the rules have changed recently - so I suggest you look very carefully at the admiissions policy. Every county is different.

Someone tell me its changed in the last 4 years (last time I did it) but first choices here get allocated first - so if you dont get your first choice school, you only get your second choice if that school hasnt filled up with applicants putting them first!

gettingalifenow - The answers above do reflect how it happens in Surrey. First choices do not get allocated first. They are not allowed to do that. If they did they would be breaking the law. I have checked Surrey's admission arrangements this morning and they do not allocate first choices first. If they did I would have referred the matter to the Schools Adjudicator who would have forced them to stop the practise.

Gettingalife - this used to be the way Surrey did it a few years ago but as prh says it's changed now

Thanks all. That has made things much clearer. Just more depressing! :(

Try to think of it as expressing a preference rather than having a choice. You get to say 'well, of the schools that I have a realistic chance of getting into, I would prefer a to b, and c would still be better than school x and is a very safe option so I shall put it third'.

Too many parents believe that they genuinely have a choice - that they can really go round all the schools in a very wide area, decide on the ones they like best, and put them on their form. It just doesn't work like that, and you will be bitterly disappointed if you go down that route. It's a system which allows you to express a preference amongst a limited range of options.

In some areas, that range of options is 1. When I applied for DS's first primary, I lived in a village with 1 school. The next school was 5 miles away, and admitted only children who lived less than a mile from it. So I put down only 1 school on the form - my preference, from the 1 school available to me, was the 1 school in the village....

teacherwith2kids I assume you teach? How did you cope with the knowing what it is like from the other side??

The schools may provide you with a breakdown of how they allocated places against their criteria which may help you second guess how likely you are to be offered a place.

Thanks for the update - that all sounds so much fairer than when I had to do it! Still a nightmare though for those of you going through it - good luck!

Surrey has changed in the last 5 years or so, and actually I can remember one school getting into big trouble for implying the order was important the year after Surrey (and just about everyone else) changed to equal preference.
I think it is much better, as you can put your true first choice first, and don't have to double guess what everyone else is doing.