What is the procedure for secondary school selections?

[geek84]

Hi Folks

I live in the UK and I have twins who are in year 6, and so this coming week we will find out if they get the place in the secondary school of their 1st choice.

Since completing the forms for application to secondary schools, my wife and I have decided that if our kids don?t get selected for their 1st choice school, then we would like them to go to the school marked as 3rd choice on the application form (assuming the 3rd choice school offers them a place).

My question is ? If they do not get selected for their 1st choice and the school marked 2nd choice offer them a place, then is it compulsory for us to accept it or can we still accept the 3rd choice school (assuming the 3rd choice school offers them a place).

Finally, if they are not offered a place at the 1st choice school, we are thinking of appealing against the decision. Is there a standard procedure to go through when you lodge an appeal or does each school have their own procedures?

Thanks in advance for your response.

My understanding is that if the first school can't offer you a place and the second choice school can that's all you'll be told about. It would then be open to you to contact whoever makes the admissions decisions for the third choice school and ask if they have any vacancies, but nothing would be guaranteed.

It will all depend on the level of oversubscription in your area and in those individual schools.

You'll get details of how and when to lodge an appeal with the result of your application, if relevant. Most appeals fail so it's essential to understand the law and the procedure to see if you have any vestige of a case. There are some real experts here who give fantastic, detailed, CORRECT advice on request, so your best bet is to come back after Offer Day if necessary.

Good luck!

You will only be offered a place at one school and that will be whichever is the highest-placed school in your preferences which has spaces available. If that happens to be your first choice that is what you will be offered. If you are offered your second-choice school and do not wish your children to go there, you will need to go on the waiting list for any other schools you are interested in. In the meantime, you should definitely accept the place you have been offered as there is no guarantee of spaces being available or coming available at a later date at any of your other schools. Why have you changed your mind about the second-choice school?

Do you have valid grounds for appeal for your first school? Just wanting your children to go there obviously isn't enough.

As others have said, you will only be offered one place. The LA is required to ensure that you only receive one offer in line with your preferences. So if your child got places at both your 2nd and 3rd choices they would offer you your 2nd choice and the 3rd choice place would be offered to someone else.

You do not have to accept the offered place. However, if you do not the LA is under no obligation to come up with an alternative place for you so you may be left without a place at all.

You can appeal if you don't get into your first choice. There is a standard procedure. If you don't get your first choice the letter you receive from the LA will tell you how to appeal. You can win an appeal either by showing that a mistake has been made or by showing that the problems your child will suffer as a result of not going to this school outweigh the problems the school will face through having to cope with an additional child. Note that you cannot win an appeal on the basis that your preferred school has better results or better Ofsted reports than the allocated school.

In our borough if you do not get offered your first preference you automatically get out on the waiting list for all schools of higher preference than the one you have been offered.
However, you would not automatically be put on the waiting list for a school lower in your list of prefernces than the one offered. So if you get offered your second choice, make sure you go through the right procedure to be put on the waiting list for the school listed 3rd and which you now prefer to the 2nd on your list.

So as I see it, if you get offered your 2nd choice:
Accept the place (this has no bearing on the subsequent processes)
Check you have been out on waiting list for 1st preference
Ask to go on waiting list for 3rd choice
Appeal 1st choice if you have reasonable grounds

You can do all these things simultaneously - then if you get an offer from 3rd choice accept that, and you can STILL be on the waiting list for 1st choice, and appealing.

And even if you lose the appeal you can still remian on the waiting list - there seems to be lots of movement rigt up until the start of term, and sometimes beyond!

Actually, I have just been looking at our LAs schools admissions website, and it is only the community schools for which the LA is the Admissions Authority where your name will autmaticaly be put on the waiting list for higher preference schools. For Academies and other schools with thir own Admissions Authority you have to contact the school direct to remain on the waiting list. Have a good read of all the info on your LAs website for schools admissions procedures. OUrs has a FAQ section fro what to do after Mar 1st.