Senior schools allocation - possibly a stupid question.....

[Tabaccoworms]

Hoping that someone can explain a simple scenario question to me.....

We really like a very popular oversubscribed school, it is our second closest school in distance. Historically the school has taken kids that live substantially closer than we do, and the furtherest admitted child is 800mtrs ish closer then our address based on some data that I managed to dig up on the Internet.

The second choice school is our closest school, and is filled from kids in and out of the area, some living substantially further away than we do.

My question is:

If we gave first rank to the oversubscribed school and could not get a place based on the distance criteria, how would the second choice school be treated? Would we be given priority over someone who had ranked this school 1st, but lived further away?

I can't find an answer to this question in the admissions information unless I am missing something, and the council lady just kept saying - you'll get allocated a school one way or another, which was less than helpful.

I am trying to work out how best to make a tatical application. Help!

TIA

No, they won't know where you named them on the form , all applications are ranked irrespective of position then you are allocated the highest placed for which you qualify.

Yes, put the school you really like first and the other one second. You will be allocated the one highest on your list which you qualify for. Assuming you are in England.

We're about to do this - but I always thought the order for senior didn't matter, as the first response says.

Thanks for such a quick response. That makes things clearer. We are UK based. We will certainly put the preferred school first in that case.
This is all a bit of a minefield when you first start researching it, esp if your preferred school is not on your door step.

Thanks for your help.

The last given distance is that on National Offer Day . It spreads wider as the waiting lists shake down.

If you are allocated a place which is not your first preference you automatically go on the waiting lists of all schools you ranked higher than the one you were allocated. There is no disadvantage in accepting the place you are first offered - and indeed it would be a highly risky manoeuvre to refuse it. You will still stay in the waiting list for higher ranked schools and be offered a place there if it comes up.

My LEA says put the one you want the most FIRST on your list because they always try and offer your first choice. Check on the website of yours to see if its the same.

The Equal Preference system is standard across all LAs because it is part of the Schools Admissions Code which is statutory law. So it will be the same for every LA in England.

List your choices in the order in which you prefer them.

The places are allocated according to how you meet the published admissions criteria for each school - not according to where you place them on the list.

You will be offered the school which is highest up your list that can offer you a place.

Middleoftheroad the order does matter because if you put your favourite school last you won't be allocated to it unless your child doesn't meet the criteria for all the preferences above it. You must list them in the order in which you really want them. e.g.
Favourite school but bit of a long shot
Second favourite school fairly likely
Third favourite school
Absolute banker school which you are almost guaranteed a place and better than travelling 20 miles to a worse school.

They will only get to the bottom school if all of the higher schools are full.