Moving from abroad, secondary schools in Winchester

[Headinghome22]

We will be moving back to Winchester next summer with our kids who were born and have been raised in Asia. They go to a British school here, and will need places in years 10, 8 and 6. I’ve contacted the three secondary schools in Winchester and all three are full and have waitlists. Of course, they said that things can change and to check in again at Easter. The trouble is, we need to figure out our move, look for a house etc before then, and where we were looking to live in Winchester with a view to the kids being able to walk to one of the local schools.
Is there anyone on here who either has experience of moving back from abroad and getting their kids into school, or who lives in Winchester and can reassure me that my kids will get into one of the schools 😆?? If they didn’t get into one of those I don’t even know where they’d be sent!!
I’m just hoping someone else might have gone through this, or has a bit of experience/knowledge about the secondary system in that area.
Thank you so much!!

You can only apply for a British state school I think 6 or 9 weeks before you need the place. There is no point in asking now about places for next year. Winchester secondary schools are huge (200-300 per year group) so there is a lot of turn over of places but all will tell you they are full. You can more or less live anywhere in Winch and still walk to school. Message me for more info

Thanks WinchRUS. Yes, that’s the problem- it’s a nightmare trying to figure out where to live, and then it would be gutting to get a house somewhere depending on the school and not get in! I wouldn’t mind any of the three (although HB least favourite), but do you know of anyone in Winchester not getting into any of them?? If that happened, where would they get sent? Romsey? Alresford?

There really isn't much way around this I don't think. You have to have an address in the UK to apply, so you have to take what you can get.

If they ship your DC out of Winchester they should give free transport if more than 3 miles, I think. Plus you need to be aware they may give different DC different schools.
The one going into y6 will of course be primary not secondary.
Shipping them to Perrins in Alresford or Romsey/Mountbatten in Romsey though not ideal for travel would be fine as they are all good schools, however they will almost certainly be full too anyway.

Will your 'British school' have started the science GCSE curriculum in y9? It isn't unusual to start science content in y9 even if the 'options' are selected starting y10. Some schools pick options to start y9 though I don't know what the Winchester schools do. Your y10 will also have missed the boat on selecting options so may find some classes are full or they have less than free choice).

Depending on the birthday of your 'y10' you may want to consider seeing if they can drop a year to y9 which would have various advantages. Though if in British school it may be unnecessary. Def worth considering esp if Jun/Jul/Aug birthday.

Thanks so much Teenminustests. My eldest is a late July birthday and quite shy so I’d actually love her to drop down a year- I didn’t think that was an option in the state system? I think she’d be fine in terms of curriculum as she’s also working towards her GCSEs, but an extra year to find her feet before things get too serious would be ideal.
When I look at the data for places offered and applications in the area it looks like a nightmare, both for the Winchester schools and the surrounding areas. That’s for a Y7 intake though, so I have no idea about getting in in random years. I just can’t get a sense of how likely it is for them to be shipped off somewhere completely different, like Southampton (where I’m from). Or if, one way or another, kids generally get in somewhere fairly close to home? I don’t want them to have a really long journey to and from school. We don’t have too much option of moving somewhere else as I need to be close to my parents as my dad’s not very well. It’s all very tricky!!

@prh47bridge or @PatricaHolm may be able to advise on what should happen if all local schools are full. I don't know how far out they would insist you go before something called the 'Fair Access Protocol' comes in to play. They have to give you a place somewhere.

I also don't know much about placing out of year, though I know it can happen on occasion when moving between schooling systems.

Getting in for random year groups is all about whether there happens to be a space (and whether you would be top of the waiting list) at the time of applying.

One correction - guidance issued to admission authorities is clear that you don't need an address in the UK before you can apply. However, if you don't have a UK address, the LA will have to use your current address for admissions purposes which will put you a long way down the waiting list. You are also required to take up any place that is offered within a few weeks, so it is far too early at the moment.

The Fair Access Protocol only comes into play when your children have been out of education for four or more weeks and there are no places available at schools within a reasonable distance from home. For secondary school pupils, a reasonable distance is defined as a journey of up to 75 minutes each way.

If you are a military family or UK crown servants there are special provisions to help you. If you are not, I'm afraid you will have to move back to the UK and hope for the best. Trying to secure a school place and then decide where to live is unlikely to work. Sorry.

Hi Heading Home, how did things turn out? We are in a similar position, and with 3 kids of similar ages. Please update us, it would be useful to know. Which school did they end up in? I also have a July baby and would like him to go down a year. Any luck with that? Thank you.