How do you relocate between primary and secondary?

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We live in the catchment of a very good secondary school and this is why we bought the house we're in, as we want the children to go to this school.

Dh has been offered a very lucrative contract in a different location, too good for us to turn down and is in an interesting city so I feel we'd all get something out of the experience of moving there. But I don't see it as a permanent move as there are a lot of reasons (family etc) for us to stay in the current location long term.

I would like the family to move for 3 years until the eldest dc is old enough to go to secondary school. We have the house in the right place so could start the moving back process round about when the school applications are going in.

But I don't want to move my dc to a primary school in the current location for one or two terms, I would want them to finish at the primary school they were at with the move back being a natural segue to leave the new area.

But if I do that will questions be asked about why I am putting down address X on the application when child attends school in location Y?

It's an oversubscribed school so I wouldn't want to hold out hope for the school having in year vacancies etc.

I feel I can't really win with this situation, I am trying to do the least disruptive thing for my child but the system makes it very difficult.

Thanks for any advice!

(by the way it's not an option for dh to go on his own and rest of us not to move for various reasons)

As I'm sure you know you will need to apply from the address your child lives at. This means either moving back in Autumn of year 6 or taking a gamble on a place coming up later. It's frustrating but not really any other option.

This. If the school is oversubscribed, you either move back at the beginning of Y6, or you wait and take a chance with the waiting list. You don’t have another choice.
You’ve rushed to some conclusions that you might want to go back and reevaluate. If the opportunity is really too good to turn down and living apart is really not an option then the consequence of that may be missing out on a place at the secondary, so you’ve all got very difficult decisions to make.

Thanks for your replies, I was hoping this wouldn't be the case. It's such a shame as it is so much more disruptive for the child, that they can't complete their schooling at one school and relocate over the summer. But hey that's the system.

I guess will have to weigh up me relocating back with the dc a year earlier but its really not ideal.