School waiting lists - how do they work after Y7?

[OvalOpal]

Hi everyone. Sorry to ask what may be a very basic question! We are moving back to the UK, to a house we have rented out for the past six years, due to my parents’ health and therefore are looking to move my DD who is going into Y9 this year into a school in South London, most likely by January at the latest. I understand that most of the schools in our area (Lambeth/Wandsworth boundary) are oversubscribed and have long waiting lists.

Given I am assuming (hoping!) that lots of the children on the lists are now well settled into other schools how do the Local Authorities make sure that the lists are up to date, or do they just sit as they were for Y7. I’ve had no response to my enquiries and phone lines ringing out..!

(Independent schools not an option unfortunately).

www.lambeth.gov.uk/schools-and-education/school-admissions-and-appeals/year-school-admissions/apply-secondary-year-school-place-2023-2024-academic-year

www.wandsworth.gov.uk/schools-and-admissions/admissions/in-year-admissions-and-transfers/

The waiting lists are changing all the time

A long waiting list means nothing. The lists are determined by the admissions criteria, not length of time on list. So you could potentially go directly to the top of a list.

In addition, the council has to find you a place. If no schools have places, they can be forced to create one.

Essentially the school holds a list, the order isn’t when you went on the list but the order you meet the criteria (so someone could have been on the list since y7 but if you live closer, you’d be above them). If a place becomes available, they contact the person on top of the list. They usually get one or two days to think about it, then if they decline, the next person gets contacted.

the LEA have to give you a place somewhere, so they may make a full school take you as an extra.

Thank you all so much!

I think the parent/carer has to keep the school (council?) informed that they want to stay on the list, otherwise they drop off.
we were moving house and so looked into waiting lists and I think I read that each new term (that might be wrong!) you have to tell them you want to stay on the list.
It makes sense as, otherwise, loads of people would be on the list when the kid is happy in another school!!
Our house sale fell through so didn’t look any further into it.
It’s likely lots of people on the waiting list have dropped off.

Waiting lists aren't a queue that you get to the top of eventually.

The LA has an obligation to find a place for your child.

When a place becomes available the school will have a set of criteria to rank applications and if there is more than one child actively seeking a place in that yeargroup those criteria will be applied to select which one gets offered the place.

If there is an undersubscribed scool in the Borough or any nearby commutable Borough your DD will be offered a place there. If you decline that place the LA doesn't have any obligation to find you a nicer one. You can home educate or educate privately while hoping that a place becomes available at a preferred school but it could be that there's always someone who meets the criteria with more priority than your DD.

If you can possibly find the approx £60k ish this would cost, I would recommend putting her in a private day school for y9-y11 and then transfer back into the state sector for y12-y13. It's tough moving countries into a new education system and she will get better support in a private school than in whichever undersubscribed comprehensive happens to be able to accommodate her.