Catchment Area secondary school

[RosieOfPortslade]

Hi everyone, i'd like to can i ask your advice re secondary schools? I'm not really sure who to ask for advice. According to the catchment areas, PACA is our only choice but does it have to be the case? Or do we have to move to be considered elsewhere? We don't mind PACA, we just don't want it to be our only choice. Any advice? Xxx

Assuming you are in England, you can list any schools you like in your form. You should list them in true order if preference but include your catchment school somewhere. Putting it last on the list will not mean you miss out on a place (unless of course you get a place at a school you prefer and have listed higher, in which case happy days).

Where catchment areas are used as part of admissions criteria, they are often drawn up so that the catchment areas do not overlap, so everyone has exactly one "catchment school". The catchment is not the same as the area that they will take pupils from; it's just that pupils in catchment may be given priority over those outside it.

You might still get into a school that is not your catchment school, if they don't have enough kids living in the catchment and wanting to go there, as they will then look at those outside the catchment, usually taking those who are nearest. If the schools are very full in your locality, then it may be that you are unlikely to get in anywhere else, or only to a really unpopular school; if they're less full then you may stand a reasonable chance. If you go on the LA website, you should be able to find information about the criteria under which pupils were admitted last year, so you can see whether they took any non-catchment kids, and if so, from how far away. That helps you gauge whether there is any point applying to them.